Soil elements assessment under various land uses is vital in knowing the status of the soils in terms of fertility and toxicity. Therefore, a study was conducted to investigate some elements concentrations of soils under three different land uses in Gashua, Yobe State, Nigeria. Samples were randomly taken at 0-15 and 15-30 cm soil depth intervals from land uses. The land uses are Dry upland (DU), Lowland (LL) and Residential area (RA). The selected elements were determined in the laboratory using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS), while some physicochemical properties were determined using routine soil analysis methods. The results indicated significantly higher concentrations of Iron (6.96 mg kg-1), Manganese (3.12 mg kg-1) and clay content (12.88%), except for Nickel which was higher in DU (2.36 mg kg-1) but at par with the content in LL (2.04 mg kg-1) land use. There was no significant difference within the following soil elements within the study location: Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu) and Lead (Pb) were below detection limit within the soils of the chosen land use types. Generally the soils textural class is sandy loam with higher mean bulk density (1.62g cm-3) and a neutral soil pH (6.81). The physicochemical properties and elements investigated didn’t showed significant differences with soil depth. The basic elemental concentrations within the soils were mostly adequate for crop production, except Zn, with little variability within the landuse. They were generally below the utmost ecological risk permissible level set by WHO and FAO.
TETFund Nigeria
IBR 2018
Authors wish to thank and acknowledged TETFUND Nigeria financial support to carry out the above research.
IBR 2018
Primary Language | English |
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Subjects | Environmental Sciences |
Journal Section | Articles |
Authors | |
Project Number | IBR 2018 |
Publication Date | June 30, 2021 |
Acceptance Date | January 25, 2021 |
Published in Issue | Year 2021 |