Two land uses [agroforestry based conservation (AFCST) and maize based conventional tillage (MCVT)], hereafter referred to as ‘‘land use types’’ both under 5, 10 and 15 years of cultivation, were selected. The land use types were contiguous and have similar environmental conditions (e.g. in soil conditions and slope) except their differences in the land management practices. Experimental design and layouts were performed by using a transect line