Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Soils in Agricultural Land Use Systems in Eastern Cameroon

Abstract

Abstract: Purpose of this study is to improve knowledge of the physicochemical traits that determine the degree of soil fertility in Eastern Cameroonian farming systems. Using an auger and a completely randomized block design, soil samples were taken from the 0–30 cm stratum in accordance with a randomization procedure. In the laboratory, sixteen identified and conditioned samples were analyzed. According to the analyses, the texture of cocoa is clayey-sandy, that of oil palm is sandy clayey, that of fields (maize + peanut) is sandy-loamy, and that of forests is sandy. The pH of the soil is acidic across agricultural systems. Agricultural systems contain both the proportion of organic matter and the amount of organic carbon. The range of the total nitrogen content is 1.58 to 1.98 g/ kg. The range of the carbon-nitrogen ratio is 13.10 to 15.32. The available phosphorus levels range from 4.08 to 5.8 mg/kg. Total potassium levels fall between 8.31 to 10.73 g/kg. The range of the sum of exchangeable cations is 5.21 to 9.17 cmol+/kg. The cation exchange capacity falls between 6.33 to 11.67 cmol+/kg. The percentage of exchangeable bases in the soils under investigation ranges from 77.18 to 82.3%. It is possible to recover low levels of potassium, phosphorus, sum of cations exchange, and cation exchange capacity by creating organic matter locally and using agricultural residues effectively. This research leads us to conclude that the soil of Eastern Cameroon, endowed with notable fertility, favors agricultural systems such as the cultivation of cocoa, oil palm and fields.

Keywords: Agronomy; Physicochemical; Cocoa; Cultivating Fields; Oil Palm, Cameroon

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