Soil in Turkey

The main types of soil in Turkey are calcisols, cambisols and leptosols, and fluvisols.^[1]

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 continues in the 21st century^[4] and is forecast to increase with climate change, with about 30% occurring on agricultural land.^[5] Degraded soil could be improved.^[6]: 11Soil surveys have been done at least since the 1950s,^[7][8] and the Ministry of Agriculture has published soil maps.^{[9][10][11][12]}

The Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion is a non-governmental organization as is the Soil Science Society of Turkey.^[13] A 2016 study said soil had been degraded and that there was great potential to sequester carbon.^[14] There is a soil database (Toprak Bilge Sistem) but it is not public.^[15] 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.^[16] Another estimate is slightly under 3000 tonnes/km².^[17] SOC is being measured and mapped.^[18] Accumulation of soil organic matter depends partly on cultivation but can be hindered by aridity.^[19]