Effects of Land Use Change on Land Degradation Reflected by Soil Properties along Mara River, Kenya and Tanzania

Abstract

Human-induced changes to natural landscapes have been identified as some of the greatest threats to freshwater resources. The change from natural forest cover to agricultural and pastoral activities is rampant especially in the upper Mara River catchment (water tower), as well as along the course of the Mara River. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of land use change on the physico-chemical properties of soil (bulk density, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and pH) along the course of the Mara River. Five major land uses (agricultural lands, livestock/pastoral lands, forested lands, conservancy/game reserves, and natural wetland) were explored. Results revealed that the mean soil bulk density was 0.956 g/cm3 and differed significantly between sites (p within the Mara River Basin (F(4, 147) = 8.57, p (4, 63) = 19.26, p tween sites along the Mara River Basin. The mean percentage soil nitrogen across all sampling blocks was 4.87%, with significant differences observed in percentage soil nitrogen (F (4, 63) = 3.26, p properties. These results point to the need to have focused policies on integrated land and water resource management strategies in the Mara River Basin.