Soil Loss and Physico-Chemical Dynamics in a Smallholder-Protected Watershed in Midwestern Leyte, Philippines

The study assessed soil loss and physico-chemical dynamics of the west-oriented watershed within the Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) Project in Cienda, Gabas, Baybay, Leyte, Philippines. Results showed that, on the average, surgace runoff was 10.35 m3/hectare with associated sediments of 0.169 Mg/hectare. Average percentage of nutrients flowing with surface runoff was 1.97% and 1.27% along the streamflow compared to soil nutrients as baseline. Average infiltration rate during the dry season was 326,19 ml/min and 68.09 ml/min during the wet season. Turbidity of streamflow was 2.96 ntu and the associated sediments 16.0 mg/L. pH of streamflow ranged from 7.50 to 7.00 while total hardness from 7.84 to 15.16 mg/L. The average nitriite (NO2) content was 11.115mg/L while nitrate (NO3) was 1.05 mg/L. Phosphorous (P) ranged from 2.20 to 4.46 mg/kg or parts per million (ppm) while potassium (K) ranged from 3.71 to 3.90 ppm. Sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) were of low concentrations but sufficient to support plant growth.