Assessment of Catena Relationships in Soil Properties within a Transitional Landscape: A Case Study from Northwestern Türkiye

This research was carried out to classify soils located between Gökyaka and Sarpdere villages in the Demirköy district of Kırklareli province (NW Türkiye). Soil profile definitions were made by determining the morphological, chemical and physical properties of 7 profiles. In the HS-1 and HS-4 profiles located around the Balaban stream, the upper part of the sampling area is sloping, and the slope continues at the bottom (slope land). In these profiles, the soil order was Inceptisol. The subgroup of HS-1 was Typic Humixerept due to its high organic matter content, and HS-4 was Typic Haploxerept. The sample points around the HS-2 and HS-5 profiles were at the head of the sloping land. The pH of the soil is generally slightly acidic, no salinity problem is observed, the lime content is usually very low, the organic matter is found to be high in the upper layers, and the textures are clay, clay loam and silty clay loam. According to Soil Taxonomy of Soil Survey Staff, soils are classified as Entisol, Inceptisol and Alfisol. Thus, topography seems to be the main pedologic factor for the formation of soils in a short distance and under the same climatic conditions, in Gökyaka and Sarpdere villages of the Yıldız Mountain in NW Türkiye.