Detailed soil survey and site assessments of urban spaces with quick growth potential: Case study of Mustafalar, Adana

Rapidly increasing population in the developing world raised the need of urban development and became more threatening to the farmlands. Adana province has grown 5 times in the last 30 years upon Çukurova's introduction to agriculture, later on industrialism and continuing immigration from country to city at the end of 19th century. In this thesis study in Mustafalar village in Adana province, detailed soil surveys and land evaluation studies which can be used as base for the decision makers complying with the ideal land use ways without threatening natural sources while fulfilling the increasing needs for urban areas were carried out. In the study carried out on 17,320 decare land in and around Mustafalar village, 8 different soil series were detected and these soil series were classified according to Soil Taxonomy in Alfisols, Inceptisol and Entisol orders. As a result of soil survey mapping and evaluation studies, Detailed Soil Survey Map, Land Capability Classification Map, Classification Map in accordance with the law no. 5403 Soil Protection and Land Use Act and Potential Use Map were composed. While there were VI. class lands at the most with 55% rate at the study field of these maps composed, and again 84% of these lands were as Marginal Farmland, 11% as Absolute Farmland and 5% as Non-Agricultural Land according to TKAKK. Moreover, 3-stage land use suggestion maps were formed in and around Mustafalar village for the future years.