The Effects of Land use Change on the Some Soil Properties in Gbonyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria

Olofin, E O,Adebayo, W O

doi:10.12944/crjssh.1.2.04

Abstract

The aim of this research is to examine the response of some soil properties to the changes in land cover/land use in Gbonyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria. Land use changes as a result of human activities have been identified as one of the greatest pressures to soil and forest resources. The change from natural vegetation land use to built-up and agricultural land uses is becoming rampant in Gbonyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of land use change on the some soil properties. Two major land use types which include forest lands and residential lands uses were explored. Soil samples were collected at the depth of 0 on 30cm through the use of soil auger from ten different locations in each of the two land use types in the study area making twenty soil samples. The use of t-test statistical tool was implored on the laboratory results in order to test for the differences between the soil in forest and residential land use types. Results revealed that the soil physico-chemical properties differed significantly between the sites. Chemical properties of the soil were found to be generally low in residential land use while they were high in vegetation land use. Bulk density was high in residential land use while it was low in forest land use.

Highlights

Land use changes linked with the anthropogenic and natural factors affect many ecosystems including soil and forest[1] Land degradation resulting from various anthropogenic factors has been a major challenge since the 20th century and will remain high on the international agenda in the 21st century.[2]
Two different adjacent land use types were identified in Gbonyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria
The t-test analysis for calcium concentration showed that the Tcal (10.33) was higher than Ttab (2.10) at 0.05 level of significance which implies that there is significance difference in the calcium concentration between forest and residential land uses in Gbonyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State

Summary

Introduction

Land use changes linked with the anthropogenic and natural factors affect many ecosystems including soil and forest[1] Land degradation resulting from various anthropogenic factors has been a major challenge since the 20th century and will remain high on the international agenda in the 21st century.[2].

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion