4. Conclusions
The soil chemical properties of the study area were significantly affected by land use types except Ex. Na, which
was insignificantly influenced by land use types. SOM content was observed high in forest land but it was low
cultivated land. TN content of cultivated land soil decreased by 15, 27.27 and 20 % at 0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm soil depths respectively when compared with soil of forest land. The analysis of soil pH of the cultivated land showed that it was more acidic than the grazing land. The exchangeable cations in the study area did not show similar trends along the land use types. Ex. Ca and Ex. Mg were decreases along with depth from top to bottom surface soil. But, Ex. Na and Ex. K were increase with increasing soil depths. On the other hand Ex. Ca and Ex. K were significantly influenced by different land use types while Ex. Mg and Ex. Na were insignificantly influenced by different land use types. Based on the study on the selected soil physicochemical properties the following recommendations are made. This study indicates that, there is an urgent need to improve soil fertility by developing sustainable land use/cover practices to reduce the rate of soil erosion and to ensure long-term sustainability of the farming system, as a result national efforts are urgently needed to protect the remaining forests and to implement extension programmes to ensure sustainable use of lands and conservation of forested areas.