Effect of Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) Measures on Soil Nutrient and Moisture Status, a Case of Two Selected Watersheds

The study was conducted in Guba-Lafto Woreda of North Wollo to find out the effect of stone faced soil bund on soil macronutrients (N, P, and K), organic carbon content, soil pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and soil moisture status. From two case study kebeles, two watersheds were purposively selected representing Dega (highland) and Woina dega (midland) agro ecological zones. Sixteen composite surface soil samples (0 to 20 cm depth) were collected from selected watersheds. A statistical paired samples t-test showed that, mean value of some soil parameters were significantly different at t and p-value between conserved and non-conserved farmlands. These indicated that, conservation practices reduce runoff, and helps keep nutrients on the field. The study also revealed that stone faced soil bund is essential for soil moisture retentions through reducing run-off velocity, conserving and storing water, and then increasing infiltration and percolation rates. Therefore, implementation of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices should be encouraged by different governmental and non-governmental sectors of Ethiopia, and it should be followed up by other inputs like application of organic fertilizers. Key words: Soil and water conservation, soil and water conservation measures, stone faced soil bund, soil nutrients, soil moisture.