title: Assessment of soil quality index for wheat and sugar beet cropping systems on an entisol in Central Anatolia.
abstract: The sustainable use of agricultural lands is significantly affected by the implemented management and land processing methods. In sugar beet and wheat cropping, because the agronomic characteristics of plants are different, the tillage methods applied also exhibit significant variability. Soil quality concept is used, as a holistic approach to determining the effects of these applications on the sustainable use of soil. Agricultural soil quality evaluation is essential for economic success and environmental stability in rapidly developing regions. At present, a variety of methods are used to evaluate soil quality using different indicators. This study was conducted in one of the most important irrigated agriculture areas of Çumra plain in Central Anatolia, Turkey. In the soil under sugar beet and wheat cultivation, 12 soil quality indicators (aggregate stability (AS), available water capacity (AWC), surface penetration resistance (PR0-20), subsurface penetration resistance (PR20-40), organic matter (OM), active carbon (AC), potentially mineralizable nitrogen (PMN), root health value (RHV), pH, available phosphorus (AP), potassium (K), and macro-micro elements (ME) (Mg, Fe, Mn, and Zn)) were measured and scored according to the Cornell Soil Health Assessment (CSHA) and the Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF). The differences among 8 (AS, AWC, PR0-20, PR20-40, AC, PMN, AP, and ME) of these 12 soil quality characteristics measured in two different plant cultivation were found statistically significant. The result of the soil quality evaluation with scoring function in the examined area revealed a soil quality score of 61.46 in the wheat area and of 51.20 in the sugar beet area, which can be classified as medium and low, respectively. Low soil quality scores especially depend on physical and biological soil properties. Therefore, improvement of soil physical and biological properties with sustainable management is necessary to enhance the soil quality in the study area soils.
authors.affiliation: Agriculture Faculty, Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Selcuk University, 42079, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cevdet
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Şeker
authors.affiliation: Agriculture Faculty, Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Selcuk University, 42079, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hasan Hüseyin
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Özaytekin
authors.affiliation: Agriculture Faculty, Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Selcuk University, 42079, Konya, Turkey. hnegis@selcuk.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Hamza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Negiş
authors.affiliation: Agriculture Faculty, Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Selcuk University, 42079, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: İlknur
authors.initials: İ
authors.lastname: Gümüş
authors.affiliation: Agriculture Faculty, Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Selcuk University, 42079, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mert
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dedeoğlu
authors.affiliation: Agriculture Faculty, Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Selcuk University, 42079, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Emel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Atmaca
authors.affiliation: Agriculture Faculty, Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Selcuk University, 42079, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ümmühan
authors.initials: Ü
authors.lastname: Karaca
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D027461:Beta vulgaris; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis; D018556:Crops, Agricultural; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis; D018517:Plant Roots; D011188:Potassium / Q000032:analysis; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis; D014908:Triticum; D014421:Turkey; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014131:Trace Elements; D014867:Water; D010758:Phosphorus; D002244:Carbon; D009584:Nitrogen; D011188:Potassium
keywords: CSHA; Cropping system; SMAF; Soil quality; Soil quality score