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The Impact of Deforestation on Soil Conditions in Anambra State of Nigeria

Received: 25 February 2015     Accepted: 25 February 2015     Published: 19 May 2015
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Abstract

The research was carried out to determine the impact of deforestation on soil conditions in Anambra State. Ten soil samples were collected at random at a depth of 0-35cm below the litter layer from forests and farmlands. The soil samples were collected and analyzed for pH, field capacity, soil moisture, organic carbon, bulk density, soil micro-organism and particle size distribution. The result revealed that soil texture was mostly sandy except in some areas such as Atani, Nzam, Mmiata and Oroma-etiti, where it was generally heavy (clay loam). The result also revealed that the soil samples from the forests have better physical, chemical and biological properties compared to samples from farmlands. The results showed considerable variation for the soil physical, chemical and biological properties across the study area. Soil data were analyzed using Least Significant Difference (LSD). The analysis revealed that the main effect of land use was significant (p<0.05) for soil moisture, bulk density, organic carbon, organic matter, pH, viable bacteria number and viable fungal propagule. It was not significant for sand, silt, clay and field capacity. The interaction effect of location and land use on soil properties were significant (p<0.05) only for soil moisture, it was not significant for other soil variables. The study recommended, among others, the protection of forests from deforestation so as to maintain good soil conditions in the study area.

Published in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Volume 4, Issue 3-1)

This article belongs to the Special Issue Environment and Applied Science Management in a Changing Global Climate

DOI 10.11648/j.aff.s.2015040301.21
Page(s) 64-69
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Soil Texture, Least Significant Difference, Soil Properties, Forests, Farmlands

References
[1] Gaston, G., Brown, S., Lorenzini, M., and Singh, K. D. (1998). State and change in carbon pools in the forests of tropical Africa. Global Change Biology, Vol. 4, pp. 97-114
[2] Raintree, J.B., and Warner, K. (1986). Agrofor. Syst. 4, 39-54.
[3] Obi, J.L., and Tuley, P. (1973). The Bush Fallow and Ley Farming in the Oil Palm Belt of Southeastern Nigeria. Land Resour. Div. Misc. Rep. No. 161. ODM., England.
[4] Okigbo, B.N. (1982). In “Agroforestry in the African Humid Tropics” (L. H. Macdonald, ed.), pp.41-45. United Nations Univ., Tokyo.
[5] Getahun, A., Wilson, G.F., and Kang, B. T. (1982). In “Agroforestry in the African Humid Tropics” (H. McDonald, eds.), pp.28-36. United Nations Univ., Tokyo.
[6] Ofomata, G.E.K. (1975). Nigeria in Maps: Eastern States. In G.E.K. Ofomata (Ed). Vegetation Types and Soils. pp.30-45. Ethiope Publishing House,Benin, Nigeria.
[7] Olusola, J. O., Ajibola, U. K., and Samuel O. A. (2003). Depositional Environments, Organic Richness, and Petroleum Generating Potential of the Campanian to Maastrichtian Enugu Formation, Anambra Basin,Nigeria.
[8] Kundu, N.K. and Ghose, M.K. (1997). Studies on the topsoil of an opencast coal mine. Environmental Conservation, 21 (2), 126-132.
[9] Kundu, N.K. and Ghose, M.K. (1997). Studies on the topsoil of an opencast coal mine. Environmental Conservation, 21 (2), 126-132.
[10] Dakshinamurti, C. and Gupta, R.P. (1968). Practicals in Soil Physics, pp. 1-16. Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.
[11] Gee, G.W. and Bauder, J.W. (1986) Particles size analysis. In: Methods of Soil analysis part 1. A. Klute (Eds) Am. Soc. Agron. Madision 101 USA. pp. 38 - 41.
[12] Biswas, T.D. and Mukherjee, S.K. (1994). Textbook of Soil Science. Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Co. Ltd., second reprint, New Delhi.
[13] Ghose, A.B., Bajaj, J.C., Hasan, R. and Singh, D. (1983). Soil and Water Testing Methods. Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.
[14] Genstat 5 Reference Manual, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1987, 749 pp., ISBN 0-19-852212-6
[15] Ogbodo, E.N., Okorie, P.O. and Utobo, E. B. (2010). Growth and Yield of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) at Abakaliki Agro-Ecological Zone of Southeastern Nigeria. World Journal of Agricultural Sciences. Vol 6, No 2, pp. 144-148.
[16] Asadu C. L. A. and Akamigbo F.O.R. (1990). Relative contribution of organic matter and clay fractions to cation exchange capacity of soils in southeastern Nigeria. Samaru. J. Agri. Res. Vol 7, pp 17-23
[17] Asadu C. L. A. and Akamigbo F.O.R. (1990). Relative contribution of organic matter and clay fractions to cation exchange capacity of soils in southeastern Nigeria. Samaru. J. Agri. Res. Vol 7, pp 17-23.
[18] Lemenih, M., Karltun, E., and Tolera, M. (2011). Comparing farmers’ perception of soil fertility change with soil properties and crop performance in Beseku, Ethiopia. Land Degraded. Development.
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  • APA Style

