Abstract

This study on the influence of soil textual properties and land use cover type on soil erosion of a characteristics ultisols. Betem, Cross River State, Nigeria was conducted with the aim of determining the relationship between land use type and soil loss in the context of a characteristics ultisols. Soil samples were manually collected from the respective land use types with the aid of soil auger at the depth of 0-15cm for the laboratory analysis of particle size distribution while data on sediment yield deposit were obtained through the use of sediment traps or dishes placed at the foot of the respective slopes. The result of the textural characteristics revealed that particle size distribution showed large proportion of sand. Thus, sand ranged from 72-78% with a mean of 75.0%, silt ranged from 11-12% with a mean of 11.0% while clay ranged from 12.0% - 16% with a mean of 14.0%. The result showed that sand was the dominant particle fraction and any soil that is characterized by huge sand proportion can be vulnerable to erosion perturbation. The various land cover types have revealed their potentials in reducing erosion perturbation. The result of sediment yield obtained under these land use types revealed the following ranges and means: bare land surface ranged from 40-360g with a mean of 182.2g, cassava plot, ranged from 30-238 with a mean of 107.6g, bush fallow ranged from 4-150g with a mean of 30.0g; secondary forest plot ranged from 2-48 with a mean of 15.0 grams while primary forest plot has a range of 1-45 with a mean of 13.4g respectively. The study revealed that it is the unguided use of land that exposes soils to the direct effect of weather elements hence the major cause of soil erosion in the area. The study, therefore suggests an appropriate land or soil management system that can guarantee adequate protection of soil and other variable components of the environment.

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