Mapping the Local Distribution of Some Physico-chemical Properties of the Soils of the Meriç Delta Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Year 2025, Volume: 35 Issue: 4, 693 - 706, 25.12.2025

Hüseyin Sarı , Gökben Topal

https://doi.org/10.29133/yyutbd.1673659

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyse the some physical and chemical properties of the soils of the Meriç Delta, which is located in northwestern Türkiye and has a high agricultural potential, and to investigate the relationship between these properties and plant nutrients. Due to its alluvial soil, the Meriç Delta is a fertile agricultural area and the soil properties of the region directly affect agricultural productivity. In the study, pH, organic matter, lime and essential nutrients were analysed in 89 soil samples taken from 30 different sites at a depth of 0-90 cm. Soil texture, organic matter content, electrical conductivity and nutrient spatial distribution were mapped using Geographic Information Systems and correlation tests were carried out. The data obtained show that there is a strong positive relationship between the percentage of clay and organic matter, and that the percentage of silt is positively correlated with electrical conductivity (EC). A significant relationship was found between soil pH and organic matter, with higher pH values increasing the amount of organic matter. The results showed that nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and iron are better retained in areas with high organic matter. In addition, high levels of electrical conductivity were found to reduce the bioavailability of zinc. A negative relationship was found between potassium and sand percentage and it was observed that the potassium ratio decreased as the amount of sand increased. The results of the study provide important data for improving the soils of the Meriç Delta for sustainable agricultural practices. Increasing soil organic matter content, optimising pH levels and maintaining nutrient balance are recommended to sustainably increase agricultural productivity. This study provides a valuable resource for improving the agricultural potential of the region and developing appropriate soil management strategies for sustainable agricultural practices.

Keywords

Meric Delta , Soil Properties , Nutrient Elements , Geographic Information Systems

