Assessment of Soil Fertility Status at Dawja Watershed in Enebse Sar Midir District, Northwestern Ethiopia

Abstract

Information on soil fertility status is key in predicting the relative response of soils to fertilizer application and adopting appropriate management practices. The present study was conducted to assess the fertility status of the soils of the Dawja Watershed in Enebse Sar Midir District. 21 composite soil samples were collected from the 0-20 cm soil depth of 7 land units, identified based on their slope and management practices. Except available phosphorus, all the soil parameters were significantly (P < 0.05) affected by differences in land units. The textural class of the soils varied between sandy clay loam and sandy clay. The bulk density of the soils under the different land units ranged between 1.32 and 1.41 g cm-3 and the total porosity varied from 46.66 to 50.10%. The pH of the soils ranged from 5.7 to 6.8. The organic matter content of the soils was generally low and ranged between 1.17% in cultivated land unit to 2.46% in grazing land unit soils. The total nitrogen content of the soils ranged from 0.13 to 0.19%. Available P (Olsen) was generally high in all the land units and ranged between 17.92 to 23.02 mg kg-1. The results further showed that the soils were generally rich in exchangeable basic cations with CEC ranged between 18.13 cmol(+) kg-1in soils of strongly sloping cultivated land unit to 41.87 cmol(+) kg-1 in soils of gently sloping land unit. The percent base saturation of the soils varied between 62.30 and 92.20%. The extractable micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) of the soils were above their respective critical levels, which indicate that they are not limiting crop production at the moment. In general, soils of the study area are good in their selected physical and chemical properties for plant growth except organic matter and total nitrogen. Therefore, the soil fertility management should focus on scenarios that could improve the organic matter and nitrogen levels for improving crop production on a sustainable basis.