ASSESSMENT OF SOIL PROPERTIES, ACIDITY STATUS AND FARMERS PERCEPTION UNDER DIFFERENT LAND USE TYPES IN ALKET WONZI WATERSHED, FARTA DISTRICT, NORTHWEST ETHIOPIA

MESERET, MUCHE

dc.contributor.author	MESERET, MUCHE
dc.date.accessioned	2018-01-05T03:49:37Z
dc.date.available	2018-01-05T03:49:37Z
dc.date.issued	2018-01-05
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/8391
dc.description.abstract	This research was conducted in Alket Wonzi watershed, Farta district, Northwest of Ethiopia on February, 2014. It aimed to assess soil acidity status in different land use types and the farmers’ views and management practice to overcome soil acidification. Soil samples were taken from four land use types (natural forest, cultivated land, plantation forest and grazing land). Soil samples were taken at 0–25 cm depth, from all land use types and analysed to assess the acidity status. Structured questionnaire survey of the households was applied to understand the root causes and traditional management practice on soil acidity. Result showed that significant (p<0.01) difference in clay content was observed in all the four land use types and the soil textural classes lies on clay loam. Significantly higher (p<0.05) soil pH (H2O; KCl) and lower exchangeable acidity and Acid saturation (P<0.01) was recorded at soils in the natural forest. Similarly, significantly higher (p<0.01) exchangeable bases (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+), Total Nitrogen, Organic Matter, Available potassium and Cation Exchange Capacity was also registered from soils of the natural forest compared to the other land use types. The study further revealed that there was significant (p<0.05) difference in Available Phosphorus among the different land use types. However, there was no significant difference in silt fraction, sand, Bulk Density and exchangeable Sodium under soils of different land uses. The results obtained from the study indicated that soils of grazing, cultivated land and plantation forest are strongly acidic (pH<5.5). Therefore, appropriate reclamation method should be lunched to improve agricultural productivity and sustainability of the study area. Furthermore, the questionnaire survey of household heads revealed that the farmers understood the effect of soil acidity (Samba Merate), which has poor performance for crop productivity. They noted that erosion and poor agricultural practice causes for the existence of soil acidity. They further pointed out that, planting Eucalyptus nearby crop land severely threaten crop productivity. Moreover, the study suggests that accurate information on soil properties under different land use types to assess soil acidity, will imperative the designing of sound for soil fertility maintenance and sustainable agricultural production. Key words: Farmer perception, Land use types, Soil acidity, Soil physiochemical properties	en_US
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.subject	biology	en_US
dc.title	ASSESSMENT OF SOIL PROPERTIES, ACIDITY STATUS AND FARMERS PERCEPTION UNDER DIFFERENT LAND USE TYPES IN ALKET WONZI WATERSHED, FARTA DISTRICT, NORTHWEST ETHIOPIA	en_US
dc.type	Thesis	en_US