Physichochemical Properties and Trace Elements of Soils in Mambilla Plateau of Northeastern Nigeria

Abstract

The soil samples from Mambila Plateau were analyzed to determine the physicochemical properties of elements present by energy dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence. The physical and chemical parameters determined were colour, pH, electrical conductivity, specific gravity and elemental identifications of Cr 2 O 3 , CuO, NiO and V 2 O 5 respectively. The pH values for soils of the study area are high between 3.96-4.30 being acidic, electrical conductivity values ranged from 81.79 -238 mS/cm with higher electrical conductivity value at N 1 having 238 mS/cm and lower electrical conductivity at S 1 81.79 uS/cm respectively. The soil are yellow, red and gray; with hue steps of 2.5YR, 5YR, 7.5YR, and 10YR, a step values between 3-7 and the chroma range of 1-6. The specific gravity which also is the relative density range from 2.00-2.50. The percentage elemental contents identified for trace elements decreased in the order V 2 O 5 > Cr 2 O 3 >NiO > CuO. The highest percentage concentration of element found was V 2 O 5 at N 4 0.29% while, CuO showed minimum concentration of 0.01%. The entire soils indicated high acidity levels due to the pH results tested, with spatial variation of the elements oxides contents higher at