The main types of soil in Turkey are calcisols, cambisols and leptosols, and fluvisols. [1]
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By the mid-20th century erosion had reduced the amount of arable land, [2] but the government is combating desertification and erosion in various ways. [3] However, soil erosion is forecast to increase with climate change, with about 30% occurring on agricultural land. [4] Degraded soil could be improved. [5] : 11 Soil surveys have been done at least since the 1950s, [6] [7] and the Ministry of Agriculture has published soil maps. [8] [9] [10] [11]
The Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion is a non-governmental organization as is the Soil Science Society of Turkey. [12] A 2016 study said soil had been degraded and that there was great potential to sequester carbon. [13] There is a public soil database. [14] [Note 1] Increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) in agricultural soils is important, and in 2017 total SOC down to 0.7 m was estimated at 9.23 Pg. [15] Another estimate is slightly under 3000 tonnes/km2. [16] Accumulation of soil organic matter depends partly on cultivation but can be hindered by aridity. [17]
