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Soil Quality Assessment of the Lower Niger River Plain Alluvial Soils in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, for Sustained Productivity

Received: 9 September 2021    Accepted: 4 October 2021    Published: 11 December 2021
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Abstract

Floodplain soils worldwide are very useful for agricultural production and food security. But, the floodplains of Bayelsa State are under-utilized due to lack of technical information and knowledge on the nutrient status and other soil characteristics. This study therefore, assessed the soil quality of lower Niger River floodplain soils in Bayelsa State, Nigeria for sustained productivity and food security. Alluvial soils from different river plains in Bayelsa State, Southern Nigeria were characterized and fertility assessed. Pedogenic soil samples from the levee crest, middle slope, lower slope and recent alluvial soils from the channels of present active rivers were collected from identified genetic horizons of soil profiles and analyzed for physical and chemical properties using standard methods and the soils fertility status evaluated using Soil Fertility Index (SFI) and Soil Evaluation Factor (SEF). The soils were dominantly silt loam followed by silty clay loam and loam except Elemebiri 3 (ELM3) and Trofani 3 (TFN3), dominated by loamy sand and sandy loam. pH (5.31-7.00) was moderately acid to neutral and organic matter content, generally low to moderate, ranging from 0.19-3.88%. Total N values was also low while available P was low to moderate. The exchange complex was dominated by Ca2+ and ECEC values were low. The SFI values were higher than the SEF values in al the Soil Mapping Units (SMUs), contributed by pH, organic matter and phosphorus. Both SFI and SEF values decreased with increase in depth for all the soil mapping units except Trofani 1 (TFN1) where the bottom layers recorded higher SFI values and Elemebiri 3 (ELM3) for SEF. Though the soils nutrient concentration was generally low to moderate, both SFI and SEF evaluated the soils as fertile contributed mainly by organic matter, available P and pH. Since biomass accumulation contributed greatly to improvement of soil fertility and physical structure, soil organic matter maintenance should be given top priority in these soils for sustained productivity and food security.

Published in International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences (Volume 7, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijaas.20210706.15
Page(s) 283-290
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), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Soil Quality Assessment, Soil Fertility Index, Soil Evaluation Factor, Lower Niger River, Soil Productivity

References
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    Achimota Ayadei Dickson. (2021). Soil Quality Assessment of the Lower Niger River Plain Alluvial Soils in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, for Sustained Productivity. International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences, 7(6), 283-290. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20210706.15

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    Achimota Ayadei Dickson. Soil Quality Assessment of the Lower Niger River Plain Alluvial Soils in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, for Sustained Productivity. Int. J. Appl. Agric. Sci. 2021, 7(6), 283-290. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaas.20210706.15

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    AMA Style

    Achimota Ayadei Dickson. Soil Quality Assessment of the Lower Niger River Plain Alluvial Soils in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, for Sustained Productivity. Int J Appl Agric Sci. 2021;7(6):283-290. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaas.20210706.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijaas.20210706.15,
      author = {Achimota Ayadei Dickson},
      title = {Soil Quality Assessment of the Lower Niger River Plain Alluvial Soils in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, for Sustained Productivity},
      journal = {International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences},
      volume = {7},
      number = {6},
      pages = {283-290},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijaas.20210706.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20210706.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijaas.20210706.15},
      abstract = {Floodplain soils worldwide are very useful for agricultural production and food security. But, the floodplains of Bayelsa State are under-utilized due to lack of technical information and knowledge on the nutrient status and other soil characteristics. This study therefore, assessed the soil quality of lower Niger River floodplain soils in Bayelsa State, Nigeria for sustained productivity and food security. Alluvial soils from different river plains in Bayelsa State, Southern Nigeria were characterized and fertility assessed. Pedogenic soil samples from the levee crest, middle slope, lower slope and recent alluvial soils from the channels of present active rivers were collected from identified genetic horizons of soil profiles and analyzed for physical and chemical properties using standard methods and the soils fertility status evaluated using Soil Fertility Index (SFI) and Soil Evaluation Factor (SEF). The soils were dominantly silt loam followed by silty clay loam and loam except Elemebiri 3 (ELM3) and Trofani 3 (TFN3), dominated by loamy sand and sandy loam. pH (5.31-7.00) was moderately acid to neutral and organic matter content, generally low to moderate, ranging from 0.19-3.88%. Total N values was also low while available P was low to moderate. The exchange complex was dominated by Ca2+ and ECEC values were low. The SFI values were higher than the SEF values in al the Soil Mapping Units (SMUs), contributed by pH, organic matter and phosphorus. Both SFI and SEF values decreased with increase in depth for all the soil mapping units except Trofani 1 (TFN1) where the bottom layers recorded higher SFI values and Elemebiri 3 (ELM3) for SEF. Though the soils nutrient concentration was generally low to moderate, both SFI and SEF evaluated the soils as fertile contributed mainly by organic matter, available P and pH. Since biomass accumulation contributed greatly to improvement of soil fertility and physical structure, soil organic matter maintenance should be given top priority in these soils for sustained productivity and food security.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Soil Quality Assessment of the Lower Niger River Plain Alluvial Soils in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, for Sustained Productivity
    AU  - Achimota Ayadei Dickson
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    JF  - International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences
    JO  - International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2469-7885
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20210706.15
    AB  - Floodplain soils worldwide are very useful for agricultural production and food security. But, the floodplains of Bayelsa State are under-utilized due to lack of technical information and knowledge on the nutrient status and other soil characteristics. This study therefore, assessed the soil quality of lower Niger River floodplain soils in Bayelsa State, Nigeria for sustained productivity and food security. Alluvial soils from different river plains in Bayelsa State, Southern Nigeria were characterized and fertility assessed. Pedogenic soil samples from the levee crest, middle slope, lower slope and recent alluvial soils from the channels of present active rivers were collected from identified genetic horizons of soil profiles and analyzed for physical and chemical properties using standard methods and the soils fertility status evaluated using Soil Fertility Index (SFI) and Soil Evaluation Factor (SEF). The soils were dominantly silt loam followed by silty clay loam and loam except Elemebiri 3 (ELM3) and Trofani 3 (TFN3), dominated by loamy sand and sandy loam. pH (5.31-7.00) was moderately acid to neutral and organic matter content, generally low to moderate, ranging from 0.19-3.88%. Total N values was also low while available P was low to moderate. The exchange complex was dominated by Ca2+ and ECEC values were low. The SFI values were higher than the SEF values in al the Soil Mapping Units (SMUs), contributed by pH, organic matter and phosphorus. Both SFI and SEF values decreased with increase in depth for all the soil mapping units except Trofani 1 (TFN1) where the bottom layers recorded higher SFI values and Elemebiri 3 (ELM3) for SEF. Though the soils nutrient concentration was generally low to moderate, both SFI and SEF evaluated the soils as fertile contributed mainly by organic matter, available P and pH. Since biomass accumulation contributed greatly to improvement of soil fertility and physical structure, soil organic matter maintenance should be given top priority in these soils for sustained productivity and food security.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Nigeria

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