Gyttja as a Soil Conditioner: Changes in Some Properties of Agricultural Soils Formed on Different Parent Materials

Kadir Saltalı, Serdar Solak, Ali Özdoğan, Zekeriya Kara and Tuğrul Yakupoğlu ()
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Kadir Saltalı: Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, 46100 Kahramanmaras, Turkey
Serdar Solak: Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, 46100 Kahramanmaras, Turkey
Ali Özdoğan: Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, 46100 Kahramanmaras, Turkey
Zekeriya Kara: Centre for University and Industry Collaboration, Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, 46100 Kahramanmaras, Turkey
Tuğrul Yakupoğlu: Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, Yozgat Bozok University, 66900 Yozgat, Turkey

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: Organic matter is essential in improving the physical, chemical and biological properties of soils. Thus, the organic matter is widely considered a crucial indicator of environmental quality and biodiversity. In this study, the effect of gyttja addition as a soil conditioner on some physical and chemical properties of soils formed on volcanic and serpentine parent materials was investigated. The layout of the incubation study was randomized plots with 3 replications and the study lasted for 8 months to determine the value of gyttja in improving soil quality in two different parent materials. The results showed that pH, EC, total CaCO 3 , soil organic matter (SOM), wet aggregate stability (WSA), structural stability index (SSI), Ca-ex, Mg-ex, Fe-ex and P-av values of volcanic soils were significantly increased with increasing gyttja addition rates, while dispersion ratio (DR), Cu-ex and Cd-ex values were decreased. Likewise, pH, total CaCO 3 , SOM, WSA, SSI, Ca-ex and P-av values of serpentine soils were increased with increasing gyttja rates, while DR, Mg-ex, Fe-ex, Cd-ex, Ni-ex, Mn-ex, Cu-ex and Zn-ex values were decreased. The changes in the values of soil properties were statistically significant. The results demonstrated that gyttja addition overall decreased the erosion susceptibility and heavy metal contents of serpentine and volcanic soils. Moreover, the gyttja addition ameliorated some of the chemical soil properties. Therefore, gyttja could be suggested as a soil conditioner in the remediation of problematic soils.

Keywords: heavy metal; plant nutrient; serpentine; structural stability; sustainable agriculture; volcanic parent material (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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