Abstract:
Uganda’s soils were once considered the most fertile in Africa, but soil erosion and soil
nutrient mining have led to soil degradation and declining agricultural productivity. Lack
of environmental awareness among farmers, traditional agricultural practices, minimal
inorganic fertilizer use, and little to no use of improved crop varieties all contribute to
continued soil degradation. The objectives of this study were: (1) to characterize the spatial
distribution of selected physical and chemical soil properties in Uganda on a national scale
utilizing the data collected by Nkonya et al. (2008), and (2) to identify the major factors
and processes that are dominant in explaining the spatial variability of these physical and
chemical soil properties in Uganda on a national scale