Author(s)

Sheikh Danjuma Abubakar, Nathaniel Bayode Eniolorunda^*

Geography Department, Faculty of Social Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria.

Gudu, being a fringe local government area of Sokoto State of Nigeria, is in the heart of desertification zone of Nigeria where agriculture as the sole means of livelihood for the ever increasing population is endangered. The extent of the effect of desertification on the soil quality is unknown, and for sustainable livelihood, timely information on vegetation and soil resources of the area is of essence. It was therefore hypothesized that desertification has effect on the Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) and particle size. Objectives include assessment of vegetation condition of the area, vegetation change detection and identification of hotspots and assessment of soil properties in the hotspots. Biennial time series (1998 and 2014) of 1-km 10-day SPOT Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was subjected to Time Series Analysis (TSA). Vegetation change detection was carried out to isolate hotspots (improved and degraded areas) from which soil samples were taken. ANOVA was used to test for difference in the measured soil properties at P < 0.05. Results show a general reduction vegetation cover, typical of a semi arid environment. SOC was generally low but higher in improved vegetation areas. While the degraded areas were purely sandy, improved vegetation was either Sand clay loam or Loamy sand, indicating a relationship between SOC and soil texture. It was concluded that desertification had effect on the selected soil properties in the study area. Embarkation on massive afforestation programme and protection of existing forest reserves coupled with environmental education for the farmers were recommended.

Desertification, Soil Quality, NDVI, Soil Organic Carbon, Sokoto

Abubakar, S. and Eniolorunda, N. (2016) Effect of Desertification on Some Selected Soil Properties in a Semi Arid Part of Northwestern Nigeria. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 4, 111-123. doi: 10.4236/gep.2016.47012.