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Intensive agricultural practices causes decreases in soil fertility with decreasing soil physical chemical
and biological qulity. Management of biological soil quality indicators in soils shapes the dynamic part of soil
physical and chemical quality. Basic biological soil quality indicators are microbial biomass C and N, soil res-
piration, enzymes and earthworms. Recycling organic wastes in agricultural fields is important to improve
soil quality with increasing biological activity of soils. The evaluation of minimum data set of soil quality indi-
cators including biological parameters must be considered according to the basic agricultural practice or crop
patern to sustainable land management systems.
Key words: Soil quality, biological indicators, organic wastes, enzymes, earthworms.
1.INTRODUCTION
Soil as a natural resource can provide the physical support, nutrients, water, and gas exchange ne-
cessary for crop growth. Soil is also home to many macro or micro organismswhich directly or indirectly im-
pact crop growth. The health of our environment depends on soil, air, and water quality. The soil quality con-
cept placed in the literature in the early 1990s (Doran and Safely, 1997; Wienhold et al., 2004). Soil quality is
usually defined as ‘‘the capacity of a specific kind of soil to function, within natural or managed ecosystem
boundaries, to sustain plant and animal productivity, maintain or enhance water and air quality, and support
human health and habitation’’ (Karlen et al., 1997). These functions of soils in many soil quality definitions
include a soil’s role in plant growth, hydrology, biological transformations, and degradation of organic mate-
rials. According to these definitions, soil quality has two parts: an intrinsic part covering a soil's inherent ca-
pacity for crop growth, and a dynamic part influenced by the manager.
Soil properties related with dynamic soil quality can change in response to human use and manage-
ment over relatively short time periods. Total organic matter may change over a period of years to decades,
whereas pH and labile organic matter fractions may change over a period of months to years. On the other
hand, microbial biomass and populations, soil respiration, nutrient mineralization rates, and macroporosity
can change over a period of hours to days. Therefore, maintenance and/or improvement of dynamic soil
quality deals primarily with those attributes or indicators that are most subject to change (e.g., loss or deple-
tion) and are strongly influenced by soil management or agronomic practices (Carter et al. 1997).
2.BIOLOGICAL SOIL QUALITY INDICATORS
Soil physical and chemical properties are shaped by biological activity, and biological activity is en-
hanced or limited by chemical and physical soil conditions. The capacity of soil to function can be reflected
by measured soil physical, chemical and biological properties, also known as soil quality indicators. There
are several criteria in selection of soil quality indicators. Generally, appropriate soil quality indicators should
be: easy to asses; able to measure changes in soil function both at plot and landscape scales; assessed in
time to make management decisions; accessible to many farmers; sensitive to variations in agro-ecological
zone; representative of physical, biological or chemical properties of soil and assessed by both qualitative
and/or quantitative approaches.
Biological indicators of soil quality often refer to the amounts, types, and activities of soil organisms.
Basic biological indicators of soil quality are; microbial biomass C and N, soil respiration, enzymes and
earthworms. The microbial biomass can quickly respond to changes in soil processes resulting from changes
in management due to its high turnover rate relative to the total soil organic matter. The microbial biomass C
can be divided by total organic C or CO
2
-C respired in order to make comparisons between soils under dif-
ferent managements having different organic matter contents. The ratio of microbial biomass C to total or-
ganic C has been useful to explain changes in organic matter under different cropping or tillage systems, as
well as in soil polluted by heavy metals (Gregorich et al. 1997). Carbon mineralization is the gross flux of
CO
2
from soil during an incubation and indicates the total metabolic activity of heterotrophic soil organisms.
Nitrogen mineralization is the net flux of inorganic N during a soil incubation and represents the balance be-
tween gross mineralization and immobilization by soil organisms (Gregorich et al. 1997).
Soil respiration is the rate of CO
2
release (or oxygen consumption) by biological respiration. Soil respi-
ration rate represents the size and activity of the overall population of soil organisms. Soil microbes generally
make the largest contribution to soil respiration, although field measurements can include significant contri-
butions from larger organisms and plant roots. Soil temperature, moisture, aeration, and food supply all have
major effects on biological activity, and therefore respiration rate (USDA, 1999).
