Assessing the impacts of sustainable land management practices using
soil water hydraulic properties, penetration resistance, organic matter
and visual quality
Abstract
Sustainable land management practices (SLMP) were evaluated for their
impact on soil hydrophysical properties, soil organic matter (SOM), and
structural quality in Vertisols and Leptosols in Adi-Gudem, Tigray,
Ethiopia, in a region heavily affected by land degradation and recently
impacted by civil war, exacerbating land degradation. The SLMPs were
evaluated across six land use types: area closure (AC), fallow land
(FL), grazing land (GL), conventional tillage (CT), conservation
agriculture (CA), and crop rotation (CR). The highest SOM was recorded
in AC (6.56% in Vertisols, 3.64% in Leptosols), followed by CA and GL
in Vertisols. The lowest SOM levels were observed in CT (2.09% in
Vertisols) and GL (1.32% in Leptosols). Highest infiltration rate,
field-saturated hydraulic conductivity and saturated hydraulic
conductivity were found in AC (1.55, 0.29, and 0.093 cm min
-1 in Vertisols; 1.39, 0.504, and 0.011 cm min
-1 in Leptosols), followed by CA (1.05, 0.16, and
0.068 cm min -1) in Vertisols, while lowest in CT
(0.4, 0.05, and 0.02 cm min -1 in Vertisols; 0.36,
0.07, and 0.011 cm min -1 in Leptosols). Significantly
lower PR was found in AC, FL, and CA compared to other practices. The
lowest bulk density (BD) was in CA, followed by CR and AC in Vertisols,
while the highest was in GL and CT. Leptosols had no significant
differences in BD. The findings emphasize that practices like AC and CA
significantly improve soil health, demonstrating their potential to
rehabilitate degraded lands and maintain resilience, which is critical
for post-war recovery in the region.