Determination of vegetation characteristics and hay yield of Taşoluk natural pasture in Aydın province Karacasu district

This research was carried out in the Taşoluk natural pasture with an average altitude of 1550 meters and a slope of 22%, located in the Yeniköy neighborhood of Karacasu district of Aydın province, during the 2022 vegetation period. In the study, the vegetation characteristics in the natural pasture area and the general soil characteristics of the study area were examined. The plant species, plant-covered area, botanical composition, above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass, grazing capacity and pasture status in the research area were examined and some general characteristics were determined in terms of soil properties. The texture class of the soils in the research area was determined as clayey loam with 66%. The pH value of the soils was determined as slightly acidic with 6.41, the average bulk density value as normal with 1.19 gr/cm³, the salinity as non-salty soil with 0.01 dS/m, the lime amount as slightly calcareous with 0.78% and the organic matter amount as good with 3.8%. The vegetation structure of the research area was examined and 147 taxa belonging to 37 families were identified in the pasture area. The families with the most taxa were Asteraceae with 17 taxa, Lamiacea with 13 taxa and Poaceae with 9 taxa, respectively. The average plant-covered area value of the study area was determined as 44%. In addition, 44.79% of the botanical composition of the pasture area consists of graminaceae, 31.23% of legumes and 23.98% of other families. The average above-ground biomass amount of the pasture area was determined as 302.02 kg/da, and the average below-ground biomass amount was determined as 322.80 kg/da. Grazing capacity was determined as 59.88 BBHB and pasture condition was determined as medium. Research results show that there is intense grazing pressure in the natural pasture area and the pasture vegetation is damaged. This situation reveals the need to reduce grazing pressure and increase quality vegetation cover that protects the soil against erosion by improving natural pastures and applying appropriate improvement methods.