Assessment of soil erosion in cultivated fields using a survey methodology for rills in the northern part of Taraba State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed soil erosion from 10 cultivated fields in the two comparable topographies using a survey methodology that focused on rills. The results revealed that rills were developed in all the 10 surveyed farms of the two contrasting land-use sites. The farm sizes on the hill slope site were lower but had the highest total numbers of rills compared to flatland farms. The field measurement of the rills parameters revealed greater length and depth of erosion in the hill slopes farm areas than on the flatland farm site. The magnitude and rates of rill erosion were also much higher and within the threshold range for the country-cultivated fields considered severe on the hill slope site than on the flatland site. This unveiled that soil erosion inform of rill erosion is a threat to agricultural production in the hill slope site. It was recommended that the expectations and perceptions of farmers be integrated into future studies to provide empirical evidence of farmers’ preference for cultivating hillslope sites while there are flatlands.