Abstract
Land use strongly influences soil properties, and unsuitable practices lead to degradation of soil and environmental quality. Main aim of this study was to assess the impact of different land uses on some soil properties, soil organic carbon (C) and total nitrogen (N) contents and stock capacities in Kastamonu, Turkey. Mature and young fir stands and adjacent pasture and agriculture sites were used to study the differences in some soil properties and soil organic C and N contents and stock capacities. Mineral soil samples were taken from two soil depths (the upper soil part 0-10 cm and the lower soil part 10-20 cm), and analysed for pH, texture, water holding capacity (WHC), salt, lime, organic matter (OM), P and K concentrations, total soil organic C and total N content, and stock capacities. Results showed that for the soil upper part, the agriculture site had the lowest clay, silt, WHC, pH, P, K and OM, whereas it had the highest sand content. Most of these soil factors were highest in the soil from mature fir stands. As for the lower soil part, there were no clear indications among the land-use types. However, the agriculture site had the highest clay, silt and soil pH, whereas the pasture site showed the lowest clay, silt, P and K contents. The mature and young fir stands always showed the highest mean soil C and N contents and stock capacities either at the upper or the lower soil parts, followed by the pasture and the agriculture sites. However, all soil depth was considered (0-20 cm), mean soil organic C stock capacity was highest for the pasture site (50.2 Mg C ha -1 ), followed by the young fir site (48.6 Mg C ha -1 ), the mature fir site (47.4 Mg C ha -1 ), and the agriculture site (32.3 Mg C ha -1 ). Mean soil total N stock capacity was highest for the young fir site (5.61 Mg N ha -1 ), followed by the pasture site (5.09 Mg N ha -1 ), the mature fir site (4.45 Mg N ha -1 ), and the agriculture site (3.33 Mg N ha 1 ).
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