The four land-use types did not differ significantly in some of the fundamental soil chemical properties that characterize soil quality and productivity such as SOC, TN, Mg, pH and CEC. These results are attributed to the fact that (1) the soil is replenished with nutrients from the plant biomass when secondary forests are slashed and burned; (2) the fallow systems are relatively long in the study area enabling the replenishment of soil nutrient levels, (3) farmers practice minimal or shallow land preparation techniques which do not affect soil structure; (4) some farmers add household wastes and other forms of manure to their farms.