Table 4. Mean soil chemical properties variability among the different cropping and land-use systems at 0-20 cm depth in the Dura sub-catchment, northern Ethiopia.
| Chemical soil property | Cropping and land-use system (CLUS) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TM | MM | IC1 | IC2 | R1 | R2 | TG | UTG | NF | Mean | |
| Soil pH | 6.94f | 7.31de | 7.98bc | 8.35ab | 8.50a | 7.79c | 7.91bc | 7.09f | 7.28e | 7.68 |
| EC (ds m-1) | 0.057c | 0.333ab | 0.327ab | 0.510a | 0.273b | 0.390ab | 0.267b | 0.210bc | 0.230bc | 0.289 |
| CEC (cmolc kg-1) | 18.8f | 37.8b | 34.9c | 32.2cd | 28.2d | 29.0d | 50.3a | 11.4e | 49.8a | 32.6 |
| Ex Ca (cmolc kg-1) | 8.5f | 18.3b | 12.1e | 13.3d | 14.0cd | 14.8c | 24.8a | 4.5g | 25.5a | 15.1 |
| Ex Mg (cmolc kg-1) | 2.7f | 8.8c | 6.3e | 6.5de | 7.1d | 6.8d | 14.7b | 1.3g | 15.1a | 7.6 |
| Ex Na (cmolc kg-1) | 0.040f | 0.213d | 0.667a | 0.682a | 0.627b | 0.613b | 0.450c | 0.153e | 0.030f | 0.386 |
| Ex K (cmolc kg-1) | 0.503d | 0.797b | 0.605c | 0.597c | 0.623c | 0.627c | 1.43a | 0.204e | 1.39a | 0.753 |
| SBFC (cmolc kg-1) | 11.7e | 28.1b | 19.7d | 21.1cd | 22.4c | 22.9c | 41.4a | 6.2f | 42.0a | 23.9 |
| ESP | 0.12f | 0.45 | 1.40a | 1.26b | 1.21b | 0.97c | 0.84d | 0.28e | 0.06f | 0.73 |
| BSP | 62.5d | 74.3b | 68.2cd | 69.4b | 69.6b | 67.4d | 82.3a | 54.4e | 84.3a | 73.3 |
| SAR | 0.011f | 0.049 | 0.153a | 0.140ab | 0.139b | 0.117c | 0.098d | 0.034e | 0.007f | 0.083 |
| Pav (mg kg-1) | 2.0gh | 13.8c | 2.8e | 3.1de | 3.5d | 4.0d | 19.4b | 1.4h | 23.9a | 8.2 |
| OC (%) | 0.643f | 1.540c | 1.250d | 1.220d | 1.110e | 1.113e | 3.520b | 0.413g | 4.980a | 1.754 |
| TN (%) | 0.067f | 0.135c | 0.119d | 0.116d | 0.108e | 0.109e | 0.257b | 0.034g | 0.385a | 0.148 |
| OC:TN | 9.597g | 11.407d | 10.50e | 10.51e | 10.28f | 10.21f | 13.696a | 12.147c | 12.935b | 11.87 |
Means followed by different letters in the same rows are significantly different at probability level (P) = 0·05.
pH, hydrogen ion concentration; EC, Electrical conductivity; CEC, cation exchange capacity; Ex Ca, Ex Mg, Ex Na, Ex K, exchangeable calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, respectively; SBFC sum of base forming cations; ESP, Exchangeable Na percentage; BSP, Base saturation percentage; SAR, sodium absorption ratio; Pav, available phosphorus; OC, Organic carbon; TN, total nitrogen; OC;TN, ratio of OC to TN.
TM, Teff (Eragrostis tef (Zucc) Trot)) mono-cropping; MM, Maize (Zea mays L.) mono-cropping; IC1; Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) with maize intercropping; IC2, Red beet (Beta Vulgaris) with maize intercropping; R1, Cauliflower – teff - maize rotation; R2, Onion (Allium cepa L.) - maize - onion rotation; TG, Treated gully; UTG, Untreated gully; NF, Natural forest.