Asian Soil Research Journal
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Vertical Changes of Organic Carbon Storage, Structural and Hydraulic Properties of a Humid Tropical Soil under Vegetation Cover in Southeast Nigeria
No full textChanges in organic carbon storage (OCS), structural and hydraulic properties with depth of soil are important phenomena that need to be understood per soil for effective soil management in crop production. A study was conducted in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) to assess the vertical changes in OCS, structural and hydraulic properties of soil under vegetation cover. The study involved 5 levels of sampling depth replicated nine (9) times to give forty five (45) observational units. The nine points for sampling were randomly selected and the five sampling depths were 0 – 20, 20 – 40, 40 – 60, 60 – 80 and 80 – 100 cm. Auger and core soil samples were collected at the designated depths. The samples were processed and analysed in the laboratory. The results of data analyses showed that depths varied significantly (P≤0.05) in the parameters measured. The highest OCS of 38.28 ton / ha was obtained at the 0 – 20 cm depth and the lowest (10.38 ton / ha) was obtained at 80 – 100 cm depth. The highest mean weight diameter of 1.00 mm and lowest of 0.72 mm were obtained at 0 – 20 and 80 – 100 cm depths, respectively. The lowest clay dispersion index of 25.43 % and the highest clay flocculation index of 74.53 % were obtained at 80 – 100 cm depth. Clay content and bulk density (BD) increased with depth and, the highest clay content of 212.4 g / kg and highest BD of 1.65 mg / m3 were obtained at the 80 – 100 cm depth. Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), total porosity (Pt) and macroporosity (Pm) decreased with depth. The highest Ksat of 3.11 cm / hr, Pt of 47.41 % and Pm of 24.13 % were obtained at 0 – 20 cm depth. The water retention characteristics increased with depth. The highest field capacity of 24.46 %, permanent wilting point of 11.16 % and available water capacity of 13.32 % were obtained at 80 – 100 cm depth. There were consistent changes in the soil properties across the depths. The reduced drainage at the higher depths should be considered in cultivating deep rooted crops which are sensitive to poor drainage. The top soils should be managed with good agronomic practices and minimum tillage to avert damages to the microaggregates
Geochemical Quantification and Appraisal of Three Genetically Different Derived Lateritic Soils
No full textThis study was carried out at Federal Polytechnic; Ado Ekiti in Ekiti state on geochemical appraisal of three different genetically derived lateritic soils from south western Nigeria and their respective engineering performance in 2019. Twelve (12) disturbed soil samples were collected from granite (GDS), gneiss (GNS) and migmatite (MGS) rock terrains. These samples were collected at four different horizons of 0.5m intervals, resulting into a maximum depth of 2.0m for each of the three trial pits for geochemical analysis. The results showed that the soil samples were characterized by high proportion of SiO2, Al2O3 and Fe2O3 with an average (SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3) of 94.8% with trace amounts of MnO, MgO, CaO, Na2O, P2O5, TiO2 and K2O, indicating a high depletion degree. The geochemical quantification results showed that laterization range from 0.68 to 1.66%, Clayeness from 0.37 to 0.53 %, Siliceousness from 1.88 to 2.70%, Stabilization from 34.30 to 56.57%, Bonding Strength 36.29 to 57.80%, and Weathering Indices from 84.42 to 96.44. The results showed that the GDS has highest Clayeyeness, bonding strength, stabilization, best laterization and lowest siliceousness properties, indicating lowest permeability, best bearing capacity and mechanical stability followed by MGS and GNS, respectively. This result revealed that GDS and MGS soils are more suitable as mineral seal while GNS possesses preferred properties as foundation fills
Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Communities Associated with Dominant Tree Species in a Subarctic Limestone Area
