Dynamics of soil quality in a conserved landscape in the highland sub humid ecosystem, Northwestern Ethiopia

Tebeje, A K and Abebe, W B and Hussein, M A and Mhiret, D A and Zimale, F A and Desta, G and Assefa, T T and Tilahun, S A and Ahmed, M A (2024) Dynamics of soil quality in a conserved landscape in the highland sub humid ecosystem, Northwestern Ethiopia. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems (TSI), 8. 01-15. ISSN 2571-581X

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Abstract

Several studies have assessed the dynamics of soil quality induced by soil and water conservation (SWC), but many showed disagreement over the efficacy of SWC interventions in the Ethiopian highlands. This study used a before and after soil and water conservation practices (SWCP) comparison approach to evaluate the effect of SWCP on soil quality dynamics. Fifty-four composite and 10 undisturbed soil samples were collected in 2012 (before SWCP) and 2022 (after SWCP). Statistical mean, analysis of variance, and principal component analysis were applied to test the significant differences among treatments. The findings demonstrated that SWCP has significantly improved most of the soil quality indicators such as soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorous, pH, total porosity, field capacity, and available water, and reduced the value of bulk density and coarse fragments. The interaction effect of landscape position and types of structures provided statistically significant results for soil organic matter, total nitrogen, magnesium, calcium, and base saturation. Soil and stone-faced soil bunds treated at lower landscapes were superior in improving soil quality attributes. The soil quality indexing showed, the overall soil quality improvement as a result of SWCP was about 32.15%. The level of improvement for different SWCPs was 32% for stone faced soil bunds and 33% for soil bunds. The findings revealed that SWCP implementation can improve soil quality. Soil organic matter is a key biological quality component that contributed 25% to the soil quality index and highly impacted soil physicochemical properties. We suggest additional assessment of best and integrated land management practices to ensure further improvement in soil quality, crop productivity, and ecosystem services in the subhumid ecosystems.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Research Program : East & Southern Africa
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	landscape, soil erosion, soil quality, sub-humid, watershed management
Subjects:	Others > Soil Others > Watershed Management
Depositing User:	Mr Nagaraju T
Date Deposited:	07 Mar 2024 05:35
Last Modified:	07 Mar 2024 05:35
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/12549
Official URL:	https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs...
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	We are thankful to Ghent University for the support during a short research stay. The sustainable water management under pressure in Ethiopia project was providing a short research stay at Kiel University, Germany.
Links:	Google Scholar

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