Classification of Soil Erodibility of Gully Sub-systems in Yola South, Adamawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

This research work aimed to classify soil erodibility status of the gully sub-systems in Yola South Local Government Area, Adamawa State. Three (3) arable lands were selected based on their high severity of gully development namely Mbamba, Bole and Yolde Pate defined as sub-systems. The number of gully units was counted at each sub-system where soil samples were collected at the top, middle and bottom layers from each of the gully unit and analyzed based on the selected properties. Soil erodibility classification was estimated using Nomographic method. The result revealed that at Mbamba subsystem three (3) gullies were found, five (5) at Bole and four (4) were identified at Yolde pate In addition, soil erodibility class was found to be very high at Mbamba and Bole in all the gully units with K values ranged from 0.53-0.54 and 0.50-0.53, accordingly. Meanwhile, at Yolde pate sub-system unit 1 and 3 were classified with high erodibility status (0.40-0.42) while gully unit 2 and 4 classified as very high (0.46-0.47) respectively. These arable lands are seriously under devastating effects of gully destruction resulting in the loss of farmlands, nutrients and yield reduction. It is recommended therefore farmers in the area should adopt the use effective soil and conservation techniques and to ensure embracing proper land use management to avoid gully initiation and development.