Effect of Land use Types on Soil Properties within Federal College of Education Kontagora, Niger State, Nigeria

The impact of land use on soil properties was investigated for five (5) land use types (old orchard, sole beans farm, sole maize farm, soya beans farm and uncultivated land). From each of the identified land use types, samples of soil were collected from depths of 0–15 cm and 15–30 cm, prepared and analyzed in the laboratory for soil properties. The upper layer of the soils (that is, 0–15 cm) had relatively higher organic carbon content than the 15–30 cm depth, although not significantly different between the land use types as well as with depths. The results also revealed that there were no significant differences between the land use types in the contents of NO3-N, NH4-N, Fe, texture, pH, Ca and Na whereas soil properties such as total-N, available phosphorus, Mg and K were significantly different in the soils of the different land use types. The soils were all loamy sand by textural classification. Hence, it was recommended that that conventional tillage operation should be discontinued on the lands that are used for cultivation of crops to avert the risks of erosion because of the loose nature of the soils. Also, the adoption of appropriate management practices such as manure application can help to improve the soil texture and enhance the soils’ retentive capacities.