Variations in Soil Microclimate Under Different Land Use Systems in Umuahia South Area, Abia State, Nigeria

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

1 Department of Water Resources Management and AgroMeteorology, Michael Okpara, University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria

2 Department of Soil Science and Land Resource Management, College of Crop and Soil Sciences, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria

3 Department of Water Resources Management and Agrometeorology, College of Crop and Soil Sciences, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

A study was carried out to investigate the variations in soil microclimate under different land use systems in the Umuahia South area of Abia State, to evaluate the variations in soil microclimate (temperature and moisture) under different land use systems (arable land, pasture land, and a bush fallow land). The soil moisture content and temperature measurements were carried out at 0–20 and 20–40 cm depths from December 2023 to September 2024. Meteorological data (rainfall, temperature, soil temperature, and soil moisture) used for this study were obtained through remote sensing from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Centre’s for Environmental Prediction (NOAA/NCEP) for the period. Time series analysis showed the trend and variations of the soil microclimate in the different land uses while regression analysis showed the relationship between soil temperature and moisture. The study showed that land use systems significantly influenced atmospheric temperature and rainfall, with arable land recording the highest temperature (26.265-28.882 °C). Bush fallow received higher rainfall (487.8709 mm) than arable land and pasture land. The result also showed that bush fallow maintained higher soil moisture (1.30 m³m-³) levels than other land uses. Land use systems significantly influenced soil temperature patterns, with arable land recording the highest soil temperature (28.76 °C). There was also a significant inverse relationship between soil temperature and soil moisture. The findings of this study have important implications for sustainable land management practices, particularly in regions with limited water resources.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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