KAJIAN SIFAT FISIKA TANAH PADA BEBERAPA SATUAN LAHAN DI NAGARI KOTO MALINTANG, MANINJAU

Different types of land use and slope cause different soil physical properties. It is due to the management given to the land, as well as the effects of vegetation growing on it. Human activity can cause changes in soil and water conditions due to changing in soil physics. This study was aimed to determine some soilphysical properties in several units of land in the Koto Malintang, Maninjau, Tanjung Raya. This research was conducted by survey method. The data obtained from laboratory analysis were calculated the average value, then tabulated, and compared to the criteria of soil physical properties and presented in tables. The results of the research showed that there were differences of soil physical properties, especially texture, organic matter, and soil permeability in Koto Malintang areas under cinnamon, secondary forest, mixed garden, and cocoa land use. The bulk density (BD) and total pore (TP) of the soil were medium (0.70-1.01g/cm3 and 58.86-71.71%, respectively) at all land units for 0-20cm and 20-40cm soil depth. Then, the soil texture was categorized as coarse (loam to sandy clay). The highest soil organic matter content was found under secondary forest (6.42%) and then followed bycinnamon (5.18%), mixed garden (5.15%), andcocoa (3.60%) types of land use. The highest rate of permeability(28.83 - 30.38 cm/h = very fast) was found under secondary forest having >25% slope and the lowest rate (1.71 cm/h = slightly slow)was under mix garden having 8-15% slope. Based on the condition in Nagari Koto Malintang, it could be suggested (to farmers)to maintain environmentally sound land resource management, and not to cultivate the land intensively forseasonal agricultural system. Keywords: land use, soil texture, organic matter, bulk density, total pore, permeability