Babalola, T. S.1,*, Ogunleye, K. S.2, Lawal, J. A.1 and Ilori, A. O. A.2
1 Kabba College of Agriculture, Division of Agricultural Colleges, Ahmadu Bello University, Kabba, Kogi State, Nigeria
2 Department of Soil Science and Land Management, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ikole Campus, Ekiti State, Nigeria
*Corresponding Author: drbabalolatemitopeseun@gmail.com
Vol. 5 No. 1 | March 2021 | Pages 102 – 109
https://doi.org/10.36263/nijest.2021.01.0240 | Cite this article
ABSTRACT
Some soils in Kabba College of Agriculture, Kogi State, southern guinea savannah zone of Nigeria, were assessed to ascertain the levels of degradation of soil properties. The rigid grid soil survey method was used to identify seven soil units. Soils were sampled at 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm soil depth and analyzed for physical and chemical properties using standard methods. Levels of degradation were obtained by comparing laboratory data with the standard land/soil requirement (indicators/criteria) for grouping lands into different degradation classes of 1 to 4 (non to slightly, moderately, highly, and very highly degraded). Results showed that units D (soghum) and E (citrus) were very highly degraded (Class 4) of exchangeable potassium; units C (yam), D and E were highly degraded (Class 3) of organic matter. Other units were moderately degraded (Class 2) of base saturation, bulk density and total nitrogen. There was no degradation of available phosphorus and exchangeable sodium percentage in all the units. Physical and chemical degradation took place in the study area with respect to bulk density, base saturation, total nitrogen, potassium, and organic matter. Sustainable management practices that will promote good bulk density and organic matter accumulation should be encouraged.
Keywords: Degradation, Assessments, Chemical, Physical, Indicators
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Cite this article as:
Babalola, T. S., Ogunleye, K. S., Lawal, J. A. and Ilori, A. O. A., 2021. An Assessment of Degradation of Soil Properties in Kabba College of Agriculture, Kogi State, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Environmental Sciences and Technology, 5(1), pp. 102-109. https://doi.org/10.36263/nijest.2021.01.0240