EFFECTS OF SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION PRACTICES ON SOIL PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES UNDER DIFFERENT LAND USES IN KEBENA SPECIAL DISTRICT, CENTRAL ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Soil erosion is among the foremost causes of declining soil resources in Ethiopia; the ever-increasing population has driven the populace to inhabit marginal frontiers worsening soil erosion and food insecurity. The purpose of the study was to assess the effect of land use types and soil and water conservation practices on soil properties in kebena area, central Ethiopia. A 3x2x2 factorial completely randomized block design (RCBD) was employed to investigate the impact of three land uses (grazing land, cultivated land, and plantation forest), two conservation practices (conserved and unconserved) and two soil depth (0-20 cm and 20- 40 cm) on soil physicochemical properties in Kebena special District, Central Ethiopia. The result showed that most of the selected soil physicochemical properties were affected by land use types and soil and water conservation measures. The highest clay (47.33%), moisture content(13.12%), soil pH (7.43), organic matter(5.91), organic carbon (3.60), total nitrogen (0.25), cation exchange capacity (29.26), available phosphorus(18ppm), exchangeable calcium (20.89 ppm), and magnesium (8.23 ppm) were recorded in the conserved plantation forest of the upper surface layer (0-20 cm). While the highest bulk density (1.37g/cm3) was recorded under unconcerned cultivated land of the upper surface layer (0-20 cm). Further more, ,the interaction effects of land use types, conservation practices and sois depth was not significantly (p<0.05)influenced exchangeable sodium and potassium. However, the highest sodium (0.85 ppm) was recorded under conserved land of both upper and lower surface layer. These results underscore the critical need for widespread implementation of soil and water conservation practices in the study area. To enhance community adoption of these practices, further efforts are required to raise awareness and promote sustainable land management strategies that improve soil health and food security. exchangeable sodium was recorded at conserved plantation forest (0.9 ppm) and the plantation forest of lower surface layer (20-40 cm) (0.79ppm) and again the highest