1s6a: Spatial Variability of Soil Organic Carbon Under Different Land Uses in a Semi-Arid Watershed of Turkey

Abstract

Soil organic carbon plays a crucial role in soil quality and health. In this study, we evaluated spatial heterogeneity of soil organic carbon (SOC) using statistical and geostatistical methods under five different land uses in a semi-arid watershed. The study was carried out in Asartepe Dam Basin located in İlhan Çayi sub-catchment of the Sakarya Basin, Ankara, Turkey. Soil surface samples were collected using grid sampling method from five different lands uses, fallow-crop, oak forest, grassland, alluvial cropland, and colluvial cropland. The spatial distribution of SOC was estimated using ordinary kriging by minimizing the estimation error variance, and variogram model was estimated using experimental variogram model.