Geomorphological Development through Periglacial Landform Changes and Its Contribution to Soil Diversity in Mount Ilgar in Northeastern Türkiye

Abstract

Soil development may be impacted by periglacial processes that take place in regions where freezing and thawing episodes predominate. Mount Ilgar (2918 m a.s.l.) is a volcanic mass located on the Lesser Caucasus (4090 m a.s.l.). The objectives of this study were to assess how climate influenced the formation of periglacial landforms in Mount Ilgar, identify the morphological characteristics of each patterned ground by periglacial landforms, and investigate the pedological processes, physicochemical, biological, and mineralogical characteristics of the soils that developed on each of them. Non-sorted steps, mud circles, and stony earth circles are examples of periglacial landforms found on the slopes of the hills & Ouml;k & uuml;zkoku (2804 m a.s.l.) and M & imath;s & imath;kan (2674 m a.s.l.) to the north of Mount Ilgar. In terms of soil physical characteristics, the average aggregate stability and clay content of soils created on non-sorted steps are 43.52% and 8.9%, respectively; these values, however, rise dramatically in soils formed on mud circles and stony earth circles. Chemically, the soils generated on the mud and stony earth circles have lower pH values than the soils formed on the non-sorted steps, but they have higher levels of organic matter. The microbial biomass carbon and basal respiration values of the soils generated on mud circles and stony earth circles are high due to the low pH values and high organic matter contents of these soils, which also have an impact on biological activity. The rate at which soils weather is also influenced by variations in their physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. It is found that the quartz mineral is more prevalent in the soils developed on mud circles landforms, despite the fact that the distribution of the basic clay minerals in the soils is essentially the same. Additionally, smectite clay minerals with a 2:1 layer are present, according to clay mineral analysis, especially in soils that are produced from mud circle formations. One may argue that the influence of local microtopographic landforms on soil formations were the primary cause of the differences in soils on periglacial landforms developed on identical geological material and at similar elevations.