land use/land cover dynamics and their impact on selected soil properties in an ethiopian highland ecosystem

Change in land use/land cover can impact soil quality either negative or positive effects. therefore, it is crucial to evaluate these changes and their impacts on soil properties for sustainable soil management practices. thus, the objectives of this study were to analyze land use/land cover dynamics over a 30 years and to investigate the impact of land use types on soil properties in the shemit watershed, northwestern ethiopia. erdas imagine 2010 software was utilized to conduct the lulc classification and image analysis on landsat satellite images from 1989, 2004, and 2019. four land use types (plantation forest, cultivation land, natural forest, and grazing land) were chosen to evaluate the impact of land use types on soil properties. 24 soil samples were gathered from three representative sampling plots across each land use type at two soil depths (0-20 and 20-40 cm), and examined their soil properties. the study found that cultivated land and settlement increased by 3.65% and 6.33%, respectively, while grazing and forest lands declined by 7.23% and 2.76% from 1989 to 2019. soil analysis revealed that, clay content (54.33%), ph (6.34), total nitrogen (0.28%), soil organic matter (5.32%), available phosphorus (6.24 mg kg-1), exchangeable basic cations, and cation exchange capacity (28.77 cmolckg 1) were higher on the natural forest than on other land use types. in the same manner, clay (49.33%), bulk density (1.29 g cm-3), ph (5.97), and exchangeable basic cations increased with depth across all types of land use. in general, land use/land cover dynamics have adversely affected soil quality owing to population growth, deforestation, and the expansion of settlement and cultivated areas. these transformations have degraded soil fertility and natural ecosystems. promoting sustainable practices such as agroforestry, mixed farming, and the use of plant residues can help restore soil health, enhance carbon storage, and mitigate climate change. immediate adoption of integrated land management and soil fertility strategies is essential to rehabilitate degraded lands and ensure sustainable agricultural productivity.