Effects of land use practices on soil organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in river Nzoia drainage basin, Kenya

Wabusya Moses; Humphrey Nyongesa; Martha Konje; Humphrey Agevi; Mugatsia Tsingalia

doi:doi:10.11648/j.aff.20150404.11

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Effects of land use practices on soil organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in river Nzoia drainage basin, Kenya

Wabusya Moses, Humphrey Nyongesa, Martha Konje, Humphrey Agevi, Mugatsia Tsingalia

Published in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Volume 4, Issue 4)

Received: 12 January 2015 Accepted: 11 February 2015 Published: 19 June 2015

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Abstract

Land use activities along River Nzoia Drainage Basin, Kenya, include cultivation along the river banks, over grazing, deforestation, draining of wetlands for horticulture, harvesting of sand and brick-making. These activities have brought about changes in soil properties in the drainage basin adversely affecting farming output and the ecosystem in general. Consequently, it is important to understand how the different land use activities influence the soil properties in order to design and implement effective soil management strategies. This study examined the effects of land use practices on selected soil nutrients in Nzoia River Drainage Basin in Bungoma County. Cultivation and grazing were identified as important land use practices, while undisturbed sites were treated as controls. Land use practices along the river were identified by actual surveying of the study area. Secondary data on land use practices were obtained from technical reports, from local authorities and government offices. Soil samples were collected from different land use areas using randomly placed 5mx5m quadrats. Solis were collected at depths of 15cm in zigzag grid layout in each sample quadrat using soil auger. A total of 72 soil samples were collected in the study sites and analyzed for total nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (P) and organic carbon (C). Analysis of variance and correlation were performed to determine the significant land use practices affecting soil N, C and P. Cultivation had a significant effect on soil organic C mean value of 1.91 but negatively correlated with total Nitrogen and soil C while undisturbed sites exhibited positive correlation with C (P≤ 0.05). On the basis of our findings, it is recommended that conservation agriculture be practiced in the River Nzoia and its drainage system.

Published in	Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Volume 4, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.aff.20150404.11
Page(s)	153-158
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

Cultivation, Grazing, Organic Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Conservation Agriculture

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APA Style

Wabusya Moses, Humphrey Nyongesa, Martha Konje, Humphrey Agevi, Mugatsia Tsingalia. (2015). Effects of land use practices on soil organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in river Nzoia drainage basin, Kenya. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 4(4), 153-158. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20150404.11

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ACS Style

Wabusya Moses; Humphrey Nyongesa; Martha Konje; Humphrey Agevi; Mugatsia Tsingalia. Effects of land use practices on soil organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in river Nzoia drainage basin, Kenya. Agric. For. Fish. 2015, 4(4), 153-158. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20150404.11

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AMA Style

Wabusya Moses, Humphrey Nyongesa, Martha Konje, Humphrey Agevi, Mugatsia Tsingalia. Effects of land use practices on soil organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in river Nzoia drainage basin, Kenya. Agric For Fish. 2015;4(4):153-158. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20150404.11

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@article{10.11648/j.aff.20150404.11,
  author = {Wabusya Moses and Humphrey Nyongesa and Martha Konje and Humphrey Agevi and Mugatsia Tsingalia},
  title = {Effects of land use practices on soil organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in river Nzoia drainage basin, Kenya},
  journal = {Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries},
  volume = {4},
  number = {4},
  pages = {153-158},
  doi = {10.11648/j.aff.20150404.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20150404.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aff.20150404.11},
  abstract = {Land use activities along River Nzoia Drainage Basin, Kenya, include cultivation along the river banks, over grazing, deforestation, draining of wetlands for horticulture, harvesting of sand and brick-making. These activities have brought about changes in soil properties in the drainage basin adversely affecting farming output and the ecosystem in general. Consequently, it is important to understand how the different land use activities influence the soil properties in order to design and implement effective soil management strategies. This study examined the effects of land use practices on selected soil nutrients in Nzoia River Drainage Basin in Bungoma County. Cultivation and grazing were identified as important land use practices, while undisturbed sites were treated as controls. Land use practices along the river were identified by actual surveying of the study area. Secondary data on land use practices were obtained from technical reports, from local authorities and government offices. Soil samples were collected from different land use areas using randomly placed 5mx5m quadrats. Solis were collected at depths of 15cm in zigzag grid layout in each sample quadrat using soil auger.  A total of 72 soil samples were collected in the study sites and analyzed for total nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (P) and organic carbon (C). Analysis of variance and correlation were performed to determine the significant land use practices affecting soil N, C and P. Cultivation had a significant effect on soil organic C mean value of 1.91 but negatively correlated with total Nitrogen and soil C while undisturbed sites exhibited positive correlation with C (P≤ 0.05). On the basis of our findings, it is recommended that conservation agriculture be practiced in the River Nzoia and its drainage system.},
 year = {2015}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of land use practices on soil organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in river Nzoia drainage basin, Kenya
AU - Wabusya Moses
AU - Humphrey Nyongesa
AU - Martha Konje
AU - Humphrey Agevi
AU - Mugatsia Tsingalia
Y1 - 2015/06/19
PY - 2015
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20150404.11
DO - 10.11648/j.aff.20150404.11
T2 - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
JF - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
JO - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
SP - 153
EP - 158
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2328-5648
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20150404.11
AB - Land use activities along River Nzoia Drainage Basin, Kenya, include cultivation along the river banks, over grazing, deforestation, draining of wetlands for horticulture, harvesting of sand and brick-making. These activities have brought about changes in soil properties in the drainage basin adversely affecting farming output and the ecosystem in general. Consequently, it is important to understand how the different land use activities influence the soil properties in order to design and implement effective soil management strategies. This study examined the effects of land use practices on selected soil nutrients in Nzoia River Drainage Basin in Bungoma County. Cultivation and grazing were identified as important land use practices, while undisturbed sites were treated as controls. Land use practices along the river were identified by actual surveying of the study area. Secondary data on land use practices were obtained from technical reports, from local authorities and government offices. Soil samples were collected from different land use areas using randomly placed 5mx5m quadrats. Solis were collected at depths of 15cm in zigzag grid layout in each sample quadrat using soil auger. A total of 72 soil samples were collected in the study sites and analyzed for total nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (P) and organic carbon (C). Analysis of variance and correlation were performed to determine the significant land use practices affecting soil N, C and P. Cultivation had a significant effect on soil organic C mean value of 1.91 but negatively correlated with total Nitrogen and soil C while undisturbed sites exhibited positive correlation with C (P≤ 0.05). On the basis of our findings, it is recommended that conservation agriculture be practiced in the River Nzoia and its drainage system.
VL - 4
IS - 4
ER -

