Abstract
A study was carried out to characterize the physico-chemical properties and micronutrients status of soil developed on Anantigha coastal marine sediment in Calabar. Four profile pits were dug along the coastal area and soil samples taken from identified horizons were subjected to laboratory routine analysis. The data obtained were subjected to one-way Analysis of variance (ANOVA). The predominant colours observed for the study were mostly; dark greys (2.5YR 4/1) and black (10YR 2/1). The soil were massive in structure and has very sticky and very plastic in consistence and the boundary observed was mostly diffuse smooth and clear smooth. Percent sand fraction was the dominant particle size fraction except in profile 4. Soil in profile 1 was made up of sandy loam, silt loam loamy sand, loam and sandy clay loam, while soil in profiles 2, 3 and 4 were predominantly sandy loam, sandy clay loam and silt loam, respectively. Soil pH measured in water and calcium chloride were very strongly acidic and increases with horizon depth with pH mean values of 2.5 in H 2 O and 2.2 in CaCl 2 for surface soil and 2.7 in H 2 O and 2.4 in CaCl 2 for sub- surface soils. The organic carbon and organic matter content of the surface soils were high and those of the subsurface soils were moderate. The mean electrical conductivity was 2.0 and 2.3 dsm -1 for surface and subsurface soils respectively. The exchangeable cations (Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , K + and Na + ) were moderate to high in both surface and subsurface soils. The exchangeable acidity (Al 3+ and H + ) were high. CEC was low in surface soils and high in subsurface soils. Base saturation in both surface and subsurface soils was below 50 %. The results obtained for available micronutrients showed that the mean values for Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn were 1.43, 0.92, 134.65 and 5.05 mg/kg for surface soil and 1.89, 1.89, 121.29 and 1.48 mg/kg for subsurface soil. Zn and Cu were generally “low” to “medium” in all the horizons of the pedons while Fe and Mn values were “high”. Agronomic practice such as liming that will raise soil pH is recommended so that levels of nutrients that are below the critical levels will be made available in the soil. Keywords: Morphology, micronutrients, physicochemical, marine sediment
Highlights
In responding to the problems of food shortages, fluctuating prices of crude oil and food insecurity in Nigeria, government at all levels and other development partners have been embarking on sensitization campaigns and necessary reforms directed at encouraging people to embrace modern agricultural practices
Value keeps increasing with the same hue and sometime chroma implying that the organic matter distribution in the soil profile declines as the soil textural class mainly dominated by clay
The texture observed irrespective of location can be favourable for agricultural cultivation
Summary
In responding to the problems of food shortages, fluctuating prices of crude oil and food insecurity in Nigeria, government at all levels and other development partners have been embarking on sensitization campaigns and necessary reforms directed at encouraging people to embrace modern agricultural practices. Upland soils where all this campaign were directed at are faced with stiff competition for industrial uses and few available ones are losing its fertility status due to continuous cropping without addition of external inputs to restore its fertility status. Most of these soils required high level of irrigation depending on crop water requirement. In Nigeria, mangrove soils occupy 973, 000 hectares, while in the Cross River estuary; about 70,400 ha of coastal swamp are vegetated by mangroves (Akpan-Idiok and Esu, 2003). It can be seen as soil developed from sediments deposited under natural conditions in tidal areas with high daily water-table
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