Assessment of Soil degradation in response to Land use change in the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Nigeria.

Soil degradation is a worldwide concern that poses significant threats to the physical, chemical and biological conditions of soil leading to food insecurity and instability of ecosystems. Therefore, assessing and monitoring soil degradation especially in the teeming developing population countries such as Nigeria calls for urgent attention. Hence, in this study, randomized method was used in the collection of the soil samples with the aid of soil auger at two different depths (0 - 15 cm and 15 - 30 cm) across the studied area. The collected soil samples were processed and subjected to standard laboratory techniques to assess the soil conditions of the studied area. The results showed that particle size analysis of the studied soils were predominantly dominated with sandy clay loam textural class while soil pH ranging from strongly acidic to near neutral. On one hand, bulk density varied with the existing land use especially with built-up and continuous cropping areas occupying the most degraded soil properties when compared to that of the forested areas. Notably, chemical soil properties such as total nitrogen, available phosphorus, and potassium were below critical threshold levels particularly areas with the unchecked human activities. Consequently, the soil quality index analysis classed the soil of the area as moderately to poorly degraded soils connected to deforestation, continuous use of the land without adding appropriate fertilizer coupled with prevailing pressure of climate change actions. The findings underscore the urgent need for sustainable land use cover management practices, suggesting strict compliance with the Land Use Act in protecting the prevailing loss of vegetative cover of the studied area.