Abstract:
Land degradation is a common environmental problem in Ethiopia and seriously affects the
livelihoods and food security of millions of Ethiopians. This study was designed to investigate the
effects of different land use types and conservation practice on selected soil properties. The
experiment was laid out in the randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three land uses
(grazing land, cultivated land and plantation forest) and two conservation practices (conserved and nonconserved)
that
is
a
total
of
18
composite
soil
samples
(0-20
depth)
were
taken.
For
data
analysis,
the
GLM
procedure
of
SAS
version
9.4
was
used.
The
results
of
the
study
revealed
that
there
was
relative
variation
in
proportion
of
clay, sand and silt content among the land use types though they have the
same textural class. The bulk density of the soils decreased from grazing to cultivated and then to
forest land, while total porosity decreased from forest to cultivated and then to grazing lands. The soil
pH value of the area varied from acidic to moderately acidic (5.31-6.27). The higher mean values of
clay (45.38%), porosity (53.36%), OM (4.01%), were recorded in the plantation forest. In contrast, the
mean values of sand (35.33%) were higher in grazing land. The higher values of silt (32.61%), BD
(1.46 g/cm
3
) and Av.P (13.91 ppm) were recorded under
unconserved cultivated land. The higher pH
(6.03.), TN (0.13%), CEC (31.05cmol
c
/kg) and K
+
(0.62 cmol
c
/kg) values were recorded under
conserved grazing land. From this study, it can be
concluded that the soil fertility and quality were
well maintained relatively under the conserved forest land, while the effect was lowest on the soils of
the unconserved cultivated land. Therefore, the use of integrated soil fertility management should be
used to improve and maintain soil fertility status under different land uses.