Enzymes catalyse innumerable reactions in soils and are associated with organic matter decomposi-
tion and nutrient recycling. They exist in soil in a biotic form associated with viable microorganisms or soil
fauna. Enzymes are important in facilitating the hydrolysis of substrates that are too insoluble or too large for
microorganisms to use directly (Gregorich et al. 1997).
Earthworms improve soil quality by increasing the availability of nutrients. Available plant nutrients (N,
P, & K) tend to be higher in fresh earthworm casts than in the bulk soil. Earthworms also accelerate the de-
composition of organic matter by incorporating litter into the soil and activating both mineralization and humi-
ҚАЗАҚСТАННЫҢ АӨК ИННОВАЦИЯЛЫҚ ДАМУЫ: АУЫЛШАРУАШЫЛЫҚ, ВЕТЕРИНАРЛЫҚ ЖӘНЕ
ТЕХНИКАЛЫҚ ҒЫЛЫМДАРДЫҢ ДАМУ ТЕНДЕНЦИЯЛАРЫ
ИННОВАЦИОННОЕ РАЗВИТИЕ АПК КАЗАХСТАНА: ТЕНДЕНЦИИ РАЗВИТИЯ СЕЛЬСКОХОЗЯЙСТВЕННЫХ,
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fication processes; improve soil physical properties, such as aggregation and soil porosity; suppress certain
pests or disease organisms; and enhance beneficial microorganisms (Edwards et al., 1995).
3.MANAGING BIOLOGICAL SOIL QUALITY INDICATORS
The smallest set of properties or attributes that can be used to characterize an aspect of soil quality is
called as minimum data set. Indicators in minimum data set of soil quality are need to be developed for (i)
integrate soil physical, chemical and/or biological properties and processes, (ii) apply under diverse field
conditions, (iii) complement either existing databases or easily measurable data, and (iv) respond to land
use, management practices, climate and human factors (Doran and Parkin, 1994). Monitoring changes in the
key soil quality indicators with time can determine if quality of a soil under a given land use and management
system is improving, stable or declining (Lal, 1998; Shukla et al., 2004).
Loveland and Webb (2003) reported that a major threshold for soil OC is 2% (3.45% SOM), below
which potentially serious decline in soil quality will occur. An increase in SOM could also reduce environmen-
tal pollution. Thus, from the perspective of land owners and environmentalists, SOM should be classified as
an important attribute for monitoring soil quality.
A high soil respiration rate, indicative of high biological activity, can be a good sign of rapid decompo-
sition of organic residues into nutrients available for plant growth. However, decomposition of the stable or-
ganic matter is detrimental to many physical and chemical processes such as aggregation, cation exchange,
and water holding capacity. The lower soil porosity accounts for the lower respiration rate under compacted
conditions (USDA, 1999). Biological activity is a direct reflection of the degradation of organic matter in the
soil. This degradation indicates that two processes are occurring: (1) loss of soil carbon and (2) turnover of
nutrients (Parkin et al., 1996).
Kızılkaya and Hepşen (2007) found that addition of various organic wastes produced changes in the
microbial properties of earthworm Lumbricus terrestris casts and surrounding soil with increasing microbial
biomass, basal soil respiration and enzyme activities of dehydrogenase, catalase, b-glucosidase, urease,
alkaline phosphatase, and arylsulphatase (Figure 1). Except for catalase activity, these values of microbio-
logical parameters in casts were higher than in surrounding soil at all waste treatments and control. Applica-
tion of manures, composts, biosolids (sewage sludge), and other organics are good ways to increase SOM.
Sewega sludges should be low trace-metal, in this case it can be applied to food crops and improve soil
quality with no restrictions.
Figure 1. Changes of microbial biomass carbon (a) and basal soil respiration (b) in earthworm cast
and surrounding soil. Vertical barsa re standard errors. Treatments with same letters are not significantly
different (LSD, P<0.01). HH=hazelnut husk, CM= cow manure, WS =wheat straw, TOW = tobacco produc-
tion waste, and TEW= tea production waste
Kızılkaya and Bayraklı (2005) studied the effects of sewega sludge with N-enriched (or adjusted C:N
ratio in soil) on enzyme activities (β-glucosidase, alkaline phosphatase, arylsulphatase and urease) in a clay
loam soil. The addition of the sludge caused a rapid and significant increase in the enzymatic activities and
available metal (Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) contents in the soils. In general, enzymatic activities in sludge amended
soils tended to decrease with the incubation time. The presence of available soil metals due to the addition
of the sludge at all doses and C:N ratios (3:1, 6:1 and 9:1) did negatively affect all enzymatic activities. They
concluded that this would not only overcome problems of enzyme inhibition but also would reduce a major
area of public concern such as nitrate leaching, heavy metal and pathogen contamination, plant uptake of
sludge borne metals and soil fertility and health.
