EVALUATION OF SOIL QUALITY UNDER DIFFERENT LAND USE TYPES IN THE COASTAL PLAIN SANDS OF NIGER DELTA

The impact of three land use types (fallow land, continuous cropping, and mono cropping) on soil quality on soils generated from Niger Delta coastal plain sand was studied. Four profiles were dug, one in each of the land use categories in the research area duplicated three times, and a total of sixty-nine soil samples were submitted to laboratory examination at Choba, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. The sand component dominated the particle size distribution, followed by clay and silt, with the monocropping land use type having the greatest silt to clay ratio of 0.9. The diverse land uses in the research region had a significant (p0.05) impact on the soil chemical characteristics.The soil has the capacity to degrade, according to its degradation rating and vulnerability potential. Across all land use categories, the soil pH (SDR=1;Vp=5) was of high quality. Total nitrogen and total organic carbon contents for forest and fallow land are of good quality, SDR=1;Vp =5, but for continuous and mono cropping, the values are SDR =2; Vp = 4, SDR = 3; Vp = 3 for total nitrogen, SDR= 3; Vp = 3 for total organic carbon, SDR =3; Vp = 3 for total nitrogen, SDR=3; Vp = 3 for total organic carbon, SDR=3; Vp = 3 for SDR 5; Vp=2, SDR 3; Vp=3, SDR 4; Vp=2 for fallow land, SDR 5; Vp=1, SDR 3; Vp=3, SDR 5; Vp=1 for continuous cropping, SDR 5; Vp=2, SDR 3; Vp=3, SDR 5; Vp=3 for forest and SDR 5; Vp=3 for forest and SDR 5; For mono cropping, use 5; Vp=2, SDR 3; Vp=3, SDR 5; Vp=1 The study found that continuous and monocropping soil quality was negatively impacted in terms of organic carbon and nitrogen stock, and that practises that encourage reforestation should be promoted in the study area to help improve carbon and nitrogen stocks. Technical assistance should also be provided to end-users for effective soil resource management.

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