Title: Charcoal production and soil fertility status in savannah derivative ecological zone of Nigeria

Authors: Abiodun Daniel Olabode; Olayiwola Omofoyewa

Addresses: Department of Geography and Planning Sciences, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo, Nigeria ' Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Ilorin, Nigeria

Abstract: Charcoal burning is one of the common practices in most of the rural areas of Nigeria. This study considers feedback effect of charcoal burning on physical and chemical soil properties with a view to examining status of soil nutrient in Saki, Oyo State, Nigeria. Ten composite soil samples were collected from each demarcated quadrats (5 m × 5 m) of charcoal production site (CPS) and adjacent field site (AFS) at 0 cm-15 cm (topsoil) and 15 cm-30 cm (subsoil) and subjected to laboratory analysis. Mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation (CV) examined the variation within the set of variables. The study revealed that soils exhibit homogeneity in all the examined parameters of the charcoal production site except silt and phosphorous. This is to show that surface burning is a factor for nutrient distribution and availability in soil. It was generally observed that clay is resistant to heat having being insulated from surface heating.

Keywords: charcoal production; soil fertility; savanna zone; soil; fire; Nigeria.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAITG.2021.115755

International Journal of Agriculture Innovation, Technology and Globalisation, 2021 Vol.2 No.1, pp.10 - 22

Received: 01 Jul 2019
Accepted: 11 May 2020
Published online: 21 Jun 2021 *