Candemir and Gülser (2010) studied the effects of different agricultural wastes on some soil quality in-
dexes over two years in a clay field and a loamy sand field. They found that soil organic carbon contents
were around 2% after 30 months in clay while they were generally less than 2% after 7 months in loamy
ҚАЗАҚСТАННЫҢ АӨК ИННОВАЦИЯЛЫҚ ДАМУЫ: АУЫЛШАРУАШЫЛЫҚ, ВЕТЕРИНАРЛЫҚ ЖӘНЕ
ТЕХНИКАЛЫҚ ҒЫЛЫМДАРДЫҢ ДАМУ ТЕНДЕНЦИЯЛАРЫ
ИННОВАЦИОННОЕ РАЗВИТИЕ АПК КАЗАХСТАНА: ТЕНДЕНЦИИ РАЗВИТИЯ СЕЛЬСКОХОЗЯЙСТВЕННЫХ,
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sand. Hazelnut husk and tea waste had the greatest effect on soil respiration in clay and loamy sand soils,
respectively.
4.CONCLUSION
The assesment of soil quality is an important for defining the sensitivity of soil to damage and need to
consider the sustainable management of soils. Soil quality should be defined with a reference to the function
of soil because for a soil that is a good quality for one purpose may be a poorer quality for another purpose.
Therefore in sustainable labd management soil quality should be considered with respect to not only physical
and chemical quality indicators but also biological indicators due to its multifunctionality because of possible
change of the land management. Soil biological indicators can be improved with aadition of organic wastes
into soil.
References:
1 Candemir, F., Gülser, C., 2010. Effects of different agricultural wastes on some soil quality indexes
at clay and loamy sand fields. Communication in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 42 (1):13-28.
2 Carter, M.R., Gregorich, E.G., Anderson, D.W., Doran, J.W., Janzen, H.H., Pierce, F.J., 1997. Con-
cepts of soil quality and their significance. In: Soil Quality, For Crop Production and Ecosystem
Health. Gregorich, E.G., Carter, M.R. (Eds.) Elsevier Science Publications, New York, USA.
3 Doran, J.W., Parkin, T.B. 1994. Defining and assessing soil quality. In: Defining soil quality for a sus-
tainable environment. Doran, J.W., Coleman, D.C., Bezedick, D.F., Stewart, B.A. (Eds.) Soil
Science Society America Special Publications No. 35, ASA-SSSA, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
4 Doran, J.W., Safley, M. 1997. Defining and assessing soil health and sustainable productivity. In:
Biological indicators of soil health. Pankhurst, C. (Ed.) CAB International, Wallingford, UK. pp.1-
28.
5 Edwards, C.A., Bohlen, P.J., Linden, D.R., Subler, S., 1995. Earthworms in agroecosystems. In:
Earthworm ecology and biogeography. Hendrix, P.F. (Ed.) Lewis, Boca Raton. pp.185-206.
6 Gregorich, E.G., Careter, M.R., Doran, J.W., Pankhurst, C.E., Dwyer, L.M., 1997. Biological
Attributes of Soil Quality. In: Soil quality, for crop production and ecosystem health. Gregorich,
E.G., Carter, M.R. (Eds.) Elsevier Science Publications, New York, USA.
7 Karlen, D.L., Mausbach, M.J., Doran, J.W., Kline, R.G., Haris, R.F., Schuman, G.E., 1997. Soil quali-
ty:a concept, definition, and framework for evaluation. Soil Science Society America Journal 61:
4-10.
8 Kızılkaya, R., Bayraklı, B., 2005. Effects of N-enriched sewage sludge on soil enzyme activities. Ap-
plied Soil Ecology 30(3): 192-202.
9 Kızılkaya, R., Hepşen, Ş., 2007. Microbiological properties in earthworm Lumbricus terrestris L. cast
and surrounding soil amended with various organic wastes. Communication in Soil Science and
Plant Analysis 38(19-20): 2861-2876.
