Enset (Ensete ventricosum Welw. Cheesman)-based homegardens have long been practiced as central elements of agricultural land management and food security in south and southwest Ethiopia. In contrast to the homegardens’ biodiversity and role in food security, soil quality has received little attention. Objective of this study was to assess soil quality parameters in typical homegardens in comparison with adjacent croplands, both under continuous management for >30 years. The study was undertaken at high (2200–2330 masl), mid (1799–1849 masl), and low (1349–1381 masl) elevation in the central Omo-Gibe basin, southwest Ethiopia. Through interviews of 49 randomly selected farm households, and soil sampling at six paired sites at high and mid elevations, and five paired sites of low elevation, we found that homegardens received the majority of household waste and manure and were less frequently tilled. By contrast, some, but not all, croplands occasionally received inorganic fertilizer. Homegarden soil had significantly greater (P < 0.05) soil organic carbon (SOC) concentrations than croplands. At 0–20 cm depth, SOC concentrations in homegardens (22.4–26.4 mg g⁻¹ soil) were twice as high as in croplands (11.5–12.7 mg g^-1 soil). Most likely the lower content of SOC in cropland was due to the limited input of organic matter and intensive tillage. The top 60 cm of homegarden soils stored 21–32 Mg ha^-1 more SOC than adjacent croplands. Homegardens at high elevation had a significantly greater SOC stock (P < 0.05) than at low elevation. Hot water extractable (labile) organic carbon levels at 0–20 cm in homegardens (540–649 μg g^-1 soil) were three to five times greater than in croplands (106–207 μg g^-1 soil) and was strongly correlated with the SOC concentration (R² = 0.85, in homegardens). The fraction of water-stable macro-aggregates (>0.5 mm) was positively correlated with the SOC concentration and significantly greater in homegardens than in cropland. Our results show that traditional homegardens represent a sustainable form of land management and cropping system, enhancing SOC concentration, soil structure and fertility.

Ensete（Ensete ventricosum）韦尔 埃塞俄比亚南部和西南部，以切斯曼（Cheesman）为基地的家园长期以来一直被当作农业土地管理和粮食安全的核心要素。与家园的生物多样性及其在粮食安全中的作用相比，土壤质量几乎没有受到关注。这项研究的目的是在连续管理> 30年的情况下，评估与相邻耕地相比，典型家园的土壤质量参数。这项研究是在埃塞俄比亚西南部Omo-Gibe盆地的中高（2200-2330 masl），中（1799-1849 masl）和低（1349-1381 masl）进行的。通过对49个随机选择的农户进行访谈，并在高海拔和中海拔的六个配对地点和低海拔的五个配对地点进行了土壤采样，我们发现，花园里的家庭垃圾和粪便最多，而耕种的频率降低了。相比之下，一些（但不是全部）农田偶尔会使用无机肥料。家园土壤明显更大（P＜0.05）土壤有机碳（SOC）浓度高于农田。在0-20厘米的深度，在homegardens SOC浓度（22.4-26.4毫克克^-1土壤）为两倍高在农田（11.5-12.7毫克克^-1土）。耕地中SOC含量较低的原因很可能是由于有机物质输入量不足和耕作密集。距家园最高的60厘米土壤存储的SOC比相邻农田多21–32 Mg ha ^-1。高海拔的家园的SOC储量明显高于低海拔的家园（P <0.05）。热水萃取的（不稳定的）在0-20厘米homegardens（540-649微克克有机碳含量^-1土壤）为三至五倍比农田（106-207微克g以上^-1土壤），并且与SOC浓度密切相关（在家庭花园中，R ² = 0.85）。水分稳定的大型骨料的比例（> 0.5 mm）与SOC浓度呈正相关，并且在花园中比在农田中要大得多。我们的结果表明，传统的花园代表了土地管理和耕作制度的可持续形式，提高了土壤有机碳含量，土壤结构和肥力。