Soil Assessment along Toposequences in Rural Northern Nigeria: A Geomedical Approach
Case numbers of endemic Ca-deficiency rickets (CDR) have been reported to be alarmingly rising among children of subsistence farms in developing countries within the last 30 years. Fluoride toxicities in the environment are known to not be related to the disease. To investigate if, instead, CDR is c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2014-01-01
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| Series: | Applied and Environmental Soil Science |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/628024 |
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| author | Lena Hartmann Marvin Gabriel Yuanrong Zhou Barbara Sponholz Heinrich Thiemeyer |
| author_facet | Lena Hartmann Marvin Gabriel Yuanrong Zhou Barbara Sponholz Heinrich Thiemeyer |
| author_sort | Lena Hartmann |
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| description | Case numbers of endemic Ca-deficiency rickets (CDR) have been reported to be alarmingly rising among children of subsistence farms in developing countries within the last 30 years. Fluoride toxicities in the environment are known to not be related to the disease. To investigate if, instead, CDR is caused by a nutrient deficiency in the environment, subsistence farms in an endemic CDR area near Kaduna, northern Nigeria, were investigated for bedrock, slope forms, soil types, and soil characteristics. The natural environment was investigated according to the World Reference Base, soil texture was analysed by pipette and sieving, and plant-available macronutrients were determined using barium-chloride or Ca-acetate-lactate extraction. The analyses showed that granite and slope deposits were the dominant parent materials. The typical slope forms and soil types were Lixisols and Acrisols on pediments, Fluvisols in river valleys, and Plinthosols and Acrisols on plains. Compared with West African background values, all of the soils had normal soil textures but were low in macronutrients. Comparisons to critical limits, however, showed that only the P concentrations were critically low, which are typical for savanna soils. A link between nutrient deficiency in soils and CDR in the Kaduna area was therefore considered unlikely. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-43a3a80a88dd43719b8556644d62ea38 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-7667 1687-7675 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | Applied and Environmental Soil Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-43a3a80a88dd43719b8556644d62ea382025-02-03T05:48:09ZengWileyApplied and Environmental Soil Science1687-76671687-76752014-01-01201410.1155/2014/628024628024Soil Assessment along Toposequences in Rural Northern Nigeria: A Geomedical ApproachLena Hartmann0Marvin Gabriel1Yuanrong Zhou2Barbara Sponholz3Heinrich Thiemeyer4Institute of Physical Geography, University of Frankfurt, Altenhöferallee 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, GermanyInstitute of Physical Geography and Landscape Ecology, University of Hannover, Schneiderberg 50, 30167 Hannover, GermanyPhysical and Environmental Science Department, University of Toronto Scarborough, Military Trail 1265, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, CanadaInstitute of Geography and Geology, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97084 Würzburg, GermanyInstitute of Physical Geography, University of Frankfurt, Altenhöferallee 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, GermanyCase numbers of endemic Ca-deficiency rickets (CDR) have been reported to be alarmingly rising among children of subsistence farms in developing countries within the last 30 years. Fluoride toxicities in the environment are known to not be related to the disease. To investigate if, instead, CDR is caused by a nutrient deficiency in the environment, subsistence farms in an endemic CDR area near Kaduna, northern Nigeria, were investigated for bedrock, slope forms, soil types, and soil characteristics. The natural environment was investigated according to the World Reference Base, soil texture was analysed by pipette and sieving, and plant-available macronutrients were determined using barium-chloride or Ca-acetate-lactate extraction. The analyses showed that granite and slope deposits were the dominant parent materials. The typical slope forms and soil types were Lixisols and Acrisols on pediments, Fluvisols in river valleys, and Plinthosols and Acrisols on plains. Compared with West African background values, all of the soils had normal soil textures but were low in macronutrients. Comparisons to critical limits, however, showed that only the P concentrations were critically low, which are typical for savanna soils. A link between nutrient deficiency in soils and CDR in the Kaduna area was therefore considered unlikely.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/628024 |
| spellingShingle | Lena Hartmann Marvin Gabriel Yuanrong Zhou Barbara Sponholz Heinrich Thiemeyer Soil Assessment along Toposequences in Rural Northern Nigeria: A Geomedical Approach Applied and Environmental Soil Science |
| title | Soil Assessment along Toposequences in Rural Northern Nigeria: A Geomedical Approach |
| title_full | Soil Assessment along Toposequences in Rural Northern Nigeria: A Geomedical Approach |
| title_fullStr | Soil Assessment along Toposequences in Rural Northern Nigeria: A Geomedical Approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Soil Assessment along Toposequences in Rural Northern Nigeria: A Geomedical Approach |
| title_short | Soil Assessment along Toposequences in Rural Northern Nigeria: A Geomedical Approach |
| title_sort | soil assessment along toposequences in rural northern nigeria a geomedical approach |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/628024 |
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