Impacts of Soil and Water Conservation Measures on Selected Soil Quality Attributes at Jima Bako Area, Western Ethiopia

Abstract

The problem of soil erosion is one of the major environmental problems contributing to food insecurity. It needs to attention to carried out conservation measures to reduce the problem of soil erosion and to improve the food insecurity. However, the impact of soil and water conservation measures on soil quality attributes has not been well investigated in the Bako Tibe district, Western Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate the impact of soil and water conservation measures on selected soil quality attributes in the study area. Soil samples were taken from cultivated land (teff and maize) and grazing land from conserved and unconserved sites at the depth of 0-20 cm from top and bottom slope positions. Data were analyzed with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SAS version 9.2 following GLM procedure. The results of the study revealed that soil quality attributes, such as soil bulk density, porosity and soil pH were affected by soil and water conservation practices and slope gradients and results were statistically significant (p < 0.05). With the exception of soil pH, all studied chemical attributes such as Soil Organic Matter, Total Nitrogen, Available Phosphorus, Exchangeable Bases such as K⁺, Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ and CEC of the soil under the conserved and un conserved sites were not affected by SWC practices and slope positions.