The relation between the soil organic matter content and grassland quality in oruh Valley (Bayburt) natural grasslands

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between grassland quality and soil organic matter content, OMC in natural grasslands of Demir zü and Ayd ntepe Districts of Bayburt Province in oruh River Valley of Türkiye in 2003. Vegetation studies were performed in 40 zones using modified loop method. As a result, 8 key species were determined for the natural grasslands of this valley. In determination of the key species, Integrated System for Plant Dynamics (ISPD) software package was used. Subsequently, grassland quality degrees and condition classes were determined through Resource and Enviromental Data Interpretation System (REDIS) package software. Grasslands condition classes were dealth with in 4 classes, i.e. poor, medium, good and very good. Soil samples were collected from 0-20 cm depth in each of grassland zones studied to determine OMC of the grassland soils. Study results revealed that 20%, 52% and 28% of the grasslands studied were poor, medium and good quality respectively. OMC of the grassland soils, on the other hand, varied between 0,72% and 11,3%. In general, majority of the soils fell within medium and good classes regarding OMC. Correlation analysis suggested that there was a positive and significant relationship between grassland quality and OMC (R2=0,51). It means the higher the OMC the higher the grassland quality.