Evaluación de propiedades hidrofísicas de suelos bajo diversas estrategias de manejo y conservación en Aipe, Huila, Colombia, entre 2023 y 2024

Contextualization: Agriculture has faced significant challenges related to soil conservation and environmental quality due to human activities and climate change. In rural regions of Colombia, specifically in the municipality of Aipe, Huila, soil degradation is a growing problem affecting agricultural productivity, environmental sustainability, and rural development. Knowledge Gap: Previous studies highlighted soil degradation caused by unsustainable practices, but there was little research comparing the effects of different soil management systems (traditional, sustainable, intensive, and native forest) on soil hydrophysical properties in Aipe. This study addressed this gap by evaluating key indicators such as infiltration, bulk density, organic matter, and soil structure. Objectives: The main objective was to evaluate the hydraulic and physical properties of soils. Three specific objectives were set: 1) to evaluate the physical and chemical properties of soils in the municipality of Aipe, Huila, under different agricultural management practices; 2) analyze the relationship between sustainable management practices and soil quality, and 3) establish sustainable management strategies based on the results obtained. Methodology: First, systematic sampling methods combined with detailed laboratory analysis were used to evaluate the soil according to its hydrophysical characteristics. Second, the selection of the most sensitive properties was verified, based on Pearson's correlation analysis using XLSTAT software, with a significance level of α=0.05. Third, a factor analysis was performed to clarify and integrate the relationships between the selected properties. Results and conclusions: The study revealed that sustainably managed soils (SMS) had the highest quality (41.08%), followed by intensively used soils (30.24%), native forest (15.09%), and traditional practices (13.51%). Key indicators such as infiltration, organic matter, and soil structure were crucial for assessing quality. The Ascending Hierarchical Classification (AHC) revealed a 13.2% similarity between traditional and intensive soils, while sustainable and native forest soils showed a 34.3% difference, highlighting the impacts of management.