Fertility Status of Agricultural and Pasture Soil Affected by Wind Erosion in Central Anatolia

This investigation was carried out to determine the fertility status and geological past of agricultural and pasture soil of the Karapınar District, which has been affected, by severe wind erosion and desertification. The scope of this project was envisaged by DESIRE (an EU-supported program). In this study, 74 soil samples were taken in a layer of 0-30 cm from the agricultural and pasturelands and analyzed in July 2007. According to the results, the soil has a generally high alkaline pH and is very low in salinity, low in organic matter, excessive in lime and sandy-clay-loam in texture. In the soil showing a high level of erosion and desertification symptoms, in the average values of macro and micronutrients, P was low, K and Ca were high, Mg and Cu were sufficient, whereas, Fe, Zn and Mn were insufficient. While the pH, lime and Fe contents of the agricultural soil were lower than that of pasture soil, the other results were higher than that of the pasture soil. Most of the flat and low areas are covered with the muddy material of an ancient lake or the sandy material of a recent sand deflation origin.