Land-use changes and management impact on soil quality indicators in tropical ecosystem

The decline in soil quality and unsustainable productivity of tropical ecosystems has made the investigation of land use induce changes essential for effective management options. The objective of the work was to describe the variations in the soil quality indicators as affected by land-use changes and management within Kyayya, Guinea Savanna Agro-ecological Zone of Nigeria. Soil quality was assessed using the physical and chemical analyses of soil under cultivated and deforested at 0–20 cm and forested land at 0–30 cm depths. The results revealed that the soil is sandy loam with significant differences (p = 0.01) among the particle sizes. Soil organic carbon and organic matter decreased following the conversion from forested land to cultivated land at 42% and 43%, respectively. Soil pH under cultivated area was slightly acidic and also recorded the lowest available phosphorus value (28.0 ppm). Results of the simple correlation coefficients displayed the interaction between the soil variables showed the influence of land-use changes and management patterns. The conversion from Forested to Cultivated land-use management types had a detrimental impact on the studied soil quality indicators. Therefore, there is an urgent need for national policies to prevent the remaining forested areas from being converted into cultivated areas and agroforestry practices as a viable option to ensure food security.