Abstract
Data on the nature, properties and potentials of soils is grossly inadequate in the rainforest belt of southeastern Nigeria. As such, policymakers and other land users have tended to subscribe to unduly generalized ideas about the soils of the region. This has led to improper land use planning and aggravated land degradation. This necessitated the need for the comparative evaluation of the nature and potentials of the soils of the region to determine their degree of variability. Profile pits were dug in four towns underlain by different geologic formations: Umungwa (Benin Formation), Umuawa Ogii (Nsukka Formation), Ikpem (Igbaku Sandstones) and Amuro (Imo Clay Shales). The soils were characterized and classified using the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Soil Taxonomy and land capability classification. The variability of soils across the different sites was subsequently analysed using the coefficient of variation (CV). The results show that the variability of sand across the study sites was moderate (20 – 21 %), silt was high (63 %), clay ranged from moderate (34 %) to high (52 %), while hydraulic conductivity was very high (128 – 144 %). Similarly, with regards to the chemical properties, soil pH and base saturation ranged from moderate (20 – 49 %) to high (52 %), while effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) and aluminium saturation were high (70 – 77 %). It was concluded that the soils of southeastern Nigeria are very heterogeneous. Undue generalization should consequently be discouraged.
Highlights
The rapidly expanding population of Southeastern Nigeria is putting severe pressure on the static soil resource base, resulting in the shortening of the fallow period, with an attendant decline in soil productivity
The major objective of this study is to comparatively evaluate the nature and potentials of soils formed from different geologic formations in the rainforest belt of Southeastern Nigeria
With regards to the physical properties, variability of sand across the study sites was moderate (CV ranging from 20 to 21 %), silt was high (CV of 63 %), clay ranged from moderate (CV of 34 %) to high (CV of 52 %), while hydraulic conductivity was very high (CV ranging from 128 to 144 %)
Summary
The rapidly expanding population of Southeastern Nigeria is putting severe pressure on the static soil resource base, resulting in the shortening of the fallow period, with an attendant decline in soil productivity. Poor soil management practices and inadequate land use planning have exacerbated the hazardous situation, leading to accelerated land degradation. This buttresses the need for a holistic understanding of the soils of Southeastern Nigeria, with a view towards determining their classification and sustainable land use types. The data is grossly inadequate for project site selection, land use planning, soil management and environmental sustainability determination (Fagbami and Ogunkunle, 2000; Esu, 2004)
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