Soil Fertility Status as Influenced by Slope Gradient and Land Use Types in Southern Ethiopia

Table 6

Effects of land uses and slope gradients on exchangeable bases at Azit subwatershed.

	Exchangeable bases (cmol (+) kg^−1)
	Ca	Mg	Na	K
Land use
Cultivated	6.67^b	5.00^a	1.20^b	2.32^b
Grazing	8.40^a	5.56^a	2.07^a	2.96^a
Eucalyptus	5.56^c	3.67^b	1.18^b	1.56^c
LSD (0.05)	0.64	0.76	0.33	0.31
CV (%)	10.40	15.00	11.00	13.00
Slope gradient
US (10–14%)	5.67^c	3.44^c	1.20^b	1.77^c
MS (5–10%)	7.00^b	4.33^b	1.58^a	2.67^b
LS (2–5%)	8.00^a	6.56^a	1.67^a	2.80^a
LSD (0.05)	0.64	0.76	0.31	0.52
CV (%)	10.40	15.00	11.00	13.00

Means within columns followed by different letters are significantly different () with respect to land types and slope gradients. LSD = least significant difference, CV = coefficient variation, US = upper slope, MS = middle slope, LS = lower slope, Ca = calcium, Mg = magnesium, Na = sodium, and K = potassium.