Effect of rotational grazing on some soil properties in Düzce of Turkey

Effect of rotational grazing on some soil properties in Duzce of Turkey Abstract:  Pastures, one of the four important vegetation types in the world, have great potential not only in terms of forage production for animals, but also in terms of biological diversity. Yet, the pressure of continuous and overgrazing on pastures in Turkey affects both vegetation and soil negatively. Overgrazing leads to soil compaction, thus, soil permeability is influenced in a negative way. It is possible to remove these negative influences via amendment methods or reorganizing grazing. In this study, it was researched how short duration rotational grazing influenced some soil properties in a pasture where uncontrolled heavy grazing for many years in Duzce. As a result of the study, soil properties affected by rotational grazing at most were permeability and bulk density. While the value of bulk density increased from 1.19 gr cm-3 to 1.30 gr cm-3 in the continuous grazing pastures, it decreased from 1.38 gr cm-3 to 1.26 gr cm-3 in the rotational grazing pastures. It was demonstrated in the study that organizing grazing systems in the pastures can improve soil permeability and bulk density to a great extent. Keywords:  Rotational grazing, bulk density, permeability, pasture Duzce yoresinde munavebeli otlatmanin bazi toprak ozellikleri uzerine etkisi Ozet:  Dunyadaki dort onemli vejetasyon tipinden bir olan meralar hayvanlara kaba yem temin etmenin yani sira biyolojik cesitlilik acisinda da onemli bir potansiyele sahiptir. Ancak ulkemizde mera alanlari uzerindeki duzensiz ve asiri otlatma baskisi gerek bitki ortusu gerekse toprak uzerinde olumsuz etkiler olusturmaktadir. Asiri otlatmayla birlikte toprak sikismasi olmakta ve topraklarin su gecirme ozelligi olumsuz etkilenmektedir. Bu olumsuz etkiler mera alanlarinda uygulanacak islah yontemleri veya otlatmanin duzenlemesi ile duzeltilebilmektedir. Bu calismada da Duzce ilinde uzun yillar kontrolsuz bir sekilde agir otlatma yapilan bir mera alaninda kisa sureli munavebeli otlatmanin bazi toprak ozellikleri uzerine etkisi arastirilmistir. Arastirma sonucunda munavebeli otlatmadan en fazla ve hizli etkilenen toprak ozellikleri gecirgenlik ve hacim agirligi olmustur. Nitekim hacim agirligi degeri 3 yilin sonunda surekli otlatilan alanda 1,19 gr cm-3 den 1,30 gr cm-3 degerine cikarken; munavebeli otlatma yapilan alanlarda 1,38 gr cm-3 den 1,26 gr cm-3 duzeyine dusmustur. Arastirma mera alaninda otlatmanin duzenlenmesi ile topraklarin gecirgenlik ve hacim agirligi ozelliklerinde onemli iyilesmelerin olabilecegini ortaya koymustur. Anahtar Kelimeler:  Munavebeli otlatma, hacim agirligi, gecirgenlik, mera Received (Gelis):  01.03.2016 -  Revised (Duzeltme):  01.04.2016 - Accepted (Kabul):  18.04.2016 Cite (Atif):  Ozcan, M., 2017. Effect of rotational grazing on some soil properties in Duzce of Turkey.  Journal of the Faculty of Forestry Istanbul University  67(1): 29-36. DOI: 10.17099/jffiu.79331