Effect of Land Use-Type on Soil Physical Properties Under Six Different Plantations

Abstract

The effects of land use type (LUT) on the physicochemical properties of the soils of mango plantations (MPs), Neem plantations (NPs), arable farms (AFs), vegetable farms (FFs), flood plains (FPs), and residential areas (RAs) were evaluated from NovemberDecember 2022. Soil samples were collected from the ecological zone of Nigeria Sudan, which is Borno. To understand the drastic changes in land use types and their effects on ecosystems, investigations are required to explore the extent to which LUT affects soil properties in arid environments. Samples were collected at predetermined depths of 0-20 and 20-40 cm in all the LUTs. The samples were subjected to laboratory analysis and statistical tools such as Factorial (ANOVA) and Means Separations using (LSD) at a 0.05% probability level. Analysis of the effects of LUT and depth on soil particle size revealed that VFs had more sand and fewer FPs, with values of 70.30% and 55.30%, respectively; FPs had more silt and fewer AFs, with values of 30.833% and 14.583%, respectively; and AFs had more clay and fewer VFs, with values of 18.033% and 11.783%, respectively. There were no differences in the soil characteristics, and the soil textures were sandy loam for all the LUTs. BD, TP, WHC, MWD, θ, PR, and MC ranged from 1.37–1.46 g/cm2 , 44.67–48.5%, 21.23– 29.70%, 0.077–0.1515 mm, 26.733–36.017°C, 20.833–29.333 N/cm and 0.1543–0.3303 cm3/cm3, respectively, with the greatest ranges found for VF-AF, AF-VF, MP-FP, RA-VF, VF-RA, VF-AF and RA-VF, respectively. Based on these findings, the 20-40 cm soil layer was best for all the LUTs. This study showed that land use type can affect soil physical properties. Therefore, vegetable farms and Neem plantations at depths of 20-40 cm were recommended for the study area.

Keywords

• land
• land use type
• soil
• soil physical properties
• plantation