EFFECT OF FLOOD ON THE SOIL QUALITY OF THE RIMA RIVER FLOODPLAIN IN WAMAKKO LGA, SOKOTO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Quantitative assessment of soil quality change after flood is potentially beneficial for soil fertility management. Thus, this study assessed the effect of the 2016 flooding of the Rima River floodplain on the soil quality. With the aid of a 3-m accuracy Global Positioning System (GPS) hand-held receiver, soil samples were randomly augered from thirty-one (31) plots at 0- 30cm depth in March/April, 2016 (pre-flood season) and in October/November, 2016 (post-flood season). Standard laboratory procedures were applied to determine the concentrations of pH, Potassium (K), Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) and Particle size. Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) was used to interpolate the soil particle sizes for textural mapping. Chi-Square goodness of fit was used to test for difference among observations for each season, while Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) by General Linear Model (GLM) was used to test the difference in properties between both seasons. Results showed significant changes (P<0.05) in the measured soil properties between pre-flood and post-flood seasons. The study concluded that the 2016 flood largely affected the soil quality of the study area. It was recommended that soil quality change be assessed annually in the floodplain for sustainable soil management.