Global attention to climate change issues, especially air temperature changes, has drastically increased over the last half-century. Along with population growth, greater surface temperature, and higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, there are growing concerns for ecosystem sustainability and other human existence on earth. The contribution of agriculture to GHG emissions indicates a level of 18% of total GHGs, mainly from carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O). Thus, minimizing the effects of climate change by reducing GHG emissions is crucial and can be accomplished by truly understanding the carbon footprint (CF) phenomenon. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to improve understanding of CF alteration due to agricultural management and fertility practices. CF is a popular concept in agro-environmental sciences due to its role in the environmental impact assessments related to alternative solutions and global climate change. Soil moisture content, soil temperature, porosity, and water-filled pore space are some of the soil properties directly related to GHG emissions. These properties raise the role of soil structure and soil health in the CF approach. These properties and GHG emissions are also affected by different land-use changes, soil types, and agricultural management practices. Soil management practices globally have the potential to alter atmospheric GHG emissions. Therefore, the relations between photosynthesis and GHG emissions as impacted by agricultural management practices, especially focusing on soil and related systems, must be considered. We conclude that environmental factors, land use, and agricultural practices should be considered in the management of CF when maximizing crop productivity.

Here, we review the prediction accuracy for soil properties using portable X‐ray fluorescence (pXRF), mid‐infrared (MIR), and visible near‐infrared (Vis‐NIR) and the factors impacting predictions and its accuracy. In total, 305 published papers were reviewed, and most of them were from Australia, Brazil, China, and the United States. About 44% of papers focused on the prediction of soil organic carbon (SOC) using Vis‐NIR spectra. Partial least squares regression was most frequently used. Most studies sampled Alfisols, Inceptisols, and Entisols, and up to 40‐cm depth. Researcher‐based factors (type or brand of spectrometers, which differ in hardware, spectral range, resolution, and calibration protocols; preprocessing methods; prediction models; and soil analysis methods for calibration) and soil‐based factors (horizon and depth) were explored. MIR spectra had better prediction accuracy with a mean R ² over 0.8 for sand, clay, total N, total C (TC), SOC and soil inorganic carbon (SIC), and cation exchange capacity compared to Vis‐NIR and pXRF. In the past 20 years, prediction accuracy tended to increase for sand, silt, clay, SIC, soil organic matter, and EC when using MIR and Vis‐NIR spectra, and for TC and CaCO ₃ when using pXRF spectra. Preprocessing methods, spectral range, calibration, type of the prediction models (i.e., machine and deep learning), and source of soil spectra (Vis‐NIR, MIR, and pXRF), which are used to reduce noise and multicollinearity, calibrate data, and smooth spectra, all affected the prediction. In general, MIR spectra obtained the highest prediction accuracy for most soil properties. Future studies should focus on the effects of soil‐based factors (parent material, soil mineralogy, pedogenesis, soil type, and horizon/depth) on the prediction accuracy of soil physical and chemical properties.

Long-term addition of manure increases soil organic carbon (SOC), provides nutrient supply, enhances soil quality and crop yield (CY), but may also increase global warming potential (GWP). In this study, a long-term experiment was conducted to investigate impacts of organic dairy manure and inorganic fertilizer on the spatial distribution of soil quality indicators in field scale. The experiment was initiated in 2008 (seven years), and includes three manure and two inorganic fertilizer treatments along with a control (no manure or no inorganic fertilizer addition). The study was set into a randomized complete block design with six treatments and four replications in a total of 24 plots with an equal size each of 6 × 18 m (108 m²). Soil physical, chemical and biological properties (total 26 properties) were considered as the total data set and principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine long-term organic and inorganic fertilizer-induced changes in soil quality. Ordinary kriging interpolation methods were used to predict the spatial distributions of soil quality index (SQI) and mean soil quality values were compared with fertilization treatments by using Duncan’s test. Results showed that most measured soil quality index parameters showed significant differences (p < 0.05). The long-term dairy manure applications had positive impacts on soil quality index parameters where overall SQI scores were higher under high manure (HM) compared to medium manure (MM), low manure (LM), medium fertilizer (MF), high fertilizer (HF), control (CK) by 25%, 27%, 47%, 55% and 92%. A similar trend was observed for CY and GWP. This indicates that long-term dairy manure can be an option to increase SQI values and provide higher CY, however, this may lead to greater GWP.

