An analysis of some soil properties along gully erosion sites under different land use areas of Gombe Metropolis, Gombe State, Nigeria

The paper tries to analyse soil properties around three sampled gully erosion sites that cut across different land use in the study area. The aim of the study is to determine the soil physical and chemical properties of the major gully sites cutting across different land use in Gombe metropolis. Data used in this study were derived from soil samples collected from the gully sites and other secondary sources. Three sampled gully profiles were purposively selected for the study. Soil samples were collected at 0-0.30, 0.30-1.0, 1-2, 2-3, 3-4 and 4> meters respectively along the gully wall layers where there are changes in soil types based on the textural characteristics. Soil samples collected were taken to the laboratory for analysis, different soil physical and chemical properties were tested and results obtained. The difference in the soils physical and chemical properties between the three different gully erosion sites were analyzed using the analysis of (variance ANOVA) with the aid of statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 16.0. In all the different land use areas studied, the soil is mostly loose and very porous dominated by sandy material with low proportion of silt and clay. Atterberg limits are generally low in all the land use areas which resulted into the weakness of the soil, soil chemical properties and bulk density are low and soil particles are not consolidated, therefore, detached easily when impacted by flood water. This was what facilitates the development of deep and wide gullies found in most areas. Key words: Soil properties, land use areas, analysis, Gombe metropolis.