Erodibility index of soils along Ezeagu-Umulokpa road, Enugu state

Abstract

The destruction caused by soil erosion is seriously attracting attention in South Eastern Nigeria. Erodibility Index(K) of soils
along Ezeagu-Umulokpa road in Enugu State was conducted to ascertain the erodibility indices of soil samples at four locations
along Ezeagu-Umulokpa road and to predict the level of erosion loss in these four locations. A total of twelve(12) soil samples
from four different locations- Ugwueke, Number one Bus Stop, Amansiodo Bus Stop and St. Theresa Catholic Church Oghe
along Ezeagu-Umulokpa road were collected using soil cores at varying depths of 0-15cm, 16-30 and 31-45cm respectively.
They were collected in poly bags and taken to the laboratory where they were air dried and sieved with 2mm mesh sieve. The soil
samples were analyzed for Structural Class Index, Soil Permeability Class Index and Organic Matter Content from which Soil
Erodilbility Indices were calculated for soils from the four locations and erosion loss predicted. The results of this analyses
showed that number one bus stop had the highest average K value of 0.34 with low mean clay content and Amansiodo Bus Stop
had the lowest average K value 0.01 with the highest mean clay content. The average mean erodibility index was calculated to be
0.11 for Ezeagu-Umulokpa road. Number one bus stop had the highest calculated erosion loss value of 73.46tons/ha/yr under
constant mean annual rainfall factor R. It is therefore recommended that, soil conservation measures should be carried out at
number one bus stop.