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Author Information

Wabusya Moses

Department of Biological Sciences, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya
Humphrey Nyongesa

Department of Sugar Technology, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kakamega, Kenya
Martha Konje

Department of Biological Sciences, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kakamega, Kenya
Humphrey Agevi

Department of Biological Sciences, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kakamega, Kenya
Mugatsia Tsingalia

Department of Biological Sciences, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

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APA Style

Wabusya Moses, Humphrey Nyongesa, Martha Konje, Humphrey Agevi, Mugatsia Tsingalia. (2015). Effects of land use practices on soil organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in river Nzoia drainage basin, Kenya. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 4(4), 153-158. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20150404.11

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ACS Style

Wabusya Moses; Humphrey Nyongesa; Martha Konje; Humphrey Agevi; Mugatsia Tsingalia. Effects of land use practices on soil organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in river Nzoia drainage basin, Kenya. Agric. For. Fish. 2015, 4(4), 153-158. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20150404.11

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AMA Style

Wabusya Moses, Humphrey Nyongesa, Martha Konje, Humphrey Agevi, Mugatsia Tsingalia. Effects of land use practices on soil organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in river Nzoia drainage basin, Kenya. Agric For Fish. 2015;4(4):153-158. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20150404.11

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@article{10.11648/j.aff.20150404.11,
  author = {Wabusya Moses and Humphrey Nyongesa and Martha Konje and Humphrey Agevi and Mugatsia Tsingalia},
  title = {Effects of land use practices on soil organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in river Nzoia drainage basin, Kenya},
  journal = {Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries},
  volume = {4},
  number = {4},
  pages = {153-158},
  doi = {10.11648/j.aff.20150404.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20150404.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aff.20150404.11},
  abstract = {Land use activities along River Nzoia Drainage Basin, Kenya, include cultivation along the river banks, over grazing, deforestation, draining of wetlands for horticulture, harvesting of sand and brick-making. These activities have brought about changes in soil properties in the drainage basin adversely affecting farming output and the ecosystem in general. Consequently, it is important to understand how the different land use activities influence the soil properties in order to design and implement effective soil management strategies. This study examined the effects of land use practices on selected soil nutrients in Nzoia River Drainage Basin in Bungoma County. Cultivation and grazing were identified as important land use practices, while undisturbed sites were treated as controls. Land use practices along the river were identified by actual surveying of the study area. Secondary data on land use practices were obtained from technical reports, from local authorities and government offices. Soil samples were collected from different land use areas using randomly placed 5mx5m quadrats. Solis were collected at depths of 15cm in zigzag grid layout in each sample quadrat using soil auger.  A total of 72 soil samples were collected in the study sites and analyzed for total nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (P) and organic carbon (C). Analysis of variance and correlation were performed to determine the significant land use practices affecting soil N, C and P. Cultivation had a significant effect on soil organic C mean value of 1.91 but negatively correlated with total Nitrogen and soil C while undisturbed sites exhibited positive correlation with C (P≤ 0.05). On the basis of our findings, it is recommended that conservation agriculture be practiced in the River Nzoia and its drainage system.},
 year = {2015}
}

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