Effect of environmental pollution on susceptibility of sesquioxide-rich soils to water erosion

Abstract

This work assessed the impact of environmental pollution on soils susceptibility to water erosion within South-eastern Nigeria. Sources of pollutants which could possibly affect the chemical composition of runoff; hence its pH, were first determined by remote sensing and field observations. Rain and runoff water samples collected within the study area were analysed for its physicochemical compositions. Soil samples were also collected and analysed for their geotechnical properties, and chemical composition of their fine fractions. An empirical method was then employed to determine the effect of change in chemical composition of runoff on the susceptibility of the studied soil to water erosion. This was achieved by conducting soil aggregate slaking, dispersion and dissolution tests on aqueous solutions of varying pH. Results from the experiment shows that the fine particle fractions of the soils are chiefly composed of sesquioxides. The slaking of these sesquioxide-cemented soils is not affected by the variations in pH of the solutions, but rather by the plasticity index of the soils. However, dispersion and dissolution of the soil samples where dependent on variations in the pH of the solutions. It was therefore concluded that environmental pollution has the potential of increasing runoff erosivity.