ORJI, O.A.1 AND OKPOKWASILI, N. P. 2
Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Corresponding Author: obianujuada@gmail.com
IJAER 2018; 4(3): 176 – 181
Abstract
Soil erodibility factor (K) is one of the most important factor in the Universal soil loss equation which estimates the resistance of soil particles to detachment. The K factor for the upland soils of Obio-Akpor was estimated using the mechanical composition (MC), mechanical ratio (MR), dispersion ratio (DR) and erosion index (EI) models of K determination. Soil samples were collected from cultivated land at 0-10 and 10-20cm depths from 5 communities representing the Obio-Akpor namely: Eneka, Rumuokuta, Rumudomaya, Choba and Elelenwo. their particle size distribution and water holding capacity were determined in the laboratory and fitted into the various models. The soils were generally loamy sand to sandy loam. MR and MC gave higher values of K when compared with those estimated with DR and EI models. Irrespective of the model used, K factor varied with location. Rumuokuta soil had the least mean K values of 2.26 and 2.07 (tonsha-1) at the 0-10 and 10-20cm depth respectively.Elelenwo and Runmuodomaya had higher mean K values of 4.16 and 3.44 (tonsha-1) respectively, at the 0-10cm depth and 3.74 and 3.02(tonsha-1) respectively, at the 10-20cm depth. The DR and EI models showed that the higher the water holding capacity, the lower the estimated K value.
Key Words: Erodibility , Water holding capacity, Particle size distribution.