Soil physicochemical status under Eucalyptus globulus plantations in the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia

In the highlands of Ethiopia, croplands and grazing lands have been converted into Eucalyptus globulus (E. globulus) plantations to meet demand for construction materials, fuelwood and higher income sources. However, the impact of these plantations on soil physicochemical properties remains debated among researchers. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the status of soil physicochemical properties under the E. globulus plantations in the northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. A total of 30 composite soil samples were collected from two soil depths (0-20 and 20-40 cm) across three (E. globulus plantation, cropland and grazing land) land use types with five replications each. Changes in soil properties under different land uses and soil depths were analyzed using two-way analysis of variance in SAS 9.4 software. Soil properties such as moisture content, organic matter and total nitrogen were significantly higher (≤ 0.05) in E. globulus plantations compared to cropland and grazing land. While low content of clay, pH, available phosphorus, exchangeable bases (Ca, Mg, K, and Na) and cation exchange capacity were recorded under E. globulus plantations than cropland. Therefore, the findings of this study would have an invaluable role in providing information for policy-makers on sustainable land use management, particularly to reduce the expansion of E. globulus plantations on fertile soils and mitigating the acidity of soil in the study area.