Influence of Land Use on Spatio-Temporal Variation in Soil Moisture in a Sahel Area of North East Nigeria

Soil moisture plays a great role in physical, chemical and biological activities in the soils. A research was conducted to determine the soil moisture contents across three land use types (grassland (GL), forested area (FR) and cultivated land (CL)) over a period of three months during rainy season in Federal University Gashua, North East of Nigeria. Soil samples was taken from each land use type using soil auger at 0-15 and 15-30cm depths for physicochemical properties analysis, while core samples were taken fortnightly and after every rainy event for gravimetric soil moisture content (SMC) and bulk density determination. Results showed that the soils across the land uses are sandy loam in texture, high bulk density at GL and CL (>1.80g cm-3 ) and moderate in FR (1.45g cm-3 ), very low organic matter content and neutral in pH value. Significantly high SMC was recorded in FR and lower in GL with a high coefficient of variation (43%). Temporally, the SMC varied moderately (35% coefficient of variation) with significant increased after every rainfall event. The high bulk density and very low water retention capacity of the soils of the study area can be enhanced by conservation farming practices and constant addition of organic matter.