Effects of land use types on selected soil physical and chemical properties: The case of Kuyu District, Ethiopia

Year 2019, Volume: 8 Issue: 2, 94 - 109, 01.04.2019

Mulugeta Tufa Asmare Melese Wondwosen Tena

https://doi.org/10.18393/ejss.510744

Cited By: 17

Abstract

Information
about effects of land use types on selected soil physical and chemical
properties is essential in sustainable utilization of soil resources.
Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate effects of land use types on
selected soil physical and chemical properties on Kuyu district, Ethiopia. Totally, 24 composite soil samples were
collected from grass, cultivated, forest and grazing lands by two soil depths (0-20
cm and 20-40 cm) with three replications. The two way
analysis
of variance was used to test the mean differences of the soil physical and
chemical properties. The highest mean
values of sand and clay were recorded in cultivated and grasslands,
respectively. The mean bulk density of the soils ranged from 1.10 and 1.37 g cm^-3
and the mean total porosity ranged from 48.2 to 58.7%, which indicated the less
soil compaction.  The pH ranged from 7.68
to 8.00 while the mean values of OM ranged from 3.15 to 5.02%. However, the
mean values of total N ranged from 0.18 to 0.26%. The mean value of available P
ranged from 1.26 to 5.37 mg kg^-1, which implies that high deficiency
of available P in the study area. The exchangeable basic cations and CEC values
were within high to very high ranges in all land use types. Conversion
of land use types from one to another has adverse effects on soil properties,
especially overgrazing and cultivation of deforested land. Therefore, the proper soil and water
conservation practice are important in the study area to enhance soil fertility
and crop productivity.

Keywords

Cultivated land, forest land, grazing land, soil depth, soil fertility

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