10 Lal, R., 1994. Methods and guidelines for assessing sustainable use of soil and water resources in
the tropics. Soil Management Support Services, USDA-NRCS, Washington DC, USA. pp. 78.
11 Loveland, P., Webb, J., 2003. Is there a critical level of organic matter in the agricultural soils of
temperate regions: A review. Soil and Tillage Research 70: 1-18.
12 Shukla, M.K., Lal, R., Ebinger, M., 2004. Soil quality indicators for the Northern Appalachian expe-
rimental watersheds in Coshocton Ohio. Soil Science 169(3): 195-205.
13 USDA, 1999. Soil Quality Test Kit Guide. Agricultural Research Service & Natural Resource Con-
servation Service, Soil Quality Institute, USDA, USA.
14 Wienhold, B.J., Andrews, S.S., Karlen, D.L., 2004 Soil quality: A review of the science and expe-
riences in the USA. Environmental Geochemistry and Health 26: 89-95.
ҚАЗАҚСТАННЫҢ АӨК ИННОВАЦИЯЛЫҚ ДАМУЫ: АУЫЛШАРУАШЫЛЫҚ, ВЕТЕРИНАРЛЫҚ ЖӘНЕ
ТЕХНИКАЛЫҚ ҒЫЛЫМДАРДЫҢ ДАМУ ТЕНДЕНЦИЯЛАРЫ
ИННОВАЦИОННОЕ РАЗВИТИЕ АПК КАЗАХСТАНА: ТЕНДЕНЦИИ РАЗВИТИЯ СЕЛЬСКОХОЗЯЙСТВЕННЫХ,
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MACRO NUTRİENT CONTENTS AND SOME SOİL PROPERTİES ALLOCATED
TO WHEAT PRODUCTİON İN MERZİFON, TURKEY
Rıdvan Kızılkaya
1,2
, İzzet Akça
1,3
, Vedat Ceyhan
1,4
,
Bilal Cemek
1,5
, E.Selim Köksal
1,5
, Hüsnü Demirsoy
1,6
1
Agrobigen R&D Ltd.Co., Samsun Technopark, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey
2
Ondokuz Mayis University, Faculty of Agriculture, Soil Science & Plant Nutrition Dept., Samsun, Turkey
3
Ondokuz Mayis University, Faculty of Agriculture, Plant Protection Dept., Samsun, Turkey
4
Ondokuz Mayis University, Faculty of Agriculture, Agricultural Economics Dept., Samsun, Turkey
5
Ondokuz Mayis University, Faculty of Agriculture, Agricultural Structure& Irrigation Dept., Samsun, Turkey
6
Ondokuz Mayis University, Faculty of Agriculture, Horticulture Dept., Samsun, Turkey
Rıdvan Kızılkaya - Agrobigen R&D Ltd.Co., Samsun Technopark, Ondokuz Mayis University,
Ondokuz Mayis University, Faculty of Agriculture, Soil Science & Plant Nutrition Dept., Samsun, Turkey
İzzet Akça - Agrobigen R&D Ltd.Co., Samsun Technopark, Ondokuz Mayis University,
Ondokuz
MayisUniversity, Faculty of Agriculture, Plant Protection Dept., Samsun, Turkey
Vedat Ceyhan - Agrobigen R&D Ltd.Co., Samsun Technopark, Ondokuz Mayis University,
Ondokuz
Mayis University, Faculty of Agriculture, Agricultural Structure& Irrigation Dept., Samsun, Turkey
Bilal Cemek - Agrobigen R&D Ltd.Co., Samsun Technopark, Ondokuz Mayis University, Ondokuz
Mayis University, Faculty of Agriculture,Agricultural Structure& Irrigation Dept.,Samsun,Turkey
E.Selim Köksal - Agrobigen R&D Ltd.Co., Samsun Technopark, Ondokuz Mayis University, Ondokuz
Mayis University, Faculty of Agriculture, Agricultural Structure& Irrigation Dept., Samsun, Turkey
Hüsnü Demirsoy - Agrobigen R&D Ltd.Co., Samsun Technopark, Ondokuz Mayis University, Ondokuz
Mayis University, Faculty of Agriculture, Horticulture Dept., Samsun, Turkey
The study examined the Macro nutrient contents and some soil properties allocated to wheat production
in Merzifon, Turkey. Totally 56 different soil samples, 20 of them from irrigated farming conditions and 36 of
them dry farming conditions, were analyzed. The pH values, electrical conductivity, organic matter, lime con-
tent, total N, available P and K were measured. Research results showed that land allocated to wheat pro-
duction in Merzifon was slightly alkaline and non-saline. Their lime and organic matter contents was mod-
erate, while that of N, P and K were low, moderate and high, respectively. Based on the correlation analysis,
there were positive correlation between lime contents and pH and between total N and organic matter con-
tents in the research area. The study suggests that contents of organic matter and total N should be in-
creased and balance between the lime contents and pH should be controlled.
