CLASSIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SOILS UNDER

THREE LANDUSE TYPES

{65 PAGES}

DEPARTMENT OF SOIL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
CERTIFICATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
Abstract v
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi
CHAPTER ONE 1
1.0 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 MAIN OBJECTIVE 2
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES 2
CHAPTER TWO 3
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 3
2.1 FUNCTIONS OF SOIL 3
2.1.1 Soil fertility and sustainable agriculture 7
2.2 SOIL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES 9
2.2.1 Soil texture 9
2.2.2 Bulk and particle densities 10
2.2.3 Total porosity 11
2.2.4 Soil water content and retention capacity 12
2.3 SOIL CHEMICAL PROPERTIES 13
2.3.1 Soil reaction (pH) and electrical conductivity 14
2.3.2 Soil organic matter 15
2.3.3 Total nitrogen 17
2.3.4 Carbon to nitrogen ratio 18
2.3.5 Available phosphorus 20
2.3.6 Cation exchange capacity 20
2.3.7 Exchangeable acidity 22
2.3.8 Exchangeable potassium and sodium 23
2.3.9 Exchangeable calcium and magnesium 24
2.4 CONCEPT OF LAND USE AND LAND COVER (LULC) 25
2.5 CAUSES OF LAND USE CHANGE 27
2.5.1 Effects of Land Use Change 30
CHAPTER THREE 31
3.0 MATERIALS AND l\1ETHOD 31
3.1 STUDY AREA 31
3.2 CLIMATE 31
3.3 GEOLOGY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY 31
3.4 LAND USE/VEGETATION 32
3.5 SAMPLE COLLECTION 32
3.6 SOIL LABORATORY ANALYSIS 32
3.6.1 Physical laboratory analysis 33
3.6.2 Chemical laboratory analysis 33
3.7 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS 34
CHAPTER FOUR 35
4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 35
4.1 MORPHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF THE STUDIED SOILS 35
4.2 EFFECTS OF LANDUSE TYPES ON SOIL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES 37
4.3 EFFECT OF LANDUSE TYPES ON SOIL CHEMICAL PROPERTIES 40
4.4 RELATIONSHIP AMONG THE SOIL PROPERTIES STUDIED 45
CHAPTER FIVE 49
5.0 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 49
5.1 CONCLUSION 49
5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS 50
REFERENCES 51
 CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Soil is under constant usage due to heavy anthropogenic activities hence the increase in the
demand for information on soils (Fasina et al., 2007). Agriculture is the predominant economic
activity in Nigeria and because of agricultural development and increasing demand for
experimental data in Nigeria, much work is carried out on soil characterization. This provides the
basic information necessary to create functional soil classification schemes and assess soil
fertility in order to unravel some unique soil problems in an ecosystem (Lekwa et al., 2004).

The coupling of soil characterization and soil classification provides a powerful resource for the
benefit of mankind especially in the area of food security and environmental sustainability
(Sharu et al, 2013). Soil characterization provides the information for our understanding of the
physical, chemical, mineralogical and microbiological properties of the soils we depend on to
grow crops, sustain forests and grasslands as well as support homes and society structures
(Ogunkunle, 2005).

Soil classification on the other hand helps to organize our knowledge, facilitates the transfer of
experience and technology from one place to another and helps to compare soil properties. A soil
characterization study therefore is a major building block for understanding the soil,
classification of it and getting the best understanding of the environment (Esu, 2005). Land use
is defined as the total arrangement activities and inputs that people undertake in a certain land
cover type (FAO 1997a; FAO/UNEP, 1999). Some land use types according to FAO's world
census of Agriculture (FAO 1986) which would be put under consideration for the purpose of
this study includes:
i. Land under temporary crops such as cassava, Yam, etc.
ii. Land under temporary farrow (i.e. land that has a resting period of time that is less than
five (5) years before it is cultivated again)
iii. Land under Residential/Industrial/Transportation facilities but for the purpose of this
study, residential building sites.
Due to the fact that the study area is an agrigarian cum semi-urban settlement and not much
study has been carried out on the soils of the area, characterization and classification under three
predominant land use types will aid in the effective management and use of soils on a suitable
and more productive manner.

1.1 MAIN OBJECTIVE

The main objective of this study is therefore to characterize and classify the soils under three (3)
different land uses.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

The specific objectives of the study are as follows:

I. To carry out a morphological, physical and chemical characterization of the soils.
II. To classify the soil using the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and
World Reference Base (WRB) soil classification systems.
III. To ascertain the relationships among the soil properties studied.
To compare the soil properties of the three land uses amongst each other.

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