Effects of Land Management Types on Surface Soil Properties and Aboveground Herbaceous Biomass Production in Semihumid Region in Turkey

The effects of various land-use regimes on the aboveground herbaceous biomass yield and soil properties were studied in the semihumid region in Turkey. Field soil samples under the four land-use types (grassland I, grassland II, grassland III, and apple orchard) were collected from the experimental sites. The aboveground herbaceous biomass yield was determined from a single May harvest each year during three growing seasons. General statistical tools were used to analyze soil and aboveground herbaceous biomass data. The results indicated that saturated hydraulic conductivity, total porosity, and lime content were significantly less In soils under the gramine pasture, legume pasture, and apple orchard compared to the control site. Plant-available water, soil organic matter, total nitrogen, and available phosphorus were significantly less in soils under grassland II compared to the control site. The general linear model (GLM) indicated that aboveground herbaceous biomass yield was affected by the management type and rain.