Abstract:
Land degradation is the major threat which leads to decline in soil fertility and other
challenges to the Sri Lanka’s dry zone agriculture. The effective land use system is one of the
ways to improve and restore soil fertility. In this background, this study aimed to evaluate the
effects of six land use systems: permaculture, organic, inorganic, integrated, forest and bare land;
physical and chemical soil properties; to identify effective management strategies. Soil samples
wre collected from six lands uses in Vavuniya District at two depths (0-15 cm and 15-30 cm) and
analyzed for physical parameters (texture, bulk density, porosity, and dry aggregate stability) and
chemical characteristics (pH, EC, CEC, available N, P, K, total organic carbon, and soil color).
The treatments were arranged in complete randomized design with three replicates and statistical
analysis was done by using ANOVA (SAS 9.4) at a 0.05 significance level. The results revealed
significant variations across land-use systems and depths. Forest and permaculture soils
exhibited significantly improved properties, low bulk density (1.55-1.56 g/cm 3 ), high porosity (>
50%), high CEC (>25 cmol+/kg), and greater total organic carbon (2.46%). In contrast, inorganic
and bare lands showed higher compaction (1.64-1.67 g/cm 3 ), reduced porosity, and nutrient
depletion. Organic and integrated systems demonstrated moderate improvements, suggesting
their potential in rehabilitating degraded soils. These findings emphasize that land-use type
profoundly influences physical and chemical properties of the soil. Further studies are needed to
document the effect on biological indicators of the soil and the potential of carbon sequestration.
