Title: A comparison of soil properties under different landuse types in a part of the Nigerian cocoa belt
Abstract: The changes that take place in topsoil properties after the tropical rain forest has been replaced by fallow (resulting from food crops cultivation) and tree crops are considered in a part of southwestern Nigeria known for the cultivation of food crops, cocoa and kola on separate plots. The study clearly shows that water holding capacity, organic matter content, total nitrogen, calcium, magnesium and cation exchange capacity (C.E.C.) under fallow, cocoa and kola differ significantly from those under forest. These results indicate that once the tropical rainforest is removed the soil-vegetation system is disrupted significanctly. The study also shows that water holding capacity, calcium, potassium and C.E.C. are significantly different between fallow and the tree crops while no soil property differs significantly between cocoa and kola. These results serve to show that under fallow soil appears better protected than under cocoa and kola while the latter tree crops could be deemed to be similar in their absorption pattern of soil nutrients. The reasons for these significant differences are discussed.
Publication Year: 1988
Publication Date: 1988-06-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 82
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot