Spatial distribution and loss of micronutrients in soils from two different land use management

Land use – land cover changes affect the ecosystems' status and integrity to support and supply the
services. Agricultural activities and attendant soil erosion, leaching or depletion of nutrients may
result in increased soil degradation. The study investigated micronutrient spatial distribution and
concentration in soils within two different agricultural land use management. The study employed
RUSLE equations to determine the erosion rate within the selected plots. Topsoils (5-10cm) from
different points within the plots were collected and analyzed for micronutrients using ICPMS(QQQ). The plots are located in high potential soil erosion places with soil erodibility (K)
factor OF 0.031-ton ha-1MJ-1mm-1 within the Ombeyi river catchment. The soil erosion was
estimated to be > 50t ha-1 year-1
, implying the high loss of nutrients; hence, over 52 elements were
analyzed. The two plots compared micronutrients iodine (I), calcium (Ca), copper (Cu), iron (Fe),
magnesium (Mg), selenium (Se), zinc (Zn), and molybdenum (Mo). In Plot 1(no terraces),
micronutrients were concentrated at the base of the plot, while in plot 2 ( terraces), some elements
were evenly distributed. There is a significant difference in the concentration of elements between
the plots; I, Se, Cu, Ca and Mg, depicting a p-Value of <0.05, while Fe, Zn and Mo with Pvalue >0.05. Elements in plot one were mapped with high concentration at the lower part of the
plot as related to plot two which most of the elements were evenly distributed hence reduced
micronutrients in plot 2. This encourages educating farmers on the importance of good terrain soil
management.