Determination of the changes in physical and hydrophysical soil properties according to land use in the Godrahav watershed

This study was carried out in order to reveal the changes in some physical, hydro-physical and chemical properties of soils in Godrahav Watershed in Artvin-Central district according to different land use. For this purpose, a total of 274 points were placed within the basin boundaries at 500x500m intervals using the gridding method; Depending on the suitability of the topographic structure. Disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were taken from 137 of these points (63 forest, 28 degraded forest, 28 agricultural, 18 pasture areas). After the samples are subjected to the necessary procedures, a total of 24 analyzes were made including sand, clay, silt content, skeleton content, fine part, root amount, water holding capacity, permeability, field capacity, wilting point, available water, bulk density, grain density, porosity, organic matter content, pH, electrical conductivity, clay ratio, colloid/moisture equivalent ratio, erosion ratio, dispersion ratio, mean weight diameter, aggregate stability and aggregation ratio. The differences were investigated by comparing these characteristics with statistical methods (analysis of variance) according to the land use. Differences between means were determined by Tukey's multiple comparison test. As a result of these analyzes, it was described that 18 of the soil properties examined in the research field differ with respect to the land use type. According to erodibility index values, watershed soils were found susceptible to erosion. Key Words: Land use, watershed, soil properties, soil erodibility, Artvin