Determination of Soil Thermal Properties Across Seasons in Alkaline–Nonalkaline Soils of Igdır, Türkiye

Abstract

Climate, which has important effects on pedogenesis, affects soils and its structure and mass transport through temperature and precipitation. Soil salinity or alkalinity, which is caused by the effects of climate, parent material, topography, and anthropogenic factors, is one of the important problems of arid and semi-arid regions and has negative effects on soil quality, requiring specific attention due to limited research. In this study, thermal properties were calculated using various classical and improved models in winter, spring, summer, and fall for alkaline and non-alkaline soil. For this purpose, temperature sensors were placed at depths of 0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, and 0.40 m in non-alkaline and alkaline lands, and temperature data were collected from the sensors for 365 days. This study showed that (i) the thermal properties of both soils vary depending on the seasons of the year, and (ii) the thermal properties (thermal conductivity, thermal conductivity coefficient, thermal conductivity, attenuation depth, thermal conductivity coefficient, speed and length of the heat wave) were lower in the alkaline soil. These results could be used for consideration of climate change mitigation in similar semi-arid zones. © 2025 by the authors.