Title: Comparative Assessment of Soils in Automobile Repair and Non-Automobile Repair Sites in Abakaliki, Southeastern Nigeria By Njoku, C. and Ngene, P.N. Department of Soil Science and Environmental Management, Ebonyi State University, P.M.B. 053,
1Comparative Assessment of Soils in Automobile
Repair and Non-Automobile Repair Sites in
Abakaliki, Southeastern NigeriaByNjoku, C.
and Ngene, P.N.Department of Soil Science and
Environmental Management, Ebonyi State
University, P.M.B. 053, Abakaliki, Nigeria
2ABSTRACT
- An experiment was conducted at automobile repair
and non-automobile repair sites in Abakaliki to
compare the selected chemical properties of soils
of automobile repair and non-automobile repair
sites. - A survey of the study area was carried out and
automobile repair and non-automobile repair sites
were selected. - Five replicates soil samples each were collected
at 0 30 cm depth in each sites. - Data collected were analysed using standard error
of the mean. - Results of the study showed that automobile
repair site recorded higher total organic carbon,
C/N ratio and total exchangeable acidity than
non-automobile repair site. - On the other hand, lower pH, total N, available
P, Ca, Mg, K, Na, total exchangeable bases,
effective cation exchangeable capacity and base
saturation were observed in automobile repair
site than non-automobile repair site. - Soils of automobile repair sites are not good for
crop production since they are low in plant
nutrients
3Key Words
- Automobile repair site
- Oil
- Plant nutrient
- Soil
- Wastes
4Aims
- The aim of this study is to compare the selected
chemical properties of soils of automobile repair
and non-automobile repair sites in Abakaliki,
southeastern Nigeria.
5Materials and Methods
- Site description and soil sampling
- Laboratory Analysis
- Data Analysis
6Site Description and Soil Sampling
- Ten automobile repair sites spreading within
Abakaliki metropolis were surveyed and the
automobile repair site at Ogoja road, opposite
Abakaliki rice mill and adjacent College of
Agricultural Science, Ebonyi State University was
selected. - This site is a major and the biggest automobile
repair site in Abakaliki. - An arable land at Ebonyi State University,
Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Management Research Farm was used as
non-automobile repair sites. - Abakaliki lies at latitude 6o 19 N and longitude
8o 06 E in the derived savannah of the southeast
agro-ecological zone of Nigeria. - It has a mean annual rainfall of 1700 1800 mm.
- The rainfall pattern is bimodal between April
July and September November with short spell in
August. - According to Ofomata (1975) the minimum and
maximum temperatures of the area are 27oC and
31oC respectively. - The relative humidity of the area is between 60
80. The soil belongs to the order Ultisol and is
classified as Typic Haplustult (FDALR, 1985). - Soil samples were obtained in five replicates at
each site at depths of 0 to 30 cm using soil
auger. Each sample was immediately placed in a
fresh plastic bag and tightly sealed. All the
samples were transported to the laboratory where
on arrival, analytical procedure commenced in
earnest.
7Laboratory Analysis
- The pH of the soil was determined using a
suspension of soil and distilled water in the
ratio of 25 soil water (McLean, 1982). - Total nitrogen was determined using modified
kjeldahl digestion procedure (Bremmer and
Mulvaney, 1982). - Organic carbon was determined by the method of
Nelson and Sommers (1982). - Available phosphorus was determined by Bray 11
method (Olsen and Sommers, 1982). - Exchangeable bases were determined using Chapman
(1982) method. - Exchangeable acidity was determined by the
titration method (Juo, 1979). - Effective cation exchange capacity and base
saturation were determined by the summation and
calculation, respectively (Njoku and Mbah (2012)
8Data Analysis
- Statistical analysis of the data was carried out
using standard error of the mean (Steel and
Torrie, 1980).
9Result and Discussion
- The results of selected chemical properties of
soils of automobile repair and non-automobile
repair sites are presented in table 1.
10- Table 1 Selected chemical properties of soils of
automobile repair and non-automobile repair sites
- Parameter Automobile Repair site
Non-automobile Repair site - pH (H2O) 4.310.011
5.960.005 - Organic Carbon () 1.950.015
0.940.020 - Total Nitrogen () 0.150.017
0.170.011 - C/N Ratio 13.000.012
5.230.003 - Available P (mgkg-1) 7.080.05
10.260.015 - Ca (cmol()kg-1) 4.640.005
5.070.005 - Mg (cmol()kg-1) 1.560.017
3.710.017 - K (cmol()kg-1) 0.110.005
0.180.003 - Na (cmol()kg-1) 0.180.009
0.250.013 - TEA (cmol()kg-1) 1.390.006
1.220.012 - TEB (cmol()kg-1) 6.490.013
9.210.014 - ECEC (cmol()kg-1) 7.880.003
10.430.011 - BS () 82.36 0.011
88.300.006
11pH
- Automobile repair site recorded the lower pH
value of 4.31. - This observed pH value in automobile repair site
was lower than that of non-automobile repair site
by 28. - This lower pH observed in automobile repair site
than non-automobile repair site may be as a
result of acidic automobile wastes that entered
the soil and increasing its acidity.
12Organic Carbon and C/N Ratio
- On the other hand, higher organic carbon, and C/N
ratio were recorded in automobile repair site
than non-automobile repair site. - These higher values of organic carbon and C/N
ratio may be attributed to the presence of spent
lubricant oil and petroleum products that are
among the wastes produced in automobile repair
sites. - The high amount of organic matter in the studied
soil samples is quite obvious since the soil is
contaminated with automobile fuels that are
composed of hydrocarbon and PAHs (Atlas, 1981
McMurry, 2000 Clayden and Greeves 2001). - Similarly, this result was inline with Bahuguna
et al. (2011) who noted that the soil samples
from automobile repair work stations demonstrated
significantly higher total organic carbon, total
PAHs contents and soil temperature while showing
lower moisture contents and bacterial counts.
13Total N, Available P, Exchangeable bases and
Total Exchangeable acidity
- The results also showed lower total N, available
P, Ca, Mg, K, Na, TEB, ECEC, BS and higher TEA in
automobile repair site than non-automobile repair
site. - These are plant nutrients which when they are
lacking in soils will reduced the quality of the
soils and the yield of crops growing in that
soil. - Thus, the soils of automobile repair site are not
good for crop production and should be put into
alternative use.
14Conclusion
- This study showed that the soils of automobile
repair site are of low quality. - It is high in organic carbon, low in soil major
nutrients and pH. - Therefore, such soils should not be used for
crop production but should be used for other
non-agricultural ventures.
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