The Effect of Long-Term Different Land-Use Types on Aggregate-Associated Organic Carbon

Abstract

Land use can strongly influence aggregate stability, a key factor in conserving soil organic carbon over extended periods. Therefore, the long-term effects of three different land-use types on aggregate stability (AS) and aggregate-associated organic carbon (AAOC) were assessed in this study. The study was conducted on the campus of Çukurova University, Adana, Türkiye. The land-use types were; arable land (AL, continuously used as cropland since 1974), olive orchard (OO, cultivated as olive trees since 1974), and eucalyptus plantation (EP, established in 1997). In June 2025, soil samples were collected from the surface horizon of each land-use type. The results showed that AS and AAOC differed significantly among the long-term different land-use types. In each land-use type, OO and EP significantly affected AAOC. The highest AS was obtained in OO and EP compared to AL, which is conventionally tilled. The land-use type EP had the highest OC (1.48%), which was 32.1% higher than OO (1.12%) and 80.5% higher than AL (0.82%), followed by OO and AL. The highest AAOC was determined in the 4–2 mm aggregate, followed by the 1–2 mm and 0.5–1 mm aggregates, respectively. The results indicated that orchard and plantation promoted improved aggregation and enhanced SOC retention within surface horizon, whereas conventional tillage showed reduced aggregate stability and carbon retention.

Keywords

• Aggregate
• Land Use
• Organic carbon
• Mediterranean

Uzun Süreli Farklı Arazi Kullanım Türlerinin Agregatla İlişkili Organik Karbon Üzerine Etkisi

Öz

Arazi kullanımı, uzun süreler boyunca toprak organik karbonunun korunmasında önemli bir faktör olan agregat stabilitesini güçlü bir şekilde etkileyebilir. Bu nedenle, bu çalışmada üç farklı arazi kullanım türünün agregat stabilitesi (AS) ve agregatla ilişkili organik karbon (AAOC) üzerindeki uzun dönemli etkileri değerlendirilmiştir. Çalışma, Türkiye’nin Adana ilinde, Çukurova Üniversitesi yerleşkesinde yürütülmüştür. Arazi kullanım türleri; tarım arazisi (AL, 1974’ten beri sürekli olarak tarımda kullanılmaktadır), zeytinlik (OO, 1974’ten beri zeytin yetiştiriciliği yapılmaktadır) ve okaliptüs plantasyonu (EP, 1997 yılında tesis edilmiştir) olarak belirlenmiştir. Haziran 2025’te her arazi kullanım türünün yüzey horizonundan toprak örnekleri alınmıştır. Sonuçlar, AS ve AAOC’nin uzun vadeli farklı arazi kullanım türleri arasında anlamlı farklılıklar gösterdiğini ortaya koymuştur. Her bir arazi kullanımında OO ve EP, AAOC üzerinde önemli etkiler göstermiştir. En yüksek AS, geleneksel olarak işlenen AL’ye kıyasla OO ve EP’de elde edilmiştir. EP kullanım türü, %1.48 ile en yüksek organik karbon (OC) değerine sahip olmuş; bu değer OO’dan (%1.12) %32.1 ve AL’den (%0.82) %80.5 daha yüksek bulunmuştur. En yüksek AAOC, 4–2 mm agregat fraksiyonunda, bunu sırasıyla 1–2 mm ve 0.5–1 mm agregatlar izlemiştir. Elde edilen bulgular, zeytinlik ve plantasyon arazilerinde yüzey horizonunda daha iyi bir agregasyon ve gelişmiş SOC tutulumunu desteklediğini, buna karşın geleneksel toprak işlemenin daha düşük agregat stabilitesi ve karbon tutulumu ile ilişkili olduğunu göstermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Agregat
• Arazi Kullanımı
• Organik Karbon
• Akdeniz

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