Wetlands play a number of vital roles in the ecosystem, such as serving as nutrient sinks, preventing floods, storing carbon, and filtering water. Encroachment on wetlands has led to substantial economic and environmental losses, including water quality degradation, loss of biodiversity and natural habitats, reduced climate mitigation as well as social and health risks. This study evaluated the effect of different land use types on nutrient stock distribution across varying soil depths in Busega wetland. The soil samples were collected in three different land uses (annually cultivated areas, perennially cultivated areas, and the undisturbed wetland area) at three different depths (0 - 10 cm, 10 - 20 cm, and 20 - 30 cm) in 2021. The soil samples were analyzed for physicochemical soil properties including soil texture and nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, and potassium concentrations. The interaction between land use type and soil depth did not have a significant effect on nutrient distribution. However, our results showed that the main effects of land use type and soil depth influenced nutrient stock distribution across the wetland. Higher nutrient concentrations were observed under perennial cropping system than in both annual cropping system and the undisturbed wetland area. Soils under perennial cropping systems had the highest soil organic matter (1.45%), calcium (2.06 Cmol/Kg) and potassium (0.091 Cmol/Kg) levels. Higher soil organic matter (1.40%), nitrogen (0.22%), calcium (1.74 Cmol/Kg), and potassium (0.07 Cmol/Kg) were found at the mid-soil depth of 10 - 20 cm. Our results show substantial nutrient changes due to agricultural activities in the Busega wetland, suggesting further research is urgently needed to determine if these changes have adverse effects on biodiversity and water quality of the wetland and nearby water resources.
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