Effect of Changes in Land-Use Management Practices on Soil Physicochemical Properties in Kabe Watershed, Ethiopia

Abstract

Change in land-use management practices such as cultivation of steep slopes, overgrazing, and no or limited fallow periods, and slope position affects the quality of soils. As a result, assessing soil physicochemical properties and subsequent implications on soil fertility is essential for understanding the influence of agro-ecosystem revolution on agricultural soil quality and efficiency. In this research, we assessed the effect of land-use management practices on selected soil properties under varying terrain slopes and with and without soil conservation measures in a highly disturbed landscape in the northern part of Ethiopia in 2016. Based on the result, for all slope positions considered—namely, lower (1%-15%), middle (15%-30%), and upper (30%-45% and above)—with and without soil conservation, soil moisture content, porosity, silt, and clay proportions were lower in the cultivated land compared with grazing and forestland-use units. Conversely, soil bulk density and the sand fraction were higher in the cultivated land than grazing and forestland units, relatively. Observing changes in a terrain slope position, sand content of forest, grazing, and cultivated land units increased from lower to upper slope position whereas silt and clay fraction generally showed a decreasing trend from lower to an upper slope positions. In all slope positions with and without conservation practice, cation exchange capacity, exchangeable K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ showed a significant increase from cultivated land to grazing and then forestland. The mean value of pH and electrical conductivity of cultivated lands with and without soil conservation were significantly low in all slope categories. Summarizing the analysis of variance for selected soil chemical properties with different slope positions, except available phosphorous, all chemical properties considered in this study are statistically significant ( P < .05). In summary, the result confirmed that soil properties were strongly influenced by terrain slope, land use, and changes in management practice. Consequently, to conserve soil resources, policymakers need to implement appropriate land conservation strategies based on land-use structure and slope variation.

Spatial variability of soil chemical properties under different land-uses in Northwest Ethiopia

“…According to the rate of [61], the cropland and plantation forestland demonstrated, respectively, low (0.17%) and high total nitrogen (0.35%) contents in the soils (Table 4 and Figs 4 and 5). In line with this, croplands had lower soil OC content [2,23,68]. Higher soil OC and TN contents found in plantation forests and grazing lands are most likely due to grass burning and dung deposition, respectively.…”

“…grazing land could be associated with the presence of basic cations emanated from weathering [23] and the potash obtained from ashes [60]. Available phosphorus (avP).…”

Challenges of Applying Conservation Agriculture in Iran: An Overview on Experts and Farmers’ Perspectives

“…Various scholars have recommended many solutions for CA promotion in communities: localized expertise, unbiased facilitation, subsidized inputs, and robust institutional system support, 53 improvement of personal capacity for applying CA, community support, opportunity to use, increasing farmers' motivation, and perceived content validity of CA, 3 collaboratively designed projects to better suit local needs and context with inclusive implementation arrangements, emphasis on climate resilience benefits of CA rather than economic benefits to manage farmers' expectations, intensification of multidisciplinary research that incorporates farmers' knowledge and experiences to develop suitable, flexible, and low-input CA packages, and stakeholders' participation. 54…”

“…1 The degradation of the land resource base has caused crop yields and factor productivities to decline and has promoted the practice of an alternative production paradigm that is ecologically sustainable as well as profitable. [2][3][4] Conservation Agriculture (CA) is an approach for managing agricultural ecosystems that leads to achieving sustainable agriculture by minimizing soil degradation and soil erosion and maintaining crop residue and crop diversity 1,5 in the world, especially in developing countries. According to global estimates in 2017, about 180 million hectares of land in the world has been brought under this type of agriculture.…”

Comparing the Hydrological Response of Forested Headwaters (Unregulated and Regulated with Check Dams) under Mediterranean Semi-Arid Conditions

“…Moreover, it can be presumed that the large forest cover of the studied headwaters, which has not been affected by noticeable changes over the last 60 years, has played an important role in keeping low runoff and erosion rates. In addition, land-use changes, such as cultivation of steep slopes, land abandonment, and overgrazing, which may increase sediment flows or declines in soil fertility [100], have not been observed. Thus, the check dam actions are less important than in highly dynamic and unstable catchments.…”