Assessing soil quality: The integrated effects of land use types and slope positions on soil quality indicators in Maya‐Guddoo sub‐watershed of Maya‐City, eastern Ethiopia

Abstract Soil degradation in the Hararghe region, driven by intensive cultivation, threatens agricultural productivity and soil health. While land use types (LUT) and topography are known to influence soil quality, their synergistic interaction and socioeconomic factors that modulate it remain a critical gap, limiting the effectiveness of management strategies. This study introduces a socio‐topographic framework to investigate soil quality in the Maya‐Guddoo sub‐watershed, eastern Ethiopia. We moved beyond assessing LUT and slope positions in isolation to quantitatively decipher how their interaction, mediated by farmers' management decisions, creates heterogeneous landscape soil health. Composite soil samples ( n = 27 from 0‐ to 20‐cm depth) were collected from cultivated, khat, and grazing lands, upper, middle, and lower slopes. Soil quality index (SQI) was computed using a linear scoring method for key physical and chemical indicators. A statistical analysis via two‐way analysis of variance revealed a highly significant interaction (p < 0.001) between LUT and slope. Crucially, we identified a previously unreported phenomenon: the formation of a high‐quality soil enclave (SQI = 0.73) within a khat plantation on middle slopes. This contrasts starkly with the severe degradation of upper‐slope khat and cultivated systems (SQI = 0.59), demonstrating that the impact of cash crops is not uniform but is contingent upon their topographic context. Our findings challenge conventional LUT‐based degradation models by revealing that economic prioritization can override typical degradation pathways, creating pockets of enhanced soil quality where farmers' investment is concentrated. This novel insight mandates a paradigm shift in soil conservation, from blanket recommendation toward spatially explicit interventions that leverage topographic vulnerabilities and socioeconomic incentives for sustainable land management