Soil Erosion in Steep Sweet Cherry Orchard and Anatomical Structure of Sweet Cherry Roots

Lapseki town of Canakkale with available geographical and climate conditions is a significant sweet cherry production center of Turkey. Sweet cherry orchards are commonly established over steep terrains and soil erosion over these terrains greatly influences sustainable land management. Soil loss from such an orchard was determined through measuring the height of mounds around the tress. The total annual soil loss was calculated as 2.14 ton/ha/year. The eccentric structure was observed in annual rings of sweet cherry tree roots resulted in significant differentiations in trachea of xylems. Especially with narrowing annual rings, remarkable increases were detected in trachea diameters as a response to erosion. Current approach study provided a new perspective for understanding erosion process and size and put forth yield-reducing anatomical differentiations in plants.