Ethiopian Journal of Environment and Development

Area specific investigation of impacts derived from liming acid soils and the consequent effects on plant nutrient bioavailability and soil physicochemical properties is important. This work aimed at investigating dynamics of nutrient bioavailability and changes in soil physicochemical properties under liming acid soils in the west Wallaga zone of western Ethiopian high rainfall regions. Lime requirements were calculated for all soil samples using the acid saturation procedure. Then, important physicochemical properties of the soils and bioavailability of nutrients were determined following standard procedures. The highest changes observed as a result of liming were 36.59 to 37.19 cmol Kg⁻¹ for CEC, 0.97% to 0.47% for SOC, 1.76 to 1.40 g cm⁻³ for bulk density, 30.31 to 37.21% for porosity, 30.25 to 34.55 µS cm⁻¹ for EC, 2.56 to 0.26 cmol Kg⁻¹ for EA, and 0.08 to 0.02% for TN. This is attributed to the relatively higher CEC of clayey soils. It was observed that liming conditions, CEC, EC, EA, SOM, TN, and AP have significant (p < 0.001) correlations amongst themselves and with some other soil physicochemical properties such as porosity, bulk density, and C/N ratio. Bioavailability of P, N, S, Ca, K, and Mg were significantly positively (p < 0.01) enhanced by liming. This is due to improved mineralization of organic compounds, solubilization of some K, Ca, and Mg compounds, and input of Ca and Mg through liming. More research may be necessary to create a further understanding of the long-term effects of liming acidic soils on innate sources of nutrients and biological properties.