부산대학교 도서관

With rapid population growth and absence of agricultural intensification, smallholders need more land to grow crops. This resulted in communal grazing land conversion to cultivated land. This study, therefore, aimed at exploring the magnitude of communal grazing land conversion and its influence on soil properties and vegetation cover change. Ecological time line approach was used to measure the magnitude of change. Plants and soil samples were taken from open grazing land, seasonal grazing land, 6 years old cultivated land, 16 years old cultivated land and 20 years old cultivated land. Moreover, 95 respondents were selected to assess their perception on the subject. Data were analyzed using statistical analysis system software. Results showed that grazing land declined by 41.88%, while cultivated land increased by 56.80% in the years between 1992 and 2012. Plant attributes showed significant (P < 0.05) difference among land cover types with highest value on grazing land. Soil properties differed significantly among land cover types. Both grazing land types resulted in higher percentage of sand and silt contents compared to areas cultivated for the last 16 and 20 years. Significantly (P < 0.05) lower bulk density was recorded on grazing land compared to all cultivated lands. The values of soil chemical properties such as electrical conductivity, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus and available potassium were higher on grazing land compared to all cultivated lands. It can be concluded that conversion of grass land to cultivated land influenced soil properties and vegetation cover negatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]