No full textLimestone soils are stressful for plant growth. Plant-associated ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi may promote plant growth under stressful conditions, yet available information on ECM fungi in limestone areas is scarce. We investigated the ECM fungal communities associated with dominant tree species in a subarctic limestone area. We aimed to determine whether the ECM species differed between calcareous and non-calcareous areas, and the distribution property common to ECM fungi in limestone areas. Morphological characterization and DNA sequencing of root tips identified 57 ECM taxa. The ECM fungal compositions in the calcareous area differed from those in the non-calcareous area, even when comparisons were made between fungi on the same tree species. Rather, when ECM species were grouped at the genus level, they tended to be dissimilar between calcareous areas and between non-calcareous areas. Especially, Tomentella spp. and Sebacina spp. tended to be present more frequently in calcareous areas, while Cenococcum geophilum and Russula spp. tended to be present more frequently in non-calcareous areas
Tillage and Crop Residue Effects on Soil Carbon and Moisture for Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Productivity in Semiarid Regions of Tigray, Ethiopia
No full textSoil tillage is one of the basic agriculture operations. However, the appropriate tillage type, tillage time, and tillage frequency for effective moisture harvesting and sustainable soil fertility were not investigated for Tigray. A field experiment was conducted during 2016 to 2018 in Enderta district. It was done with the objective of evaluating the effect of different tillage practices on wheat productivity. The treatments were (I) permanent bed+ crop residue,(II) three times tillage with furrow, (III) two times tillage with furrow, and (IV) farmer’s practice tillage. A randomized complete block design with three replications was set up. Measurement of soil moisture content was conducted using the gravimetric method. Agronomic parameters were collected and analyzed using GenStat. Marginal rate of return was also estimated from the total revenue and total variable cost. Positive effect was found on soil fertility, soil moisture content, and grain yield due to the tillage practice and crop residue. Permanent bed+ crop residues and three tillage furrow increased soil moisture content, organic carbon, and total nitrogen, as well as the yield and yield components at the second and third year of experimentation. The highest grain yield 2952 kg ha-1 and biomass yield 8582 kg ha-1 were recorded at the three tillage furrow in the third year of experimentation. The 59,056 ETB was the highest net revenue recorded at three times tillage with furrows. From this result, it can be concluded that without adding any additional input instead of changing agricultural operation techniques, the economic benefit of farmers’ could be improved by 48%. Therefore, three tillage practices with furrow is the most economically feasible technology for farmers to increase wheat productivity in the semiarid area of Enderta district. 
Land Use Effects on Soil Organic Carbon Index and Nitrogen Pools of a Tropical Coastal Plain Sands in Southern Nigeria
No full textLand use types can of considerable interest in efforts to quantify soil organic C and nitrogen (N) cycling, both of which are important for soil stability and fertility. A study was carried out on a tropical rainforest soils in southern Nigeria to quantify soil organic carbon and nitrogen pools and other indices under forested, 5-year fallow, cocoa plantation and a 5-year continuous cassava land uses. Soil samples were collected at 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm depths for measurement of these indices. Results revealed that total organic carbon (TOC and total nitrogen (TN) varied significantly among the different land uses. TOC of 30.2 g kg-1 was higher (p<0.05) in forested soils at in the 0-15 cm top soil and 22.3 g kg-1 in the subsoil. Total N was statistically significant (p<0.05) at 2.61 and 2.01 in forested and 5-year fallowed soils, respectively. The carbon pool index (CPI) was significant at 1.63 in forested soils, while nitrogen pool index (NPI) 1.30 in similar soil (p<0.05) in 0-15 cm topsoil. In 15-30 cm subsoil, CPI and NPI values were in the order of forested > cocoa plantation > 5-year cassava cultivation, with the least values of 0.44 CPI and 0.35 NPI found in 5-year cassava plots. It was concluded that CPI and NPI are valuable indicators for analyzing changes in soil quality induced by maintaining a 5-year fallow. It was found that forested and 5-year fallow land uses can be used to improved C and N stock, as well as the structural and hydraulic properties of the soils
Applicability of Multispectral Images to Detect Soil Organic Carbon Content in Land Suitability Assessment: A Case of a Sugarcane Plantation
