International Journal of Geology, Earth & Environmental Sciences ISSN: 2277-2081 (Online) An Open Access, Online International Journal Available at http://www.cibtech.org/jgee.htm 2015 Vol. 5 (2) May-August, pp. 1-17/Mhawish

Research Article

EFFECT OF LAND-USE/COVER CHANGE ON PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL SOIL PROPERTIES WITHIN AN AGRICULTURAL ECOSYSTEM OF AJLOUN AREA-JORDAN *Yaser M. Mhawish International Center for Agricultural Research of Dry Area (ICARDA) *Author for Correspondence ABSTRACT This study is aimed to determine the effect of land-use/cover changes on spatial variability of selected surface soil (0-25 cm) and subsurface soil (25-30 cm) properties in Ajloun, which has sub-humid climate and adjacent agro-ecosystem of Northern Jordan. Disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected from two major land-use/cover categories: natural forest, and cultivated land. The soil in natural forest was used as a reference to assess extent of changes in soil properties. A one way analysis of variance and Pearson’s correlation co-efficient were used to test the mean differences of the soil chemical and physical properties and to determine their degree of association. The results showed that the landuse/cover changes significantly affected a number of soil physical and chemical properties. The sand, bulk density, electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity, organic matter, nitrogen and exchangeable potassium contents showed significant variations between the natural forest and the other land-use/cover types (p