Abstract
Land use change has become a major issue since the turn of the twentieth century due to global warming, particularly the conversion of the natural forest area into agricultural land and bare land. Such changes in different land types are major threats to physiochemical soil features. However, the effects of soil physicochemical properties under different land use types were evaluated in the arid zones of Pakistan. The soil samples were taken from three depths 0–20 cm, 20–40 cm, and 40–60 cm into three land use types (forest, cultivated, and grazing land). To estimate the physiochemical properties of soil, the samples were tested in the laboratory through analytical procedures of the atomic absorption spectrometer. The results revealed that the fertility of the soil was classified into four major groups very low, low, medium, and high fertile soil. The findings indicated that 66.95% sand and 23.91% soil elements were analyzed in the forest layer and 36.8% clay elements in the subsurface layer of cultivated land. The outcomes of the survey also showed that high (58.29%) and low (49.14%) amounts of total potassium were measured in cultivated and forest land areas of arid regions of Pakistan, respectively. In addition, about 53% of all land types were categorized into low organic matter division areas. The high amount of total nitrogen nutrients (0.12%) was found in the cultivated land and the lowest (0.003%) in the forest land. Comparatively, high potassium (K) 93.15 mg kg-1 was noted in the cultivated land. Moreover, Mn > Fe > Cu > Zn order of the nutrient amount was assessed over arid climate for all land use types over arid regions of Pakistan. Conclusively, this study will help predict the soil potential for sustainable agriculture and a green economy that boosts land use planning and development.
Access this article
We’re sorry, something doesn't seem to be working properly.
Please try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, please contact support so we can address the problem.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability statement
Data sharing is not applicable to this article. All the desired generated datasets are available in the supplementary tables during the current study.
References
Ahmed, H. (2002). Assessment of spatial variability of some physico-chemical properties of soils under different elevations and land use systems in the western slopes of Mount Chilalo (p. 111p). Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Alemaya University, Ethiopia.
Amana, S. M., Jayeoba, O. J., & Agbede, O. O. (2012). Effects of land-use types on soil quality in a Southern Guinea Savannah, Nasarawa state of Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Soil Science, 22(1), 178–182.
Bai, Z. G., Dent, D. L., Olsson, L., & Schaepman, M. E. (2008). Proxy global assessment of land degradation. Soil Use and Management, 24(3), 223–234. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-2743.2008.00169.x
Bewket, W., & Stroosnijder, L. (2003). Effects of agro ecological land use succession on soil properties in Chemoga watershed. Blue Nile basin. Ethiopia. Geoderma, 111, 85–98.
Bhowmik, A., Kukal, S. S., Saha, D., Sharma, H., Kalia, A., & Sharma, S. (2019). Potential indicators of soil health degradation in different land use-based ecosystems in the Shiwaliks of Northwestern India. Sustainability, 11(14), 3908. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11143908
Blake, G. R., & Hartge, K. H. (1986). Bulk density. In A. Klute (Ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1-Physical and Mineralogical Methods, 2nd Edition, Agronomy Monograph 9 (pp. 363–382). American Society of Agronomy-Soil Science Society of America.
Brhane, G., & Mekonen, K. (2009). Estimating soil loss using Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) for soil conservation planning at Medego watershed, Northern Ethiopia. Journal of American Science, 5, 58–69.
Bruun, T. B., Elberling, B., De Neergaard, A., & Magid, J. (2015). Organic carbon dynamics in different soil types after conversion of forest to agriculture. Land Degradation & Development, 26(3), 272–283. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2205
Burke, I. C., Lauenroth, W. K., Riggle, R., Brannen, P., Madigan, B., & Beard, S. (1999). Spatial variability of soil properties in the shortgrass steppe: The relative importance of topography, grazing, microsite, and plant species in controlling spatial patterns. Ecosystems, 2(5), 422–438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s100219900091
Castillo, C., & Gómez, J. A. (2016). A century of gully erosion research: Urgency, complexity and study approaches. Earth-Science Reviews, 160, 300–319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.07.009
Costa, E. M., Tassinari, W., & d. S., Pinheiro, H. S. K., Beutler, S. J. & dos Anjos, L. H. C. (2018). Mapping soil organic carbon and organic matter fractions by geographically weighted regression. Journal of Environmental Quality, 47, 718–725. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2017.04.0178
Darwish, K. M., & Abdel Kawy, W. A. (2008). Quantitative assessment of soil degradation in some areas North Nile Delta Egypt. International Journal of Geology, 2(2), 17–22.
