Land use systems influences soil organic carbon and
total nitrogen in soils. Accordingly, cultivated soils
had lower amounts of organic carbon and nitrogen
than other land use systems, suggesting the need for
sustainable cropping systems such as crop rotation,
addition of organic matter and crop residues to reverse
the situation. The low carbon input from the
agricultural crop could not compensate for the large
mineralization of organic matter and N-losses in
cultivated fields. Variation of organic carbon and
nitrogen among different land use systems were
minimal on the lower soil layer as compared to the
surface soil layer, implying that the surface soil layer
was most affected by different management practices.
On the basis of the above findings, there is a need to
develop proper land use policy and sustainable soil
management and cropping practices to combat the
ongoing soil degradation and improve soil fertility in
the study area.