Land use impacts on physicochemical and microbial soil properties across the agricultural landscapes of Debrekidan, EasternTigray, Ethiopia

Land-use land-cover change due to government policies and strategies to support the livelihood of the community became common practices in the agricultural landscape of Debrekidan in Tigray region, Ethiopia. Regardless of the land-use change happened in this landscape, study on physicochemical and microbial soil properties across the land uses is notably scant and little is known on how farmers could manage their land. The objective of this study was, therefore, to investigate the impact of land-use change on physical, chemical and microbial soil properties. A total of 86 composite soil samples from a depth of 20 cm were collected from four land uses: area closure, grazing land, rain fed and irrigated agricultural lands. Soil parameters mainly investigated were soil texture, pH, EC, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), available P, K, and rhizobia population. The analysis of variance indicated that land use had a significant effect on OC, TN and pH at (p < 0.05). Higher OC and TN were found in grassland, whereas, higher pH was found in irrigated land. Higher rhizobia population densities were found in grassland whereas lower rhizobia population were in rain fed cultivated land. Generally, the agricultural landscape is characterized by low OC, TN and rhizobia population; and optimum phosphorous and potassium. Therefore, farmers of the watershed and other similar areas have to use soil management options that enhance soil OC, nitrogen and rhizobia populations.