GEOTECHNICAL MODELING OF LANDSCAPE SENSITIVITY TO SOIL EROSION IN PARTS OF EBONYI AND CROSS RIVER STATES NIGERIA
Abstract
A study was carried our to determine the susceptibility of soils in some parts of Eastern Nigeria to erosion. This is with a view to developing regional scale maps and identifying combinations of soils, landforms and land cover that may respond to climate variability. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation and Geographic Information System were used to model the landscape sensitivity of the area. The results obtained from the field and laboratory investigations, aerial photographic survey, land use and land cover classifications as well as topographical maps were digitized to determine the soil losses. The results suggest that a total of 56.07% (1829.72km2) is potentially endangered while actually, 7.48% (243.04km2) is endangered, thus soil erosion is not ravaging this part of eastern Nigeria as widely reported for other areas. The cover practice significantly reduced the high risk of erosion to moderate and perhaps manageable level. Adequate precaution is therefore necessary if the vegetation is to be disturbed for any form of development. An important feature of the model is a development of zoning map that shows developable areas and associated geotechnical/geological hazard and risk.
