Erodibility of soils of the upper rainforest zone,southeastern Nigeria

The susceptibility of some soils in the high rainfall zone of Nigeria to soil erosion must be measured regularly for better soil management. A number of techniques have been adopted for the determination of this soil loss parameter. The aim of this study is to determine the soil characteristics that relate significantly to erodibility. Soil samples collected from 0–20 cm depth from 10 different locations in the upper rainforest area were analysed for particle size distribution, water‐stable aggregates, exchangeable cations, organic carbon, soil dispersion and aggregating indices. The soils are mainly Acrisols, Nitosols, Gleysols and Ferralsol in the FAO classification while their textures are sands to sandy‐clay‐loam. They are very unstable in water as reflected in the higher values of WSA >0·50 mm and the mean‐weight diameter that ranged from 0·50 to 2·03 mm. The dispersion ratio for the soils are between 0·26 and 0·69 while clay dispersion ratio also ranged from 0·24 to 0·80. Revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) erodibility model values (K) were from 0·03 to 0·06 Mg h MJ^?1 mm^?1. These parameters can be effectively used in predicting soil erodibility, though their predictability varied in ranking of soil erodibility. In spite of this variability these indices can be used for potential erosion hazard determination by agricultural extension staff to avoid crop failures and other negative influence of soil erosion. The soil parameters are easy to determine and will be a valuable instrument when faster approaches to erosion control measures are required. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.