Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Land Use on Soil Infiltration Rate in a Tropical West African Watershed (Ouriyori, Benin)
Soil infiltration at a watershed scale is important for understanding and predicting the hydrological process in soil-water-plant systems. This study investigated the effects of land use (LU) conversion on the infiltration rate in the Ouriyori watershed. To that end, in situ infiltration was carried...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Applied and Environmental Soil Science |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/8565571 |
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| author | Quentin Fiacre Togbévi Martine van der Ploeg Kéhounbiova Audrey Tohoun Sampson K. Agodzo Kwasi Preko |
| author_facet | Quentin Fiacre Togbévi Martine van der Ploeg Kéhounbiova Audrey Tohoun Sampson K. Agodzo Kwasi Preko |
| author_sort | Quentin Fiacre Togbévi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soil infiltration at a watershed scale is important for understanding and predicting the hydrological process in soil-water-plant systems. This study investigated the effects of land use (LU) conversion on the infiltration rate in the Ouriyori watershed. To that end, in situ infiltration was carried out over the watershed under thirty-six pairs of adjacent cropland-fallow plots using the hood infiltrometer. Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), soil properties, and soil classes were further compared. Results showed a high variability of Ks following the LU classes with a coefficient of variation greater than 60%. After data log transformation, the mean values of Ks showed high infiltration and ranged between 2.59 and 2.42 cm d−1, respectively, for fallow land and cropland. Thus, Ks was relatively lower in cropland compared to fallow land. Hence, the low infiltration recorded in croplands indicated the degradative impacts of unceasing tillage operations for crop production without crop residue incorporation into the soil during tillage. There was no significant difference in bulk density and soil texture in both types of land use. Considering soil classes, the highest infiltration rate was found in Ferric Luvisol and the lowest rate in Dystric Gleysol, meaning that the high infiltration observed in Ferric Luvisol was due to the abundance of soil macropores. Change in natural vegetation to croplands induced a low infiltration rate and macropore connectivity. Moreover, fallow lands tend to provide water storage capacity through the improvement of mesopores, while soil compaction through agricultural activities reduces soil porosity and therefore soil infiltration. In addition, the paired Student’s t-test performed on the transformed data was statistically significant, indicating a difference between Ks under cropland and Ks under fallow land. To improve soil and water conservation for crop production as well as for sustainable rural populations’ livelihoods in the watershed, occasional fallowing may be observed to dampen infiltration hindering soil surface conditions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8ec063d5b8d54f269ed65c236b587600 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-7675 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied and Environmental Soil Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-8ec063d5b8d54f269ed65c236b5876002025-02-03T05:50:30ZengWileyApplied and Environmental Soil Science1687-76752022-01-01202210.1155/2022/8565571Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Land Use on Soil Infiltration Rate in a Tropical West African Watershed (Ouriyori, Benin)Quentin Fiacre Togbévi0Martine van der Ploeg1Kéhounbiova Audrey Tohoun2Sampson K. Agodzo3Kwasi Preko4Department of Civil EngineeringDepartment of Environmental SciencesWest African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL)Department of Agricultural and Biosystems EngineeringDepartment of PhysicsSoil infiltration at a watershed scale is important for understanding and predicting the hydrological process in soil-water-plant systems. This study investigated the effects of land use (LU) conversion on the infiltration rate in the Ouriyori watershed. To that end, in situ infiltration was carried out over the watershed under thirty-six pairs of adjacent cropland-fallow plots using the hood infiltrometer. Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), soil properties, and soil classes were further compared. Results showed a high variability of Ks following the LU classes with a coefficient of variation greater than 60%. After data log transformation, the mean values of Ks showed high infiltration and ranged between 2.59 and 2.42 cm d−1, respectively, for fallow land and cropland. Thus, Ks was relatively lower in cropland compared to fallow land. Hence, the low infiltration recorded in croplands indicated the degradative impacts of unceasing tillage operations for crop production without crop residue incorporation into the soil during tillage. There was no significant difference in bulk density and soil texture in both types of land use. Considering soil classes, the highest infiltration rate was found in Ferric Luvisol and the lowest rate in Dystric Gleysol, meaning that the high infiltration observed in Ferric Luvisol was due to the abundance of soil macropores. Change in natural vegetation to croplands induced a low infiltration rate and macropore connectivity. Moreover, fallow lands tend to provide water storage capacity through the improvement of mesopores, while soil compaction through agricultural activities reduces soil porosity and therefore soil infiltration. In addition, the paired Student’s t-test performed on the transformed data was statistically significant, indicating a difference between Ks under cropland and Ks under fallow land. To improve soil and water conservation for crop production as well as for sustainable rural populations’ livelihoods in the watershed, occasional fallowing may be observed to dampen infiltration hindering soil surface conditions.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/8565571 |
| spellingShingle | Quentin Fiacre Togbévi Martine van der Ploeg Kéhounbiova Audrey Tohoun Sampson K. Agodzo Kwasi Preko Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Land Use on Soil Infiltration Rate in a Tropical West African Watershed (Ouriyori, Benin) Applied and Environmental Soil Science |
| title | Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Land Use on Soil Infiltration Rate in a Tropical West African Watershed (Ouriyori, Benin) |
| title_full | Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Land Use on Soil Infiltration Rate in a Tropical West African Watershed (Ouriyori, Benin) |
| title_fullStr | Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Land Use on Soil Infiltration Rate in a Tropical West African Watershed (Ouriyori, Benin) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Land Use on Soil Infiltration Rate in a Tropical West African Watershed (Ouriyori, Benin) |
| title_short | Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Land Use on Soil Infiltration Rate in a Tropical West African Watershed (Ouriyori, Benin) |
| title_sort | assessing the effects of anthropogenic land use on soil infiltration rate in a tropical west african watershed ouriyori benin |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/8565571 |
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