    Anyanwu J. C., Egbuche C. T., Amaku. G. E., Duruora J. O., Onwuagba, et al. (2015). The Impact of Deforestation on Soil Conditions in Anambra State of Nigeria. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 4(3-1), 64-69. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.s.2015040301.21

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    ACS Style

    Anyanwu J. C.; Egbuche C. T.; Amaku. G. E.; Duruora J. O.; Onwuagba, et al. The Impact of Deforestation on Soil Conditions in Anambra State of Nigeria. Agric. For. Fish. 2015, 4(3-1), 64-69. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.s.2015040301.21

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    AMA Style

    Anyanwu J. C., Egbuche C. T., Amaku. G. E., Duruora J. O., Onwuagba, et al. The Impact of Deforestation on Soil Conditions in Anambra State of Nigeria. Agric For Fish. 2015;4(3-1):64-69. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.s.2015040301.21

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  • @article{10.11648/j.aff.s.2015040301.21,
      author = {Anyanwu J. C. and Egbuche C. T. and Amaku. G. E. and Duruora J. O. and Onwuagba and S. M.},
      title = {The Impact of Deforestation on Soil Conditions in Anambra State of Nigeria},
      journal = {Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries},
      volume = {4},
      number = {3-1},
      pages = {64-69},
      doi = {10.11648/j.aff.s.2015040301.21},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.s.2015040301.21},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aff.s.2015040301.21},
      abstract = {The research was carried out to determine the impact of deforestation on soil conditions in Anambra State. Ten soil samples were collected at random at a depth of 0-35cm below the litter layer from forests and farmlands. The soil samples were collected and analyzed for pH, field capacity, soil moisture, organic carbon, bulk density, soil micro-organism and particle size distribution. The result revealed that soil texture was mostly sandy except in some areas such as Atani, Nzam, Mmiata and Oroma-etiti, where it was generally heavy (clay loam). The result also revealed that the soil samples from the forests have better physical, chemical and biological properties compared to samples from farmlands. The results showed considerable variation for the soil physical, chemical and biological properties across the study area. Soil data were analyzed using Least Significant Difference (LSD). The analysis revealed that the main effect of land use was significant (p<0.05) for soil moisture, bulk density, organic carbon, organic matter, pH, viable bacteria number and viable fungal propagule. It was not significant for sand, silt, clay and field capacity. The interaction effect of location and land use on soil properties were significant (p<0.05) only for soil moisture, it was not significant for other soil variables. The study recommended, among others, the protection of forests from deforestation so as to maintain good soil conditions in the study area.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - The Impact of Deforestation on Soil Conditions in Anambra State of Nigeria
    AU  - Anyanwu J. C.
    AU  - Egbuche C. T.
    AU  - Amaku. G. E.
    AU  - Duruora J. O.
    AU  - Onwuagba
    AU  - S. M.
    Y1  - 2015/05/19
    PY  - 2015
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.s.2015040301.21
    DO  - 10.11648/j.aff.s.2015040301.21
    T2  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    JF  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    JO  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    SP  - 64
    EP  - 69
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5648
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.s.2015040301.21
    AB  - The research was carried out to determine the impact of deforestation on soil conditions in Anambra State. Ten soil samples were collected at random at a depth of 0-35cm below the litter layer from forests and farmlands. The soil samples were collected and analyzed for pH, field capacity, soil moisture, organic carbon, bulk density, soil micro-organism and particle size distribution. The result revealed that soil texture was mostly sandy except in some areas such as Atani, Nzam, Mmiata and Oroma-etiti, where it was generally heavy (clay loam). The result also revealed that the soil samples from the forests have better physical, chemical and biological properties compared to samples from farmlands. The results showed considerable variation for the soil physical, chemical and biological properties across the study area. Soil data were analyzed using Least Significant Difference (LSD). The analysis revealed that the main effect of land use was significant (p<0.05) for soil moisture, bulk density, organic carbon, organic matter, pH, viable bacteria number and viable fungal propagule. It was not significant for sand, silt, clay and field capacity. The interaction effect of location and land use on soil properties were significant (p<0.05) only for soil moisture, it was not significant for other soil variables. The study recommended, among others, the protection of forests from deforestation so as to maintain good soil conditions in the study area.
    VL  - 4
    IS  - 3-1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Environmental Technology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria

  • Department of Forestry and Wildlife Techhnology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria

  • Department of Environmental Technology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria

  • Collage of Education, Nsugbe Anambra State, Nigeria

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