Land Use Effects on Soil Quality Indicators: A Case Study of Abo-Wonsho Southern Ethiopia

Table 3

SOC (gKg⁻¹), TN (gKg⁻¹), C/N ratio, pH (H₂O), Av. P (mgKg⁻¹), and Av. K⁺ (cmol (+)/kg soil) in relation to land use and soil depth (cm) (Mean ± S.E).

Variables	Depth (cm)		Land use types			Overall
		Protected forest	Open grassland	Farmland	Grazing land
SOC	0–10	41.8 (±3.6)	25.1 (±1.8)	19.8 (±1.7)	30.2 (±0.20)	29.2(±1.3)^b
	10–20	17.6 (±2.1)	23.0 (±3.8)	17.0 (±1.9)	21.7 (±0.23)	19.8 (±1.3)^a
	Overall	29.7 (±4.5)^a	24.1 (±2.0)^ab	18.4 (±1.3)^a	26.0 (±0.20)^b
TN	0–10	2.6 (±0.8)	1.4 (±0.6)	1.4 (±0.2)	2.5 (±0.04)	1.7 (±0.3)^a
	10–20	1.6 (±0.8)	1.4 (±0.5)	1.3 (±0.5)	1.8 (±0.04)	1.5 (±0.3)^a
	Overall	2.1 (±0.6)^a	1.4 (±0.4)^a	1.4 (±0.2)^a	2.1 (±0.03)^a
C : N	0–10	47.85 (±14.45)	53.68 (±31.04)	15.42 (±3.43)	14.87 (±4.44)	32.96 (±6.85)^a
	10–20	11.46 (±4.01)	29.84 (±11.37)	26.40 (±12.21)	13.51 (±2.04)	20.30 (±6.85)^a
	Overall	29.66 (±9.31)^a	41.76 (±16.08)^a	20.91 (±6.25)^a	14.19 (±2.31)^a
pH	0–10	5.97 (±0.14)	5.34 (±0.31)	6.15 (±0.21)	5.67 (±0.10)	5.78 (±0.11)^a
	10–20	5.44 (±0.23)	5.40 (±0.28)	5.70 (±0.23)	5.67 (±0.05)	5.55 (±0.11)^a
	Overall	5.70 (±0.16)	5.37 (±0.20)^a	5.92 (±0.16)^a	5.67 (±0.05)^a
Av. P	0–10	1460 (±260)	1130 (±430)	5120 (±1020)	2140 (890)	2460 (±590)^a
	10–20	3790 (±1710)	2090 (±620)	3940 (±2280)	2250 (±620)	3020 (±590)^a
	Overall	2630 (±900)^a	1610 (±390)^a	4530 (±1190)^a	2190 (±510)^a
Av. K^+	0–10	0.28 (±0.03)	0.12 (±0.01)	0.29 (±0.04)	0.13 (±0.01)	0.21 (±0.02)^a
	10–20	0.23 (±0.08)	0.11 (±0.01)	0.18 (±0.03)	0.10 (±0.01)	0.16 (±0.02)^a
	Overall	0.26 (±0.04)^b	0.11 (±0.01)^a	0.24 (±0.03)^b	0.12 (±0.01)^a

Overall means within rows and columns followed by different letters are significantly different (𝑃<0.05) with respect to land use and soil depths.