The Effects of Land Use Change on Chemical and Physical Soil Properties (Case Study: Ghoshe Spread Flow and Contiguous Agriculture Land)

Change in land use and tillage practices has great influence on soil physical and chemical properties. The present study has focused on the effects of converting undisturbed soil to agricultural lands. Chemical and physical soil properties, infiltration, cation exchange capacity (CEC), electrical conductivity, pH, bulk density, porosity, sodium, potassium, total Ca + Mg, organic matter percentage, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and lime percentage were measured using standard frequently used methods. Fifty soil samples from agriculture land and other 50 soil samples from undisturbed land were collected from 0 – 30 cm depth and different statistical analysis were performed. Agriculture land is Cultivated for more than 20 years. The results showed that change in land use from undisturbed to disturbed soil did not significantly changed soil organic matter content. Also, soil electrical conductivity showed a huge increase whereas pH showed non-significant changes due to land use change. Unlike pH, SAR, organic matter percentage and lime percentage, some other soil parameters showed significant decrease in quality through land use change. Correlation coefficients of the effective factors were calculated to explain the main reason for lowering soil quality. The results showed that sodium in EC; bulk density in porosity and CEC; sodium and Ca+Mg in SAR; EC in soil infiltration and Ca+Mg in organic matter showed the most correlation.