Determination of the effects of land use differences on some soil properties in Hopa and Kemalpaşa districts of Artvin province

The effects of land use differences and elevation on soil properties were investigated in Hopa and Kemalpaşa districts of Artvin province. The study area is located in the coastal zones of the Eastern Black Sea region, near the Georgian border. In the research, four different land use types (forest, tea, agricultural field, and grassland) and two elevation classes (0–300 m and 300–600 m) were determined. A total of 70 sampling points from 7 different sites (20 forest, 20 tea, 20 grassland, and 10 agricultural field), and two soil depths (0–5 cm and 5–15 cm) were sampled, resulting in a total of 140 disturbed and undisturbed soil core samples at different elevations. From the collected soil samples, analyses were conducted for texture, pH and EC, organic matter, bulk density, coarse fragment content, dispersion ratio, and aggregate stability. These properties were statistically evaluated according to land use types and elevation classes to investigate differences and relationships. The conversion of forest areas into agricultural and tea cultivation areas significantly altered the soil properties. As a result of the study, forest soils exhibited higher values of sand content, pH, organic matter, bulk density, coarse fragment content, dispersion ratio, and aggregate stability compared to other land use types. With increasing elevation in forest areas, sand content, organic matter, and aggregate stability increased, while pH, bulk density, and dispersion ratio decreased.