Effect of long-term different land use on soil quality in an Entic Chromoxerert

The differences in land use can potentially affect soil quality. In this respect, this study sought to assess the long-term effect of horticulture and arable lands on the soil quality of the clayey Arıklı soils (Entic Chromoxerert). Physical, chemical, biological and fertility indicators of the soil were analyzed to determine the soil quality index (SQI) using the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and Geographical Information System (GIS) for a 225 ha area of the Arıklı soil series. The physical quality received the highest weight in the study. The highest weights in physical, chemical, biological and fertility quality were obtained in AWC, pH, OC and P indicators, respectively. SQI in arable lands ranged from 38.60 to 68.91%, with a mean of 51.77%. Compared to arable, SQI in horticulture varied within a narrower range and had a higher mean SQI (59.87%). In this study, 74.2% of the area had a low SQI and 25.8% had medium SQI. Conventional soil tillage and burning of stubble residues in the arable lands had a statistically negative effect on SQI. Compared to arable, in horticulture BD, OC, AWC, MBC, BGEA and K had better scores thus improving SQI. The results concluded that conventional soil tillage practice should be abandoned and reduced or no-till practices should be adopted.