EFFECTS OF SELECTED SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION STRUCTURES ON SOIL PHYSIOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES, LEMO WOREDA, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Soil erosion is now almost universally recognized as a serious threat to man's well-being, if not his very existence. As a result, we assessed the soil physicochemical properties of two possible levels of level bund and fanya juu. The experiment assessed from seven locations with three replications was used to collect soil samples from each soil conservation structure. Five composite soil samples were collected from each soil structure based on slope (0-30cm). Soil physicochemical properties such as erosion index, dispersion ratio, and erodibility proportionality ratio were investigated. The effect of different soil structure levels revealed that soil properties differed significantly (P≤0.05) for all parameters studied. The control plots had significantly higher (P≤0.05) dispersion ratio, erosion indexes, and erodibility proportionality than the soils treated by the level bund and level Fanya juu structures. On the control plot, this result showed lower clay content and higher sand content. The level of soil bund and fanya juu had a significant (P≤0.05) effect on selected soil parameters. As a result, all related soil properties show a positive relative change when the level of soil bund and fanya juu is compared to the control plot. Aside from this result, the dynamic natures of the sciences compel us to conduct additional research based on the agro-ecological zones of the study area.