Effect of Topographic Position and Parent Material on the Abundance and Distributions of Oxides of Fe And Al In Selected Soils of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

International Journal of Agriculture & Environmental Science

© 2019 by SSRG - IJAES Journal

Volume 6 Issue 5

Year of Publication : 2019

Authors : Okon, U. M, Akpan, U. S.

10.14445/23942568/IJAES-V6I5P114

How to Cite?

Okon, U. M, Akpan, U. S., "Effect of Topographic Position and Parent Material on the Abundance and Distributions of Oxides of Fe And Al In Selected Soils of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria," SSRG International Journal of Agriculture & Environmental Science, vol. 6,  no. 5, pp. 65-74, 2019. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23942568/IJAES-V6I5P114

Abstract:

The study was conducted to assess the effect of topographic position and parent material on the abundance and distributions of oxides of Fe and Al in selected soils of Akwa Ibom State. Four toposequences from coastal plain sands and shale parent materials were selected for the study. In each toposequence, soil profile pits were sunk at three topographic positions: summit, middle slope and footslope. A total of twelve (12) profile pits were sunk and described base on FAO 2013 guidelines for profile description. Soil samples were collected based on genetic horizons for laboratory analysis. The results revealed that the silt and clay fractions of shale soils were significantly higher (p<0.05) than that of coastal plain sand soils, while sand fraction of coastal plain sand soils was significantly higher (p<0.05) than that of shale soils. The study revealed that the silt and clay fractions of shale soils were significantly higher (p<0.05) than that of coastal plain sand soils, while sand fraction of coastal plain sand soils was significantly higher (p<0.05) than that of shale soils. Based on the abundance of amorphous and crystalline Fe, the footslope of coastal plain sand soils was more reactive, high surface charge and more ions adsorption capacity, followed by the summit and middle slope had the least while in shale soils, high reactivity, high surface charge and more ions adsorption capacity was at the summit, followed by footslope and middle slope had the least. This was so because contents of amorphous Al and Fe were more abundant in the footslope than the summit and middle slope had the least in the study area. Coastal plain sand soils had more abundant of amorphous and crystalline Al than shale soils. Amorphous Fe was also more abundant in coastal plain sand soils than shale soil. Crystalline Fe was more abundant in shale soils than coastal plain sand soils due to relatively low Al content and the presence of dissolved organic matter, indicating that the two parent materials were not the same. At the summit and middle slope, profile distributions of oxides of Fe and Al indicated high contents of crystalline and amorphous Fe and Al in the B-horizon than other horizons (A and C) in the study area. But at footslope, the contents of crystalline and amorphous Fe and Al were more in the A-horizon than other horizons (A and C) in both coastal plain sand and shale soils, indicating little or no depletion of Al and Fe from the A-horizons. Thus, the two parent materials are not the same and should be managed differently.

Keywords:

parent materials, topographic position, Fe and Al oxides

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