HYDRO-GEOLOGICAL ERODIBILITY TREND AND PREDICTION WITHIN THE LOWER BENUE TROUGH, NIGERIA

Abstract

Soil erosion studies in Eastern Nigeria have continued to be centered on the areas already devastated by erosion that requires remedial measures. It becomes necessary to study the erosion rate on a regional scale given the magnitude of the problem and with the vegetation being disturbed for infrastructural development. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation and ASTM standards digitized in a GIS environment were used to study erodibility in Lower Benue Trough using 37 years (1970-2007) rainfall data, topography and soil properties. The result of the study shows that the soils in the area are highly erodible. belong to the same formation and thus have the same engineering behavior. The total rainfall for the period under study was 82273.3mm eroding 3.72x10¹⁰ tons of soil. The equation derived from this relationship is: Annual Soil Loss (t/ha) = 924.6912 + 0.9710*Precipitation (mm). This equation could be used to predict the amount of rainfall and soil loss at a particular period for the study area and thus Land use utilization. Furthermore, the information generated will assist in formulating policies and programmes that will minimize incidences of soil erosion.