Inefficient farm-level water management aggravates groundwater fluctuation and salt accumulation particularly in arid and semi-arid irrigated agriculture. Inappropriate water management practices in the Harran Plain are a good example. A study was carried out to investigate the effect of groundwater fluctuation on the seasonal salt dynamic in four widespread soil series in the Harran Plain with different natural drainage, south-eastern Turkey. Four profiles were excavated and soil samples were collected seasonally up to 100 cm depth with 10 cm intervals. Similarly, irrigation and groundwater samples were collected from the fields where soil sampling was carried out. Significant seasonal variations in the salt dynamic were observed with the fluctuation levels of the groundwater. Total salt content at 1 m soil depth remained constant during the year, however salt fluctuation throughout the root zone in the growing season exceeded the threshold values of corn, wheat and cotton, commonly grown crops in the region, of 1.7, 6.0 and 7.7 dSm1, respectively. However, soils with less water fluctuation showed lower salt accumulation in the root zone from May to October. Results also confirmed that soils can be non-saline, but groundwater salinity, which may not be point specific, requires special attention

No abstract

ÖzLeonardit, toprak özelliklerini iyileştirmede ve dolayısıyla ürün verimini arttırmada kullanılan organik gübrelerden biridir. Bu çalışmada, sulanabilir koşularda buğday bitkisine farklı miktarlarda leonardit uygulanarak, uygulanan bu leonarditin bazı toprak özellikleri üzerine olan etkisi belirlenmiştir. Çalışma 2009-2012 yıllarında GAP Uluslararası Tarımsal Araştırma ve Eğitim Merkezi Müdürlüğü deneme alanında, tesadüf blokları deneme desenine göre dört tekerrürlü olarak yürütülmüştür. Denemede leonarditin 6 farklı dozu (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 ve 250 kg da -1 ) uygulanmıştır. Hasat sonrası tüm parsellerde, toprakta organik madde, toprak nemi, hacim ağırlığı ve penetrasyon direnci belirlenmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda, farklı miktarlarda uygulanan leonarditin toprakta organik madde, toprak nemi ve hacim ağırlığı üzerine etkisinin olmadığı, penetrasyon direnci üzerine etkili olduğu görülmüştür. Toprak penetrasyon direnci leonardit uygulaması ile azalmıştır. Effect of Some Soil Properties of Different Doses Leonardite to Wheat AbstractLeonardite is one of the organic fertilizer that used in development of soil characteristics and hence increase of yield. In this study the effects of different levels of leonardite were determined on some soil properties in irrigable conditions to wheat plant. The study was carried out between the years of 2009-2012 in the research area of GAP International Agricultural Research and Training Center as randomized complete blocks design with four replications. In this study six different levels at leonardite (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 kg da -1 ) were applied. Organic matter, soil moisture, bulk density and penetration resistance were determined in all plots after harvest. At the end of the study different levels of leonardite has no effect on organic matter, soil moisture, bulk density in soil and has effect on penetration resistance. Soil penetration resistance was decreased with leonardite application.

Landmined areas are located along the borders of Şanlıurfa province between Turkey and Syria with 220 km length and 400 m width. Governmental institutions attempted to determine the potential and suitability of mined lands for any agricultural activities before removing active mines. The research was conducted to estimate land suitability and gross value for irrigated agricultural production (GVIAP) of the mined areas using the database for the surrounding land and data obtained by Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques. The study was conducted in three steps; data including soil characteristics, digital elevation model (DEM) and orthophoto images of lands located 2 km nearby the mined land along the Turkish border were collected. The data containing DEM and orthophoto images of mined and adjacent lands were integrated in the second step. Finally, a field survey was conducted along the border district and soil samples were collected for each soil boundary nearby the mined lands. The integration of data in GIS allowed to expand the soil boundaries from adjacent lands into the mined lands. Data analysis showed that the total mined land is 6706 hectares of which 90.2% is highly and moderately suitable, 6.9% is less suitable and 2.9% is not suitable for irrigated agriculture. The gross value of irrigated agricultural production was estimated as 2212 US Dollars per hectare. The results revealed that the integration of inaccessible land database with the remote sensing data and GIS can be used to estimate the gross value which is derived from soil characteristics of the mined lands.

When agricultural lands are no longer used for agriculture and allowed to recover its natural vegetation, soil organic carbon can accumulate in the soil. Measurements of soil organic carbon and aggregate stability changes under various forms of land use are needed for the development of sustainable systems. Therefore, comparison of soil samples taken from both agricultural and nearby area close to land-mined fields where no agricultural practices have been done since 1956 can be a good approach to evaluate the effects of tillage and agriculture on soil quality. The objective of this study was to compare tillage, cropping and no tillage effects on some soil-quality parameters. Four different locations along the Turkey-Syria border were selected to determine effects of tillage and cropping on soil quality. Each location was evaluated separately because of different soil type and treatments. Comparisons were made between non-tilled and non-cropped fallow since 1956 and adjacent restricted lands that were tilled about every 2 years but not planted (T) or adjacent lands tilled and planted with wheat and lentil (P). Three samples were taken from the depths of 0-20 and 20-40 cm each site. Soil organic carbon (SOC), pH ,electrical conductivity, water soluble Ca(++), Mg(++), CO₃⁻² and HCO₃⁻, extractable potassium (K(+)) and sodium (Na(+)), soil texture, ammonium (NH₄⁺-N) and nitrate (NO(3)-N), extractable phosphorous and soil aggregate stability were determined. While the SOC contents of continuous tillage without cropping and continuous tillage and cropping were 2.2 and 11.6 g kg(-1), respectively, it was 30 g kg(-1) in non-tilled and non-planted site. Tillage of soil without the input of any plant material resulted in loss of carbon from the soil in all sites. Soil extractable NO(3)-N contents of non-tilled and non-cropped sites were greatest among all treatments. Agricultural practices increased phosphorus and potassium contents in the soil profile. P(2)O(5) contents of planted soils were approximately 20 to 39 times greater than those of non-tilled and non-cropped soils at different sites. FTIR spectra showed that never tilled sites had greater phenol, carboxylic acid, amide, aromatic compounds, polysaccharide and carbohydrates than other treatments.