Assessment of Nutrient Depletion in Mining Sites and Smallholders Farms in the Angwan Doka, Kokona Local Government Area, Nasarawa State Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed soil physical and chemical properties in mining sites and farmlands. The aim was to evaluate the level of nutrient depletion in the soil and ascertain the impact of mining sites around farmlands on nutrient depletion. Data were collected using a soil auger to take ten composite soil samples from mining sites and farmlands. Physico-chemical properties of soils were analysed in the laboratory, and the data were analysed using SPSS/10.0 with the results expressed as mean ± SD of five determinations. Statistical evaluations using One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and values regarded as statistically significant at p <0.05 revealed no significant difference in nutrient depletion between mining sites and farmlands in the Angwan Doka. The F-calculated value for the interaction between nutrient depletion and land use (mining sites versus farmlands) is 0.50876, which is lower than the F-critical value of 4.0471 at a 5% significance level (P > 0.05). It indicates that nutrient depletion levels in the soils of mining sites and farmlands in the Angwan Doka area are statistically similar. The analysis highlights that while the overall variance in soil physical-chemical properties is highly significant, with an F-calculated value of 80.40745 (P < 0.001), this may be primarily due to variations within other components, rather than between the two land-use types. The total sum of squares (SS = 83952.48) reflects the contribution of all sources of variability, yet the specific contribution of mining sites versus farmlands (SS = 11.16161) is minimal. The mean square (MS) for the mining site versus farmland interaction is also low, at 11.16161, indicating limited variability in nutrient depletion between these two categories.