Project Number

NKUBAP.03.YL.22.418

References

• Altunbaş, S., Gözükara, G., & Demirel, B. Ç. 2020. Determination of soils properties and distributions developing on different fluvial deposits in Aksu Plain. Ege Üniv. Ziraat Fak. Derg., 57(3), 381-391 https://doi.org/10.20289/zfdergi.638112.
• Bağdatlı, M. C. (2023). Spatial evaluation of land and soil properties with geography information systems (GIS): The case study from Meriç district of Thrace region in Türkiye. Turkish Journal of Agriculture-Food Science and Technology, 11(12), 2394–2401.
• Bağdatlı, M. C., & Can, E. (2021). Spatial evaluation of land and soil properties in the example of Nevşehir province, Türkiye. International Journal of Engineering Technologies and Management Research, 8(7), 90–103.
• Behera, S. K., & Shukla, A. K. (2015). Spatial distribution of surface soil acidity, electrical conductivity, soil organic carbon content and exchangeable potassium, calcium and magnesium in some cropped acid soils of India. Land Degradation & Development, 26(1), 71–79.
• Bouyoucos, G. J. (1951). A recalibration of the hydrometer method for making mechanical analysis of soils. Agronomy Journal, 43, 434–438.
• Brady, N. C., Weil, R. R., & Buckman, H. O. (2008). The nature and properties of soils (14th ed.). Prentice Hall.
• Cheng, X., Duan, Z., & Tan, M. (2016). Restoration affect soil organic carbon and nutrients in different particle‐size fractions. Land Degradation & Development, 27(3), 561-572.
• Cheng, Y., Wang, J., Mary, B., Zhang, J., Cai, Z., & Chang, S. X. (2014). Soil pH has contrasting effects on gross and net nitrogen mineralizations in adjacent forest and grassland soils in central Alberta, Canada. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 57, 848-857.
• Dengiz, O., et al. (2022). Determination of the relationship between rice suitability classes and satellite images with different time series for Yeşil Küre farm lands. Yuzuncu Yıl University Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 32(3), 507-526.
• Eken, G., Bozdoğan, M., Karataş, A., Kılıç, D., & Gem, E. (2005). Turkiye's important natural areas - Selective areas of new conservation zones. Protected Nature Areas Symposium (Vol. 8, No. 10, pp. 133–140). [Conference proceeding]
• Fageria, N. K., & Baligar, V. C. (2008). Ameliorating soil acidity of tropical Oxisols by liming for sustainable crop production. Advances in Agronomy, 99, 345–399.
• FAO. (1990). Micronutrient assessment at the country level: An international study (FAO Soils Bulletin No. 63). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
• Follet, R. H. (1969). Zn, Fe, Mn and Cu in Colorado soils (Doctoral dissertation). Colorado State University.
• Göçmen, K. (1976). Alluvial Geomorphology of the Lower Meriç Flood Plain and Delta. Istanbul University Geography Institute Publications (No. 80).
• Hillel, D. (2004). Introduction to environmental soil physics. Elsevier Academic Press. (See Chapter 7: Soil Structure and Aggregation; and Chapter 16: Soil Salinity).
• Hufford, K. M., Mazer, S. J., & Schimel, J. P. (2014). Soil heterogeneity and the distribution of native grasses in California: Can soil properties inform restoration plans? Ecosphere, 5(4), Article 46.
• Karahan, G. and Y. Ş. Yalım (2022). Evaluation of the relationship between infiltration rate and some soil properties under different land-use. Yuzuncu Yıl University Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 32(3), 623-634.
• Kaya, M., & Kurtonur, C. (2003). Research on the ornitho-fauna of Lake Gala and its surroundings (Edirne). Trakya University Journal of Scientific Research, 4(2), 169–179.
• Koca, Y. K., Acar, M., & Turgut, Y. Ş. (2019). Evaluation of quality of agricultural soils with geostatistical modeling. Harran Tarım ve Gıda Bilimleri Dergisi, 23(4), 489–499. https://doi.org/10.29050/harranziraat.556103
• Köse, E. (2015). Flora of the Meriç Delta and its surroundings (Master's Thesis). Trakya University, Institute of Science , Edirne, Türkiye.
• Lal, R. (2004). Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security. Science, 304(5677), 1623–1627.
• Lal, R. (2006). Enhancing crop yields in the developing countries through restoration of the soil organic carbon pool in agricultural lands. Land Degradation & Development, 17(2), 197–209.
• Lehmann, J., & Kleber, M. (2015). The contentious nature of soil organic matter. Nature, 528(7580), 60–68.
• Lindsay, W. L., & Norvell, W. A. (1969). Development of a DTPA micronutrient soil test. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 35(4), 600–602.
• Marschner, H. (2012). Marschner’s mineral nutrition of higher plants (3rd ed.). Academic Press.
• Mengel, K., & Kirkby, E. A. (2012). Principles of plant nutrition (4th ed.). International Potash Institute.
• Munns, R., & Tester, M. (2008). Mechanisms of salinity tolerance. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 59, 651–681.
• Namozov, N., Saidova, M., Kadyrova, D., Rasulov, K., & Tursinbaev, M. (2023). Description of the status of supply of humus and nutrient elements of desert pasture soils based on geoinformation systems. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/xxx/xxx/xxx
• Nkwunonwo, U. C., Okeke, F. I., Chiemelu, E. N., & Ebinne, E. S. (2019). Geospatial technology potentials in reawakening the consciousness of soil distribution in Nigeria’s north-central region and mediating the herdsmen-farmers conflicts. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 7(2), 156–170.
• Olsen, S. R. (1954). Estimation of available phosphorus in soils by extraction with sodium bicarbonate (USDA Circular No. 939). U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Özhatay, N., Byfield, A., & Atay, S. (2005). Turkey's 122 Important Plant Areas, WWF Turkey, Istanbul,
• Qadir, M., & Oster, J. D. (2004). Crop and irrigation management strategies for saline-sodic soils and waters aimed at environmentally sustainable agriculture. Science of The Total Environment, 323(1-3), 1-19.
• Qadir, M., & Schubert, S. (2002). Degradation processes and nutrient constraints in sodic soils. Land Degradation & Development, 13(4), 275-294.
• Quan, Q., & Shen, B. (2012). A soil sampling method based on field measurements, remote sensing images and Kriging technique. Advanced Materials Research, 383, 5350-5356.
• Rawls, W. J., Pachepsky, Y. A., Ritchie, J. C., Sobecki, T. M., & Bloodworth, H. (2003). Effect of soil organic carbon on soil water retention. Geoderma, 116(1-2), 61-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7061(03)00094-6
• Rengasamy, P. (2010). Soil processes affecting crop production in salt-affected soils. Functional Plant Biology, 37(7), 613-620.
• Richards, L. A. 1954. Diagnosis and Improvement of saline and alkali soils. United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook No.60
• Sağlam Köşker, (2015) Basin management group 3rd meeting, evaluation of the Meriç River basin, Ankara
• Şatır, O. and S. Berberoğlu (2021). Evaluation of land use suitability for wheat cultivation considering geo-environmental factors by data dependent approaches. Yuzuncu Yıl University Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 31(3), 528-542.
• Şenyer, N., Akay, H., Odabas, M. S., Dengiz, O., & Sıvarajan, S. (2022). Land quality index for paddy (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation area based on deep learning approach using geographical information system and geostatistical techniques. Yuzuncu Yıl University Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 33(1), 75-90.
• Shit, P. K., Bhunia, G. S., & Maiti, R. (2016). Spatial analysis of soil properties using GIS based geostatistics models. Modeling Earth Systems and Environment, 2, 1-6.
• Soil Survey Division Staff, (1993). Soil survey laboratory methods and procedures for collecting soil samples. soil survey ınvestigation report No:1 USDA. Washington DC., USA
• Sollins, P., Homann, P., & Caldwell, B. A. (1996). Stabilization and destabilization of soil organic matter: mechanisms and controls. Geoderma, 74(1-2), 65-105.
• Sparks, D. L. (2003). Environmental soil chemistry (2nd ed.). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012656446-4/50001-3
• Sparrow, L., Belbin, K., & Doyle, R. (2006). Organic carbon in the silt+ clay fraction of Tasmanian soils. Soil Use and Management, 22(2), 219-220.
• Tokatli, C. (2018). Essential and toxic element bioaccumulations in fishes of gala and siğirci lakes (Meriç River Delta, Türkiye). Acta Alimentaria, 47(4), 470-478. https://doi.org/10.1556/066.2018.47.4.10
• Tokatli, C., & Islam, M. S. (2022). Spatiotemporal variations and bio-geo-ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in sediments of a wetland of international importance in Türkiye. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 15(1), 121.
• Tripathi, R., Nayak, A., Shahid, M., Raja, R., Panda, B., Mohanty, S., Kumar, A., Lal, B., Gautam, P., & Sahoo, R. (2015). Characterizing spatial variability of soil properties in salt affected coastal India using geostatistics and kriging. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 8, 10693-10703.
• Tüzüner, A. (1990). Soil and water analysis laboratories handbook. T.C. Tarım ve Köy İşleri Bakanlığı, Köy Hizmetleri Genel Müdürlüğü, 61-73, Ankara. (In Turkish)
• Walkley, A., & Black, I. A. (1934). An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter, and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Science, 37(1), 29–38.
• White Jr, P. M. (2006). Enhancing soil carbon sequestration with plant residue quality and soil management. Kansas State University.
• Zal N., & Eczacıbaşı, G. B. (2006) Planning of the Lower Meriç Flood Plain as a biosphere reserve, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Anatolian Forestry Research Directorate, Ankara, (2006).