Dagnaw Ademe
- Research Scholar South Ethiopia Agricultural Research Institute (SEARI), Arbaminch Agricultural Research Centre, Soil and Water Conservation Research, Arbaminch, Ethiopia Ethiopia South Ethiopia
Abstract
One of the main causes of declining soil resources in Ethiopia has been identified as soil erosion, which in turn negatively affects the agricultural productivity of the country. In order to alleviate the problem of soil erosion, numerous soil and water conservation measures have been implemented during the past ten years in numerous parts of the country through community mass mobilization. In spite of the fact that conservation measures had been implemented in the country, no consensus was found among the studies conducted on the effects of physicochemical soil properties. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of soil and water conservation measures on the physicochemical properties of soil within Qenshiben watershed. There were composite and core soil samples collected from conserved cultivated lands, which had gentle, medium, and steep slopes, as well as adjacent non-conserved cultivated lands. A standard soil laboratory procedure has been used in order to analyze the physicochemical properties of elite soils. According to results of the study, almost all of the selected physicochemical soil properties were statistically significantly affected (p ≤ 0.05) by soil and water conservation measures positively. Significantly, better mean values of clay fraction (48.4%), total porosity (54%), soil reaction (5.5), soil organic carbon (2.64%), total nitrogen (0.22%) and Cation exchange capacity (28.14 cmolc/kg) were found beneath conserved than non-conserved lands having 42.3%, 47%, 5.1, 1.78%, 0.16% and 21.5 cmolc/kg respectively. Furthermore, the result indicated that basic exchangeable K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ cations were significantly better beneath conserved than non-conserved lands. Sand fraction, soil moisture content, available phosphorus, and exchangeable Na+ were not statistically significantly (p ≤ 0.05) affected by the treatment. As a result of the study, it was determined that soil and water conservation measures have great implications for improving the physicochemical soil properties within the Qenshiben watershed. However, soil and water conservation measures have affected soil properties, there was a lower improvement in the status of elite physicochemical soil properties within the studied watershed. Therefore, integrated use of biological and physical soil and water conservation interventions and continuous follow-up of implemented structures would have paramount importance in raising physicochemical soil properties within the Qenshiben watershed.
Keywords: Physicochemical Soil Properties, Qenshiben Watershed, Soil and Water Conservation Measures
References
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| Volume | |
| Received | December 27, 2023 |
| Accepted | April 3, 2024 |
| Published | May 10, 2024 |