Abstract
The effect of land use, i.e. 2–3 years of cropping, 15–20 years old residential area and fallow land on soilproperties of termite (microtermes sp) mounds in TypicPaleudults was studied in the humid rainforest zone ofMidwestern Nigeria, from January 1995 to May 1995. Termitemound populations increased in the following order: Fallow>Residential> Cropping. Soil sampled from mound surfaces, moundperimeters and surrounding soil was analyzed for routinephysical and chemical properties. The bulk densities werehighest in the mound surface (1.20–1.25 mg m−3), moundperimeters (1.22–1.23 mg m−3) and surface soil (1.27–1.28 mg m−3) of the residential area. There was no significantdifference in the soil textural characteristics among thevarious sampling locations of the three land use types.Particle size distribution in mound perimeters was howeverdependent on land use. With respect to organic carbon, totalN, pH, exchangeable cations and ECEC, no significantdifferences existed, instead they spatially differ from oneanother in terms of land use types and sampling locations.
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EKUNDAYO, E.O., AGHATISE, V.O. SOIL PROPERTIES OF TERMITE MOUNDS UNDER DIFFERENT LAND USE TYPES IN A TYPIC PALEUDULT OF MIDWESTERN NIGERIA. Environ Monit Assess 45, 1–7 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005794628150
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005794628150