Variation of Soils Erodibility in Mbe Agropastoral Area in Relation with Land Utilization, Central Cameroon

Abstract

The study of the soils from Mbé and Wack is carried out in the framework of the knowledge of soils from the Adamawa Region of Cameroon and their erodibility was investigated using erodibility indices obtained through physico-chemical data. Eleven topsoils (0 -20 cm) samples were collected on different land use and their susceptibility to erosion was assessed. The water dispersible clay (34.92 -121.75 g•kg −1 ), the clay dispersion ratio (0.45 -0.84) and the dispersion ratio (0.75 -0.89) were high in the studied soils while the clay aggregation (13.16 -42.27g•kg −1 ) and the clay flocculation index (0.16 -0.55) were low to moderate indicating their high erodibility. The soils under natural vegetation, more clayey, displayed the highest amount of water dispersible clay while cropped soils recorded the smaller ones. Globally, in cropped soils, those under cereals displayed the highest clay dispersion indices than those under tubers. This suggests that tubers cropping practices in studied soils enhance their erodibility. Statistical analyses revealed that amorphous Al and Fe are elements which limit soils erodibility while K + and 4 NH + promote soils particles dispersion. Sustainable management of these soils will consist on limiting runoff through agricultural practices such as direct seedling and orienting tillage perpendicularly to slope gradient.

Short-Term Influence of Plant and Animal Based Biochar on the Micro-Aggregation of Two Texturally Differentiated Soils

“…The clay flocculation index (CFI), a measure of how an individual particle of clay aggregate into clot-like masses or precipitate into small lumps was computed as stated using the equation (Atougour et al, 2019 ) 100 (4)…”

Evaluation of lateritic soils of Mbé for use as compressed earth bricks (CEB)

“…Many studies another way carried out soil properties using statistical analysis methods in other parts of the world ( Osinubi et al., 2015 ; Gadzama et al., 2017 , 2018 ; Babatunde et al., 2020 ; Yohanna and Nwaiwu Okechukwu, 2021 ). The lateritic soils used in the locality of Mbé, despite their abundance, have little known geotechnical properties because the Adamawa region has so far benefited from few geological investigations ( Lasserre, 1958 ; Humbel, 1966 ; Le Maréchal et al., 1971 ; Tchameni et al., 2006 ; Atougour et al., 2019 ; Nguetnkam et al., 2020 ; Temga et al., 2021 ).…”