Davidson, E. A., & Ackerman, I. L. (1993). Changes in soil carbon inventories following cultivation of previously untilled soils. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA (USA). Research Center. Bio-geochemistry (Netherlands). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00000786.
de Oliveira, S. P., de Lacerda, N. B., Blum, S. C., Escobar, M. E. O., & de Oliveira, T. S. (2015). Organic carbon and nitrogen stocks in soils of northeastern Brazil converted to irrigated agriculture. Land Degradation & Development, 26(1), 9–21. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2264
Dhani, N., Gasruddin, A., Hartini, H., & Baride, L. (2021). Unconfined compressive strength characteristics of overboulder asbuton and zeolite stabilized soft soil. Civil Engineering Journal, 7(1), 40–48.
Ekeleme, A. C., Ekwueme, B. N., & Agunwamba, J. C. (2021). Modeling contaminant transport of nitrate in soil column. Emerging Science Journal, 5(4), 471–485.
Eliasson, Å. (2007). Review of land evaluation methods for quantifying natural constraints to agriculture. The Institute for Environment and sustainability, Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy. EUR, 22923.
Erfanzadeh, R., Bahrami, B., Motamedi, J., & Pétillon, J. (2014). Changes in soil organic matter driven by shifts in co-dominant plant species in a grassland. Geoderma, 213, 74–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2013.07.027
FAO. (1976). A framework for land evaluation. FAO soil bulletin no. 32, Rome.
FAO. (1983). Guidelines: land evaluation for rainfed agriculture, FAO soils bulletin no. 52, Rome.
FAO. (1985). Guidelines: Land evaluation for irrigated agriculture. Soils bulletin 55. Food and
FAO, (2007a). Food & Nations, land evaluation: Towards a revised framework.
FAO. (2007b). A framework for land evaluation. FAO soil bulletin no. 6 Rome, Italy.
Fritzsche, F., Zech, W., & Guggenberger, G. (2007). Soils of the Main Ethiopian Rift Valley escarpment: A transect study. CATENA, 70, 209–219.
Gashaw, T., Bantider, A., & Mahari, A. (2014). Population dynamics and land use/land cover changes in Dera District, Ethiopia. Glob. J. Biol. Agric. Health Sci, 3, 137–140.
Gebeyaw, T. (2007). Soil fertility status as influenced by different land Uses in Maybar areas of South Wello Zone, North Ethiopia. MSc Thesis, Haramaya University, Haramaya, Ethiopia.
Gorbachev, R. V., Riaz, I., Nair, R. R., Jalil, R., Britnell, L., Belle, B. D., & Blake, P. (2011). Hunting for monolayer boron nitride: Optical and Raman signatures. Small (weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany), 7(4), 465–468. https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201001628
Haghighi, F., Gorji, M., & Shorafa, M. (2010). A study of the effects of land-use changes on soil physical properties and organic matter. Land Degradation & Development, 21(5), 496–502. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.999
Hasan, M. E., Zhang, L., Dewan, A., Guo, H., & Mahmood, R. (2020). Spatio-temporal pattern of forest degradation and loss of ecosystem function associated with Rohingya influx: A geo-spatial approach. Land Degradation & Development. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.3821
Hook, P. B., & Burke, I. C. (2000). Biogeochemistry in a shortgrass landscape: Control by topography, soil texture, and microclimate. Ecology, 81(10), 2686–2703. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2000)081[2686:BIASLC]2.0.CO;2
Hussain, T. S., & Al-Fatlawi, A. H. (2020). Remove chemical contaminants from potable water by household water treatment system. Civil Engineering Journal, 6(8), 1534–1546.
