The Influence of Land‐Use Types on Forms of Potassium and Selected Soil Properties in Shashemene District, Southeastern Ethiopia

Understanding how land‐use types influence potassium (K) forms and soil physicochemical properties is crucial for sustainable soil management. Although soils in Ethiopia are derived from K‐rich parent materials, land‐use change alters K dynamics. Information on these variations is limited for the Shashemene district in southeastern Ethiopia. This study examined how cultivated land (CL), forest land (FL), grazing land (GL), and homestead land (HL) uses influence potassium forms and selected soil properties. A total of 32 composite samples were collected from two depths (0–20 and 20–40 cm), and 32 undisturbed cores were collected to analyze bulk density (BD) and soil moisture. The results show that the solution potassium ranged from 15.3 mg kg −1 in FL (the highest) to 13.3 mg kg −1 in CL (the lowest). Exchangeable K was also highest in the upper surface of FL and lowest in the upper surface of CL. Nonexchangeable potassium peaked at 600 mg kg −1 in the lower depth of FL and declined to 476.8 mg kg −1 in the upper depth of CL. Total potassium was greatest (17,103 mg kg −1 ) in the lower depth of FL and lowest (14,781 mg kg −1 ) in the upper depth of CL. The highest total nitrogen (TN) and organic carbon (OC) were observed in FL and HL. The lowest TN was found in CL at both upper and lower depths. In conclusion, different land‐use types significantly affect the forms of potassium and the selected soil properties.