INFLUENCE OF LAND-USE ON SOIL PROPERTIES IN A FOREST REGION OF SOUTHERN NIGERIA

To assess the effect of different land uses on soil properties, five land use types (fallow, Gmelina, arable, secondary forest and cocoa plots) on a sandy loam Alfisol (Typic Kandiudalf) were compared in terms of surface (0-15 cm) soil pH, exchangeable acidity, K, Ca and Mg, extractable P, total N, organic matter, gravimetric moisture, temperature and bulk density. There were significant differences (P less-than-or-equal-to 0.05-P less-than-or-equal-to 0.001) between the land use types for all the properties except exchangeable acidity and moisture. All the land use types differed significantly from each other in at least four properties. Fallow and secondary forest differed in nine properties, fallow and cocoa in seven and fallow and Gmelina in six. In terms of the number of properties with high variability (CV greater-than-or-equal-to 35%), the order was arable, secondary forest and cocoa (4) > Gmelina (3) > fallow (1).