Spatio-temporal dynamics of land use patterns on soil health in the Central Black Sea Region

Abstract

The current investigation examines the effects of LULC variation on soil erosion and soil organic carbon at the basin of Çorum Stream of Çorum city in the Central Black Sea Region characterized by semi-humid environmental conditions, for the years 1990, 2001, 2010 and 2021. The research employed a GIS application based on Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) modeling approach, geostatistics, and remote sensing techniques. The findings revealed significant relative changes in LULC types over the study period, relatively 41.1% increase in artificial area. Spatial changes were minimal in agricultural areas and pasturelands. Despite the slight changes observed in soil erosion rates classified by RUSLE, with areas mainly falling into the Very Low–Low erosion rate categories (20.0 ton ha⁻¹ year⁻¹), it is recommended to expand soil conservation practices, particularly in agricultural and pasture areas, to make sure the long-period sustainability of the production system. In addition, When examining the distribution of SOC stocks in the study area according to both LULC and rates of soil erosion, it was found that forested areas exhibited the highest distribution of both low and very low SOC rates as well as very high and high SOC rates, while agricultural and artificial areas showed the lowest distribution.