Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Dec 1;8(12):e12011.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e12011. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Selected physical and chemical properties of soil under different agroecological zone in Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Abiyot Mebrate  1 , Tadesse Kippie  1 , Nigussie Zeray  2 , Getahun Haile  1
Affiliations

Selected physical and chemical properties of soil under different agroecological zone in Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Abiyot Mebrate et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Soil fertility is the ability of the soil to provide favorable chemical, physical and biological characteristics to sustain plant growth. Its physicochemical properties are greatly influenced by altitude and farmer wealth status. This study aimed to examine the differences in selected soil physicochemical properties under three agroecological zone based on altitude gradient (upper, middle, and lower) and wealth class (rich, medium, and poor) in the organic agriculture dominant area of the Gedeo zone, southern Ethiopia. Soil samples were collected from the field under organic agriculture. A total of 216 composite soil samples 3(altitude) 12 (wealth class) 3(replication) and 2 soil depth (0-30 and 30-60 cm) were collected and analyzed for some selected soil physical and chemical properties using standard soil analytical procedures. Data were subjected to a two-way analysis of variance to determine the effects of agroecological zones and wealth status of households on the soil properties. The result showed that soil physical properties such as sand (p < 0.01), clay (p < 0.05) and bulk density (BD) (p < 0.01) were significantly affected by altitudinal gradients. Soil organic carbon (SOC), cation exchange capacity (CEC), total nitrogen (TN) and phosphorus (P) were in the suitable range for agricultural soil, suggesting that the organic agricultural practices employed in the study area might be contributed to improved soil fertility. Soil pH (H2O, (p < 0.01), CEC (p < 0.05), SOC % (p < 0.001), TN % (p < 0.05), P(p < 0.001) and K (p < 0.05) were significantly varied due to difference in agroecological zone. Similarly, wealth class of farmer had significant influence on soil pH (H2O) (p < 0.001), SOC (p < 0.001) and P (p < 0.001). The results highlight the importance of the agroecological zone and wealth status of farmer households on soil fertility improvements in the study area. Hence, during the implementation of the soil fertility policy, considering the altitude and wealth status of the farmer is recommended to improve soil fertility.

Keywords: Chemical soil properties; Gedeo; Physical soil properties; Soil fertility.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Location map of the study area.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Trends of Estimated marginal means of physical properties of surface soil (sand, silt, clay and BD) across the agroecological zone.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abdu A., Tewodros A. Oregon State University; Corvallis, Oregon. Gasa’a: 2013. Gedeo: highland home garden agroforestry system-case study; pp. 45–50. (Farmers’ Strategies for Adapting to and Mitigating Climate Variability and Change through Agroforestry in Ethiopia and Kenya).
    1. Abiyot L. University of South Africa; 2013. The Dynamics of Indigenous Knowledge Pertaining to Agroforestry Systems of Gedeo: Implications for Sustainability. Ph.D. dissertation.
    1. Abiyot M., Tadesse K., Nigussie Z. Determinant factor of plant species diversity in organic agriculture dominated system of Gedeo zone, Southern Ethiopia. Int. J. Ecol. 2021
    1. Abiyot M., Tadesse K., Nigussie Z., Getahun H. Determinants of soil fertility management practices in Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia: logistic regression approach. Heliyon. 2022;8 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Adekunle R., Rasheed A., Ashira R. Soil fertility challenges and Biofertiliser as a viable alternative for increasing smallholder farmer crop productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. Cogent Food Agric. 2017;3:1.

LinkOut - more resources