No full textSoil organic carbon is important for sugarcane production as it plays a significant role in the development of soil aggregates and soil improvement in any agricultural soil, hence increasing soil health. Increasing soil organic matter encourages soil aggregation and slows the rate of organic matter breakdown. Soil aggregates act as nuclei for soil stabilization with time. It improves soil attributes by increasing organic carbon content in the soil and enhances the physical properties of the soil that favor water infiltration and retention. However, traditional methods of SOC determination like laboratory analyses are expensive and time-consuming. The objective of the study was to assess the applicability of multispectral images to determine SOC content in the surface soil. The research adopted two means to determine SOC of sugarcane. Under the first method, the lands were selected according to the sugarcane productivity in the study area, namely: low (35-54 t ha-1), medium (55-79 t ha-1), and high (80-100 t ha-1) productivity. Soil samples were collected up to 15cm depth. Walkley and Black Method was used for SOC determination in the laboratory. Simultaneously, multispectral images of each land were obtained using a drone platform. Multispectral images were then used to calculate Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Bare Soil Index (BSI), and Modified Secondary Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (MSAVI2). These indices were used to predict SOC. The outcome was compared with SOC obtained from the laboratory analysis results. The results showed that the soil organic carbon (SOC) varied between 2.72 and 3.63% from the mean for the the highest and lowest productivity lands respectively. The results of regression analysis observed a moderate correlation between SOC and the BSI values (0.4828). Weak correlations were observed in MSAVI2 (0.0269) and NDVI (0.0858). Future research should focus on improving these indices for SOC determination with increasing sample quantity
Unsustainable Agricultural Practices as a Driver of Soil Degradation in Santa Sub-Division, North West Region of Cameroon
No full textThis research sets out to investigate unsustainable agricultural practices as a driver of soil degradation in Santa sub-division, North West Region of Cameroon. The major types of agricultural practices studied were bush fallowing, slash-and-burn, shifting cultivation and bush fire. The study assessed the various agricultural activities that have occurred on the environment over time and space. The causes of unsustainable agriculture were identified to be overgrazing, deforestation, climate change and population growth. The study made use of primary and secondary data sources. Major primary data sources included field observation, interviews and administering of questionnaires. Data collected were presented in the form of tables, charts and pictures and subjected to interpretation. A soil test was equally carried out based on some chemical properties on selected sites in Santa sub- division. The findings revealed that unsustainable agricultural practices in this zone contributes to soil degradation. Climate change was seen to have a silver lining in the crop sector. Declining soil fertility and climate change were some of the major problems faced by farmers in Santa. Mixed crop farming, crop rotation, soil management practices and mulching were recommended to limit or stop soil degradation in Santa. Finally, it was recommended that farmers should incorporate more environmentally friendly trees into their farm lands since scattered trees on farmlands improve soil fertility more
Physico-Chemical and Thermodynamic Adsorption Studies of A Few Soils from Delta and Oyo State, Nigeria
No full textComprehensive study of the physico-chemical properties and interactions of cations with soils is a crucial research need for the development of more sustainable agricultural systems. The analysis of physico-chemical and thermodynamic adsorption studies of various soils from Delta and Oyo State, Nigeria, is the main emphasis of this paper. Two surface soils from the Cocoa Research Institutes of Nigeria (CRIN) and the Isoko North Local Government of Delta State were compared for their physico-chemical properties and heavy metal speciation. The effects of adsorption duration, pH, initial sorbate concentration, and ionic strength were also studied in relation to the adsorption of Cd2+, Pb2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+ ions. On the equilibrium and thermodynamics of the adsorption process, more investigation was conducted. The physico-chemical studies revealed that soil from CRIN had a pH of 6.1 in water and 5.4 in KCl, whereas soil from Isoko North had a pH of 4.3 in water and 3.0 in KCl. The largest percentages of organic matter are found in the soil from Isoko North (3.07%) and CRIN (3.82%). For both soils, the order of exchangeable bases was Ca > K > Mg > Na. The heavy metal concentrations