Variation in soil characteristics on forest and agricultural land uses in Kavrepalanchowk district of Central Nepal

Soil properties serve as key indicators that define ecosystem status, stability, and future change possibilities, making their assessment critical for understanding land use impacts. Therefore, this study examined variations in soil characteristics between forest and agricultural lands in Kavrepalanchowk district of Central Nepal. A total of 60 soil samples (30 per land use type) were collected from forest and agricultural land use at three depths (0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm) from 10 sites in each land type. Soil organic carbon, organic matter, bulk density, soil moisture, pH, electrical conductivity and texture were determined following the standard protocol. Results revealed significant differences between land use types (p < 0.01). Forest soils contained substantially higher organic carbon (3.86 ± 1.83%) and organic matter (6.66 ± 3.16%) compared to agricultural soils (2.63 ± 1.54%; 4.53 ± 2.66%). The surface layers had 96.79% higher organic carbon than lower layers. Forest soils exhibited lower bulk density (0.43 vs. 0.51 g cm⁻³) and retained 54.63% more surface moisture than agricultural soils. Soil pH was slightly acidic in forests (6.92 ± 0.69) while neutral in agricultural land (7.14 ± 0.39). Electrical conductivity was 3.18% higher in agricultural soils than that of forest. Similarly, agricultural soil is coarser (60% of sandy loam), while forest soil is finer with 70% silty clay loam. Soil restoration is feasible if organic amendments and conservation tillage are adopted, while adopting agroforestry approach as well, offering a practical pathway to rebuild soil fertility and carbon stocks.