Evaluation Of Annual Soil Temperature Cycles At Different Pedology And Times Over A Period Of One Year In Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

A pedological evaluation is essential in understanding all aspect of soil science. Temperatures at different depths in the soil have great influence on seed germination and growth of crops and plants, which is very essential in agricultural and botanical fields. Hence, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the annual soil temperature cycles at different depths [0cm (top soil), 10cm, 30cm and 50cm] and times over a period of one year in parts of Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria using appropriate standard procedures. The daily soil temperature ranges from 29.7 oC – 42.9 oC for months covering dry season with a simple mean of 36.3 oC; 21.2 oC – 29 oC for months covering rainy season with a simple mean of 25.1. The mean temperature for all season is 30.7 oC, indicating that these locations are favourable for farming. The model, which encompasses transient heat flow principle, was used and certain assumptions were made. For example: the heat flow in soil was one-dimensional and thermal diffusivity was taken as constant. This can be successfully applied to find the temperature of the soil under the ground at any day of the year if the average climatic conditions do not vary drastically throughout the year. It was found that in dry season, the soil temperature increases with depth and in wet season, it first decreases up to certain depth and then starts to increase with depth. This is due to the effects of solar thermal energy and ground thermal energy.