Investigation of Some Land and Soil Properties by Geographical Information System Analysis: Van Province Land and Soil Properties

In this study, some land and soil characteristics of Van province, located in Turkey's Eastern Anatolia Region, are intended to be identified, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with the creation of the database. The studied area is 2.075.900 hectares. In this research, provincial soil characteristics were determined and mapped by using data created by General Directorate of Rural Services (Mülga). In the study, first elevation model of the land was obtained from the topographic map of Van province. Using the obtained model, slope, aspect, elevation and relief maps were created. According to the results of the study, while 24.63% of the total area of Van had slope values less than 6%, 40.53% had slope values between 6-30%. Sloping areas below 30% are seen in 64.16% of the province. The largest group of soils in the province of Van are chestnut soils with a ratio of 49.21%. This group is followed by lime-free brown soils with a ratio of 15.62% and brown soils with a ratio of 13.00%. When the land use map is examined, 61.03% of the study area consists of pasture and 14.55% of it covers dry agricultural land. It was determined that 77.20% of the study area had moderate, severe and very severe erosion classes. 16.39% of the study area consists of I., II. and III. class land areas. In terms of soil depth, it was determined that 23.71% of the area had very shallow and shallow soil characteristics.