Islam, K. R., & Weil, R. R. (2000). Land use effects on soil quality in a tropical forest ecosystem of Bangladesh. Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment., 79, 9–16.
Jackson, C. R., Thompson, J. A., & Kolka, R. K. (2014a). 2. Wetland Soils, Hydrology, and Geomorphology. In Ecology of freshwater and estuarine wetlands (pp. 23–60). University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520959118-004.
Jackson, R., Thompson, J., & Kolka, R. (2014b). Wetland soils, hydrology, and geomorphology. University of California Press.
Jaiyeoba, I. A. (2003a). Changes in soil properties due to continuous cultivation in Nigerian semiarid Savannah. Soil and Tillage Research, 70(1), 91–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-1987(02)00138-1
Jaiyeoba, I. A. (2003b). Changes in soil properties due to continuous cultivation in Nigerian semiarid Savannah. Soil Tillage and Research, 70, 91–98.
Jourgholami, M., Ghassemi, T., & Labelle, E. R. (2019). Soil physio-chemical and biological indicators to evaluate the restoration of compacted soil following reforestation. Ecological Indicators, 101, 102–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.01.009
Klute, A., & Page, A. L. (1986a). Methods of soil analysis. Part 1. Physical and mineralogical methods; Part 2. Chemical and microbiological properties (p. 1986a). American Society of Agronomy, Inc.
Lemenih, M. (2004). Effects of land use changes on soil quality and native flora degradation and restoration in the highlands of Ethiopia (Vol. 306, No. 306).
Lin, Q., Chen, J., Li, W., Huang, K., Tan, X., & Chen, H. (2021). Impacts of land-use change on thermodynamic and dynamic changes of precipitation for the Yangtze River Basin, China. International Journal of Climatology. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.7037.
Malek, Ž, & Verburg, P. H. (2020). Mapping global patterns of land use decision making. Global Environmental Change, 65, 102170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2020.102170
Mishra, B. B., & Tilahun, D. (2004). Soil Fertility Status with Emphasis on Some Micronutrients in Vegetable Growing Area of Kolfe, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Doctoral dissertation, Haramaya University).
Mohammed, A., Leroux, P. A. L., Barker, C. H., & Heluf, G. (2005). Soils of Jelo micro-catchment in the Chercher Highlands of Eastern Ethiopia: I. Morphological and physio-chemical properties. Ethiopian Journal of Natural Resources, 7(1), 55–81.
Mulugeta, D., & Sheleme, B. (2010). Characterization and classification of soils along the topo sequence of Kindo Koye Watershed in Southern Ethiopia. East African Journal of Sciences, 4, 65–77.
Nega, E., & Heluf, G. (2013). Effect of land use changes and soil depth on soil organic matter, total nitrogen and available phosphorus contents of soils in Senbat Watershed, Western Ethiopia. ARPN Journal of Agricultural and Biological Scienc, 8(3), 206–2012.
Negassa, W., & Gebrekidan, H. (2003). Forms of phosphorus and status of available micronutrients under different land-use systems of Alfisols in Bako area of Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Natural Resources, 5(1), 17–37.
Nelson, D. W., & Sommers, L. E. (1996). Total carbon, organic carbon, and organic matter. Methods of soil analysis: Part 3 Chemical methods, 5, 961–1010. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssabookser5.3.c34
Nortcliff, S. (2006). Classification. Need for systems. Encyclopedia of Soil Science, 1, 227–229.
Nwachokor, M. & Uzu, F. (2008). An updated classification of some soil series in southwestern Nigeria. Journal of Agronomy.
Olowolafe, E. A. (2004). An evaluation of soil fertility indicators using soil survey data on the Jos Plateau. Nigeria. Journal of Environmental Sciences, 8(2), 54–61.
Opio-Odongo, J. (2013). Africa environment outlook (AEO 3): our environment, our health; summary for policymakers.
Prasad, R., & Power, J. F. (1997). Soil fertility management for sustainable agriculture. Lewis Publishers is an imprint of CRC Press.
