The major aim of this study was to investigate the availability of soil nutrients under different land uses and landscape positions. Three hillslopes were used for the study and soil sampling was guided by the transect technique. The soil samples were collected in May 2004, July 2004 and July 2005. Five soil nutrients, namely Total Phosphorus (TP), Available Phosphorus (AP), Total Nitrogen (TN), Available Nitrogen (AN) and Soil Organic Matter (SOM) were analyzed and used for the study. Data were statistically analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and mean comparisons were made using Least Significant Difference (LSD). Results showed significant (p<0.05) differences in SOM, TN and AN among land uses. Heaviest soil deterioration was recorded in soils under Pineapple Orchard (PO) and least in Grassland (GL) soils. There were significant (p<0.05) differences in soil nutrients due to landscape positions especially in Hillslopes B and C. Surprisingly, values of soil nutrients were higher in middle slopes of Hillslope C unlike in the other two where such occurred in the footslopes. The SOM had very great influence on AP and AN. © 2007 Academic Journals.
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CITATION STYLE
Onweremadu, E. U. (2007). Availability of selected soil nutrients in relation to land use and landscape position. International Journal of Soil Science, 2(2), 128–134. https://doi.org/10.3923/ijss.2007.128.134