Measuring Soil Quality Indicators under Different Climate-Smart Land Uses across East African Climate-Smart Villages

Abstract

The present study assessed soil physical-chemical characteristics as reliable soil health indicators in six climate-smart land use types; agroforestry, community forest, cropland with soil and water conservation (SWC), crop land without SWC, grassland and control across climate-smart villages (CSVs) in Lushoto (Tanzania), Hoima (Uganda), Wote and Nyando (Kenya). Soils were sampled at three depths; 0–15 cm, 15–45 cm and 45–100 cm and then analyzed for bulk density (BD), pH, exchangeable bases (Ca, Mg, K, Na), extractable Fe, Mn, Zn, exchangeable acidity (ExAc), Electrical conductivity (EC), total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN) and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Land use types and sampling depths significantly affected soil properties (p 3) and crop land (1.50 g/cm3) in Kenya and Tanzania, respectively. BD in Ugandan grasslands was statistically lower (p p ≤ 0.05). Soil properties were significantly correlated, a positive correlation between silt % (p p p < 0.05) between pH and clay. The study has shown that improving soil properties using land use systems leads to an increase in soil nutrients.

Keywords

• climate-smart
• land use type
• physical-chemical properties
• soil depth