TURKISH JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY, vol.41, no.3, pp.233-241, 2017 (SCI-Expanded)
Plant species exert differential effects on soil mineralogical and micromorphological characteristics. The effect of red pine and oak tree roots on the mineralogical and micromorphological characteristics of rhizosphere soils in two sampling sites in the Goksu catchment was studied. The climate, topography, and bedrock conditions were kept consistent, whereas the plant factor was kept as the only variable in each site. Rhizosphere soils under the canopies of 100 years old and naturally occurring trees were compared via macromorphology, submicroscopy, mineralogy, and physical and chemical properties. The soils of red pine ( RP 1 and RP 2 profiles) were determined to have higher porosity when compared to the soils of the oak tree profiles (Ok(1), Ok(2)). However, the higher amounts of welded/cemented aggregates in the Ok(1) and Ok(2) profiles were probable indicators of maturity and probable stability of the aggregates/MSUs. The dominant clay mineral in sampling site 1 was kaolinite, whereas it was smectite in sampling site 2.