* Getachew Tadie

and 1 more

Various soil and water conservation practices (SWCPs) have been implemented in Ethiopia, but their sustainable utilization remains below desired levels, leading to ongoing soil erosion issues. A study was carried out in Guna Begemider district, within the Guna watershed in North Western Ethiopia, to assess the impact of SWCPs and slope gradient on specific soil physicochemical properties. Comparing land that has been conserved using soil conservation practices to land that has not been conserved on the same slope. The effects of SWCP were once again studied on three different slope gradients: 5-10% for lower slope, 10-15% for middle slope, and 15-30% for upper slope, as well as two soil depths. The study followed a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with a total of 36 soil samples taken from 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm depths, replicated three times. The physical and chemical properties were examined at the laboratory services of Amhara Design and Supervision Work Enterprise. The results of the study showed that soil bulk density (BD), soil pH, soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (Av-P), cation exchange capacity (CEC), and exchangeable cations (Na+, K+, Ca2+, except Mg2+) were significantly different (P < 0.05), with the land conserved by soil conservation practices showing better conditions than the non-conserved control under the three slope gradients and the two soil depths. No significant difference was observed in terms of soil texture between the conserved and non-conserved lands, but there were significant differences among the slope gradient. The highest basic cations concentration and pH were found at the bottom (lower) slope position. Minimum organic matter was found in soils of lower sloping areas. Biological conservation practices, especially root branched grass species and nitrogen-fixing species, within the proper maintenance of conservation measures should be maximized.