Soil Quality Assessment Strategies for Evaluating Soil Degradation in Northern Ethiopia
Author
Tesfahunegn, Gebreyesus Brhane
Source
Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Issue
Vol. 2014, Issue 2014 (31 Dec. 2014), pp.1-14, 14 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2014-02-04
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
14
Main Subjects
Earth Science , Water and Environment
Abstract EN
Soil quality (SQ) degradation continues to challenge sustainable development throughout the world.
One reason is that degradation indicators such as soil quality index (SQI) are neither well documented nor used to evaluate current land use and soil management systems (LUSMS).
The objective was to assess and identify an effective SQ indicator dataset from among 25 soil measurements, appropriate scoring functions for each indicator and an efficient SQ indexing method to evaluate soil degradation across the LUSMS in the Mai-Negus catchment of northern Ethiopia.
Eight LUSMS selected for soil sampling and analysis included (i) natural forest (LS1), (ii) plantation of protected area, (iii) grazed land, (iv) teff (Eragrostis tef)-faba bean (Vicia faba) rotation, (v) teff-wheat (Triticum vulgare)/barley (Hordeum vulgare) rotation, (vi) teff monocropping, (vii) maize (Zea mays) monocropping, and (viii) uncultivated marginal land (LS8).
Four principal components explained almost 88% of the variability among the LUSMS.
LS1 had the highest mean SQI (0.931) using the scoring functions and principal component analysis (PCA) dataset selection, while the lowest SQI (0.458) was measured for LS8.
Mean SQI values for LS1 and LS8 using expert opinion dataset selection method were 0.874 and 0.406, respectively.
Finally, a sensitivity analysis (S) used to compare PCA and expert opinion dataset selection procedures for various scoring functions ranged from 1.70 for unscreened-SQI to 2.63 for PCA-SQI.
Therefore, this study concludes that a PCA-based SQI would be the best way to distinguish among LUSMS since it appears more sensitive to disturbances and management practices and could thus help prevent further SQ degradation.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Tesfahunegn, Gebreyesus Brhane. 2014. Soil Quality Assessment Strategies for Evaluating Soil Degradation in Northern Ethiopia. Applied and Environmental Soil Science،Vol. 2014, no. 2014, pp.1-14.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-487868
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Tesfahunegn, Gebreyesus Brhane. Soil Quality Assessment Strategies for Evaluating Soil Degradation in Northern Ethiopia. Applied and Environmental Soil Science No. 2014 (2014), pp.1-14.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-487868
American Medical Association (AMA)
Tesfahunegn, Gebreyesus Brhane. Soil Quality Assessment Strategies for Evaluating Soil Degradation in Northern Ethiopia. Applied and Environmental Soil Science. 2014. Vol. 2014, no. 2014, pp.1-14.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-487868
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-487868