Rabot, E., Wiesmeier, M., Schlüter, S., & Vogel, H. J. (2018). Soil structure as an indicator of soil functions: A review. Geoderma, 314, 122–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.11.009
Ramsey, J. (2011). Polyploidy and ecological adaptation in wild yarrow. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(17), 7096–7101. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1016631108
Rao, K. S., & Pant, R. (2001). Land use dynamics and landscape change pattern in a typical micro watershed in the mid elevation zone of central Himalaya, India. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 86(2), 113–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8809(00)00274-7
Rowell, D. L. (2014). Soil science: Methods & applications. Rout Ledge.
Smith, J. L., & Doran, J. W. (1997). Measurement and use of pH and electrical conductivity for soil quality analysis. Methods for Assessing Soil Quality, 49, 169–185. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaspecpub49.c10
Tateno, R., & Takeda, H. (2003). Forest structure and tree species distribution in relation to topography-mediated heterogeneity of soil nitrogen and light at the forest floor. Ecological Research, 18(5), 559–571. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1703.2003.00578.x
Thangasamy, A., Naidu, M. V. S., Ramavatharam, N., & Raghava, R. C. (2005). Characterization, classification and evaluation of soil resources in Sivagiri micro watershed of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh for sustainable land use planning. Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science, 53, 11–21.
Turner, C. L., Blair, J. M., Schartz, R. J., & Neel, J. C. (1997). Soil N and plant responses to fire, topography, and supplemental N in tallgrass prairie. Ecology, 78(6), 1832–1843. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(1997)078[1832:SNAPRT]2.0.CO;2
Ullah, S., Tahir, A. A., Akbar, T. A., Hassan, Q. K., Dewan, A., Khan, A. J., & Khan, M. (2019). Remote sensing-based quantification of the relationships between land use land cover changes and surface temperature over the Lower Himalayan Region. Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11195492
Wakene, N., & Heluf, G. (2001). Assessment of important physicochemical properties of Dystric Udalf (Dystric Nitosols) under different management systems in Bako area, western Ethiopia. Alemaya University.
Wakene, N., & Heluf, G. (2003). Forms of phosphorus and status of available nutrients under different land use systems of Alfisols in Bako area Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Natural Resources, 5(1), 17–37.
Wang, C., Zheng, M. M., Chen, J., & Shen, R. F. (2021). Land-use change has a greater effect on soil diazotrophic community structure than the plant rhizosphere in acidic ferralsols in southern China. Plant and Soil, 1–14.
Wang, J., Fu, B., Qiu, Y., & Chen, L. (2001). Soil nutrients in relation to land use and landscape position in the semi-arid small catchment on the loess plateau in China. Journal of Arid Environments, 48(4), 537–550. https://doi.org/10.1006/jare.2000.0763
Woldeamlak, B., & Stroosnijder, L. (2003). Effects of agro-ecological land use succession on soil properties in the Chemoga Watershed, Blue Nile basin Ethiopia. Geoderma, 111, 85–98.
Wondimagegne, C., & Abere, M. (2012). Selected physical and chemical characteristics of soils of the Middle Awash irrigated Farmlands, Ethiopia. Ethiopia Journal of Agricultural Science, 22, 127–142.
Xu, W., & Wan, S. (2008). Water-and plant-mediated responses of soil respiration to topography, fire, and nitrogen fertilization in a semiarid grassland in northern China. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 40(3), 679–687. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2007.10.003
Yeboah, S. O., Amponsah, I. K., Kaba, J. S., & Abunyewa, A. A. (2022). Variability of soil physicochemical properties under different land use types in the Guinea savanna zone of northern Ghana. Cogent Food & Agriculture, 8(1), 2105906.
Yohannes, H., Soromessa, T., Argaw, M., & Dewan, A. (2021). Spatio-temporal changes in habitat quality and linkage with landscape characteristics in the Beressa watershed, Blue Nile basin of the Ethiopian highlands. Journal of Environmental Management, 281, 111885. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111885
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Yaseen, M., Abbas, S. & Latif, Y. Evaluating the effects of soil physicochemical properties under different land use types in the arid zones of Pakistan. Environ Dev Sustain 26, 13577–13594 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03662-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03662-7