Key words: Wheat, soil properties, nutrient contents, pH, organic matter
1.INTRODUCTION
Maintaining the quality of soil parameters and increasing the soil productivity without causing land de-
gradation are vital in sustainable agricultural production. Determining the process affected the physical,
chemical and biological parameters of soil and controlling them are the best way to sustainable agriculture.
Putting the nutrition used by crops into the soil is the common application to sustain agricultural production.
Sustainable soil productivity is related to maintain the natural productivity of soil and efficient use of chemical
input via considering the results of environmental impact assessment. Since urban sprawl have limited the
farmland for years, policy makers tend to monitor the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of soil
in order to contribute sustainability. The quantity of plant nutrients and ratio among them in soil are vital for
sustainable production. Lacking of some plant nutrients in soil and unbalance the ratio among the nutrients
cause the quality problems and product loss. Since the production cycle continues permanently, inappro-
priate application related to soil threaten the soil productivity. The only strategy to this threat are monitoring
the nutrient reduction in soil and soil quality and taking the necessary measures. This case made the policy
makers to design soil monitoring system based on the soil analysis.
Turkey has the important agricultural production potential due to geographical advantageous and vast
amount of adaptive crop species. Wheat is one of the cash crop that is highly adaptive to all kinds of soil
conditions and climatic conditions worldwide, as well as Turkey. Wheat is most popular crops not only in Tur-
key but also in most countries all over the world. Wheat production area in the world is approximately 224
million hectares and total wheat production is 720 million tons. The mean wheat yield is 3.21 ton per hectare.
When glancing at the Turkish statistics, Turkish farmers produced 19 million tons of wheat by using 7,9 mil-
lion hectares of land and their yield 2,43 tons per hectare. Turkey constituted the 4% of total world wheat
production area and 3% of the total world wheat production in 2015 (Anonymous, 2015a). The research
ҚАЗАҚСТАННЫҢ АӨК ИННОВАЦИЯЛЫҚ ДАМУЫ: АУЫЛШАРУАШЫЛЫҚ, ВЕТЕРИНАРЛЫҚ ЖӘНЕ
ТЕХНИКАЛЫҚ ҒЫЛЫМДАРДЫҢ ДАМУ ТЕНДЕНЦИЯЛАРЫ
ИННОВАЦИОННОЕ РАЗВИТИЕ АПК КАЗАХСТАНА: ТЕНДЕНЦИИ РАЗВИТИЯ СЕЛЬСКОХОЗЯЙСТВЕННЫХ,
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area, Merzifon, is a typical wheat production area and produced approximately 406 thousand tons of wheat
on 113 thousand hectares of land. The wheat yield is 3.26 tons per hectare, on average (Anonymous, 2015
b).
Increasing the productivity and efficiency to meet the population needs has the priority in many coun-
tries all over the world, as well as Turkey. Productivity and efficiency in wheat production is highly based on
the agricultural practice such as seed selection, fertilizing, sowing and harvesting. Monitoring soil quality and
developing fertilizing program based on the soil analysis are the fundamental practices to efficient fertilizing
and productivity increase. The study, therefore, aimed to determine physical, chemical and biological charac-
teristics and nutrition contents of soil allocated to wheat in Merzifon, Turkey for designing soil quality monitor-
ing system.
2. MATERIAL AND METHODS
2.1. The research area
The study area is called Merzifon, a district of Amasya province of Turkey. Research area located in
the Central Black Sea region of Turkey (Coordinates: 40°52’24’’ North, 35°27’47’’). Merzifon covers an area
of 970 square kilometers (Figure 1). Farm lands constitute 22% of total area. Agricultural activities are being
conducted on a total of 4080 farms. Merzifon has a hot summer continental climate. The mean temperature
is 11.7
o
C and the annual average precipitation is 416.5 mm.
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