Effects of Soil and Water Conservation at Different Landscape Positions on Soil Properties and Farmers’ Perception in Hobicheka Sub-Watershed, Southern Ethiopia

Tamrat Sinore,Dinsa Doboch,Rafael Clemente

doi:10.1155/2021/9295650

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of soil and water conservation (soil bund with desho grass and soil bund only) at different landscape positions on selected soil properties and farmers’ perception in the Hobicheka sub-watershed (with an area of 400 ha) of Kechabira District. Composite soil samples were taken from soil bunds with desho grass and soil bunds only at three landscape positions with three replications, whereas 117 respondents were identified using simple random sampling. The result revealed that the clay, soil moisture content, soil pH, OC, TN, Av.P, and CEC were higher in soil bund with desho grass as compared to adjacent soil bund only, whereas, bulk density, silt, and sand contents were higher in adjacent soil bund only compared to soil bund with desho grass. About 83.5% of the respondents were users of soil and water conservation measures and among them, 40.19% perceived that soil bund with desho grass has an effect on soil properties, while 25.35% perceived that soil bund only had better soil and water conservation practices. Respondents’ years of experience, education level, and access to soil and water conservation extension services significantly ( p ≤ 0.1 ) affected their perception of the use of soil bunds with desho grass. Therefore, soil bund with desho grass at appropriate landscape positions by considering farmer perception improves the soil’s physicochemical properties.

Highlights

Soil productivity is deteriorating as a result of soil erosion, nutrient depletion, and organic matter depletion [1, 2], especially in the Ethiopian highlands
To analyze the effect of soil and water conservation on soil properties, composite soil samples were collected from farm land managed by soil bund with desho grass (10-year old) and adjacent soil bund only (10-year old) at various landscape positions
Both soil and water conservation (SWC) strategies had a substantial (p ≤ 0.05) effect on the soil textural fractions (Table 2) except silt contents. e soil bund with desho grass had the highest mean value of clay content (54.44 ± 9.5), while the adjacent soil bund only had the lowest (37.67 ± 5.24) (Table 2). e highest clay percentage in the soil bund with desho grass was due to desho grass improving ground cover and the erosion resistance of clay particles, which reduces the clay fraction

Summary

Introduction

Soil productivity is deteriorating as a result of soil erosion, nutrient depletion, and organic matter depletion [1, 2], especially in the Ethiopian highlands. Cultivated soils do have low fertility status due to their high bulk density, low total porosity, low pH, and very low organic carbon content [6,7,8]. Soil conservation measures can change the physical conditions of the soil such as soil organic matter content, soil structure, water holding capacity, soil bulk density, soil porosity, soil pH, and its workability [11, 12], and the emphasis of soil conservation measures in Ethiopia should be shifted away from the construction of bunds and toward the use of vegetative and agronomic measures that are the most effective measure in erosion control

Methods

Results

Conclusion