Assessment of the soil chemical properties using the lada methodologies in lesotho: the case of mphosong-bolahla watershed in the foothills of the leribe district

Land degradation in Lesotho is destroying the limited natural resources on which the Basothos’ depend for survival. Soil chemical property assessment was conducted at the Bolahla-Mphosong Catchemnt using LADA Mehtodologies to estimate the extent of soil nutrients depletion and the level of degradation in the catchment. The study indicated that the level of degradation in the catchment was from slightly to very highly degraded soils and there was severe Phosphorus with Nitrogen depletion whiles organic carbon and organic matter content were poor in the soil due to low pH. Sustainable management practise such as Conservation Agriculture (CA), organic mulching, liming, contour ridging and stripe cropping, avoid overgrazing and avoid farming on marginal lands should be encouraged among the land user to help mitigate land degradation in the catchment. Also, the study should be repeated to ascertain concrete evidence on the soil properties to help undertake decision support projects.