Soil profile characterization using Vis-NIR and pXRF provides relatively quick measurements, and can be conducted in-situ. The objectives of this study were to i) characterize soil profiles along a catena using soil data and individual or combined Vis-NIR and pXRF data and ii) compare soil color, chemical properties, physical properties, weathering indices, elemental concentrations, Vis-NIR spectra, pXRF8 spectra, pXRF45 spectra, and combined data to determine useful variables for explaining soil variations along the catena using principal component analysis (PCA). Four soil profiles were described and sampled along a catena in the Central Anatolia Region, Eskişehir, Turkey. Soil samples were collected from delineated horizons and analyzed for the content of sand, silt, clay, electrical conductivity (EC), pH, soil organic matter (SOM), CaCO₃, and scanned by Vis-NIR (350–2500 nm) and pXRF (0–8 kV and 0–45 kV) spectrometers. The soil profiles were described as Lithic Xeropsamments, Typic Xeropsamments, and Typic Haploxerepts. It was found that color coordinates (R, G, B, L* and V), physical properties (silt and clay), chemical properties (EC, pH, and CaCO₃), weathering indices (SAF and DI), and elemental concentrations (Fe, Ca, K, Ti, Zn, Rb, Sr, Zr, and Ba) increased from P1 to P3 along the soil catena (summit to backslope) in both topsoil and subsoil. Soil depth, the thickness of soil horizons, and the darkness of soil color increased downslope along the catena. Soil physical properties such as sand, silt, and clay content were more useful variables to characterize soil variation along the catena than chemical properties such as EC, pH, SOM, and CaCO₃. We conclude that proximal soil sensors such as Vis-NIR and pXRF spectra can be successfully used for pedological characterization of young and developing soils along a catena.

Tr en Günümüzde dramatik bir şekilde çekilmeye devam eden Burdur Gölü’nün dinamik su seviyesinde Pliyosen ve Kuvaterner dönemlerde önemli düşüşler meydana gelmiştir. Pliyosen ve Kuvaternerin başlarında, iklimsel parametrelerdeki değişiklikler ve tektonik çökmeler sonucunda, sudan karasal ortama geçen arazileri, farklı büyüklükteki akarsular aşındırarak, taşıdıkları materyalleri Burdur gölünün eski göl tabanlarına depolamışlardır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, alüviyal fanların üzerinde gelişen toprakların pedogenetik ve jeogenetik gelişimi ve özelliklerini tespit etmektir. Araştırma kapsamında alüviyal ana materyal üzerinde gelişen, Kuvaterner yaşlı 12 pedon tanımlanmıştır. Söz konusu pedonlar A-C horizon dizilimine sahiptir. Kuvaterner dönemi boyunca, başta klimatoloji olmak üzere tüm toprak oluşum faktörleri, profillerde B horizonunun oluşmasına yeterli olamamıştır. Ancak toprak oluşum faktörleri ve göl topoğrafyasında meydana gelen değişimler, toprakların morfolojik, fiziksel ve kimyasal özelliklerinde önemli farklılara neden olmuştur. Bu farklılıklar toprak profillerinde; pH değerinin 7.59-8.94, tuzluluk içeriklerinin 0.21-2.93 dS m^-1, kireç içeriklerinin %15.98-46.48, organik madde miktarlarının %0.17-9.40, kil içeriği nin %4.74-70.66, suda çözünebilir anyonlardan; CO₃^-2 0.08-0.68 meq l^-1, HCO₃^- 0.56-3.04 meq l^-1 , Cl^- 1.00-7.80 meq l ^-1, SO₄^-2 0.12-30.97 meq l^-1, değişebilir Na 0.09-3.34 meq 100 g^-1 , değişebilir K 0.10-2.25 meq 100 g^-1 , değişebilir Ca+Mg 9.45-26.39 meq 100 g^-1 , KDK değerleri 11.10-28.39 meq 100 g^-1, ESP değeri nin 0.39-14.05 arasında değişmesine neden olmuştur. Toprak özelliklerindeki bu mekansal farklılıklar ile Burdur Gölü’nün güncel sınırına yaklaştıkça, pedogenetik olarak ayrışma-değişim-dönüşüm gibi işlemlerin göreceli olarak azaldığı tespit edilmiştir. At the dynamic water level of the Burdur Lake, which continues to be drawn dramatically today, significant decreases have occurred in the pliocene and quaternary periods. At the beginning of Pliocene and Quaternary, as a result of the changes in climatic parameters and tectonic collapses, the terraces which were transferred from the water to the terrestrial environment were eroded by the streams of different sizes and stored the materials they carried in the old lake bases of Lake Burdur. The aim of this study is to determine pedogenetic and geogenetic development and properties of soils on alluvial fans. In the scope of the study, 12 quaternary pedons developed on the alluvial fans were identified. These pedons have the A-C horizon sequence. During the Quaternary period, all soil formation factors, especially climatology, were not sufficient to form the B horizon in the profiles. However, soil formation factors and changes in lake topography have caused significant differences in morphological, physical and chemical properties of soils. These differences in soil profiles caused ranging from; pH 7.59-8.94 , electrical conductivity 0.21-2.93 dS m^-1, lime %15.98-46.48 , organic matter %0.17-9.40 , clay %4.74-70.66 , CO₃^-2 0.08-0.68 meq l^-1, HCO₃^- 0.56-3.04 meq l^-1, Cl^- 1.00-7.80 meq l^-1, SO₄^-2 0.12-30.97 meq l^-1, changeable Na 0.09-3.34 meq 100 g^-1, changeable K 0.10-2.25 meq 100 g^-1, changeable Ca+Mg 9.45-26.39 meq 100 g^-1, CEC 11.10-28.39 meq 100 g^-1, ESP 0.39-14.05 . As these spatial differences in soil characteristics approached the current boundary of Burdur Lake, it was determined that the processes like pedogenetically decomposition-change-transformation decreased relatively.