in both soils were in the following order: Zn > Cu > Ni > Pb > Cd = Al; CRIN: 3.82meq/100g for CEC; Isoko North: 2.85meq/100g for CEC. In contrast to CRIN soil, Isoko North soil showed a larger bulk density and a superior hydraulic conductivity. Extractable elements were present in both soils in the following order: Mn > Fe > Zn > Cu. The base saturation in the CRIN soil was higher than the base saturation in the Isoko North soil, which was lower at 60.73%. Zn, Pb, and Cd were the outcomes of the heavy metal speciation for both soils. The equilibrium adsorption data, which were closely related to the Langmuir isotherm model, showed that the maximum capacity of lead for soil from Isoko North was 5.8140 mmol/g and for soil from CRIN was 7.6335 mmol/g. Thermodynamic investigations showed that the adsorption process was spontaneous for simply Cu2+ (for soil from CRIN) and non-spontaneous for other metal ions from both soils. Metal ions from both soils displayed exothermic and endothermic adsorption, respectively, for Cd2+ and Cu2+ (for soil from CRIN)
Assessment of the Integrated Challenges of Sustainable Agricultural Systems
No full textThe evolutionary impact of the interdependence of the progress of the common economic policy in response to climate change, the current study and empirically explores the general challenges closely related to the productivity costs of agricultural systems. The vision of the tiered approach of the new Common Agricultural Policy to the effects of climate change, based on development areas, provides an important volume of information on the allocated financial resources in terms of adaptation to environmental conditions. Also, the importance of forest areas in plain areas in terms of protecting agricultural and forestry crops from climate variables is highlighted in the research. The evolution of the agricultural systems industry has been one of the main research points in Europe and not only knowing that agriculture is both a cause of greenhouse gas emissions but also a need to regulate these emissions at the ground level. Methodological data were extracted from the databases of available data provided by Eurostat, Agridata, and Corine. Since deforestation is a consequence of projections of forestry practices in relation to carbon capture, the evolution of land surfaces through the conversion of forest areas is a priority, the role of forest regenerations analyzed by the impact of GHG emissions,. The research highlights that agriculture faces a complex challenge of climate change due to its vulnerabilities to its effects, its role as a major source of GHG emissions and its potential to remove carbon from the atmosphere
Application of Soft Computing Techniques in Modelling of Soaked and Unsoaked California Bearing Ratio
No full textIn this study, author attempted to establish a correlation between soil physical parameters and California Bearing Ratio of lateritic soils using advanced mathematical techniques such as the Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF), M5 tree, multiple linear regression, and Artificial Neural Network. A total of 480 soil samples were collected and separated into a data set using training and validation of the generated models based on the main soil parameters of Liquid Limit (LL), Plastic Limit (PL), Natural moisture content (NMC), Specific gravity (GS), Fines (F), Gravel, and Sand. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to minimize the dataset\u27s huge dimension, and the approximate sum of the first four principal components (PC) captured 88 percent of the variability in the response variable with just 12% information loss. The RMSE values of 21.6, 21.23, 295.67, 7.03, 14.54 and 24.43,24.59,326.49,8.63,17.71 are from the MLR, ANN, MS Tree, RF, and SVM models for SCBR and USCBR values, respectively. For SCBR and USCBR, random forest (RF) yielded the lowest values of 7.03 and 8.63, respectively. Similarly, the R values range from 0.1 to 0.94 and 0.01 to 0.92, indicating that the anticipated and real SCBR and USCBR are related. The Random Forest Model for SCBR and USCBR was shown to be the best by the correlation coefficient values, while the MS tree model for SCBR and USCBR was determined to have the lowest coefficient of determination R2. As a result, it can be concluded that Random Forest provided the best Soaked and Unsoaked CBR model based on the dataset, while MS tree provided the poorest model. The model is a valuable tool for evaluating the subsurface indices of a civil engineering site at the preliminary planning stage before final structural design for the substructures, as the anticipated soil parameter values are within permitted accuracy