Determination of Trace Elements Concentration in Soil Samples of Fika Agrarian Community of Yobe State, Nigeria, Using MP-AES Analytical Technique

Abstract

Soil is a composite system which consists of organic and inorganic matter that directly and indirectly supports plant and animal life and is a crucial component of our rural and urban environments (Emanuel, 2015). The accumulation of certain elements, in particular trace elements in agricultural soil is of increasing concern due to food safety issues, potential health risks and its detrimental effects on soil ecosystems (McLaughlin et al., 1999).The main natural sources of elements in soils are weathering of parent material and soil erosion (Emmanuel, 2014). The trace elements are primary content of rocks released due to weathering processes and their moderate concentration levels are usually safe but an increase in concentration of these elements in the environment can be significantly destructive to plants and animal life (Goleakar et al., 2013; Macfarlane & Burchett, 2000).Baseline data on trace element levels in soil is beneficial to all agrarian communities particularly in fertilizer applications, with view to identifying suitable agricultural activities on soil as well as in resource identification, management and land use planning (Wilcke, et al., 1998). The association of elements in varying concentrations in soils is indicative of the mineral content, which in turn serves as a measure of soil fertility (Abubakar, 2007). Hence, there is the crucial need to ensure that adequate information on the elemental concentration of soil is available to the agrarian communities so as to identify which part of the soil is best for planting certain crops and the types of fertilizer to be applied to the soil (Emanuel, 2015).Despite the importance of this data on trace elements to agrarian communities, none of such study was conducted in Fika local government area of Yobe state. Notwithstanding, only few relevant studies were conducted in the Northeast