Comparison of 3 Different Methods of CEC Determination in Nigerian Savannah Soils

A.A. Mustapha, N. Abdu, E.Y. Oyinlola and A.A. Nuhu

Background and Objectives: Savannah soils are mainly coarse textured and thus mostly porous and dry. Cation exchange capacity varies according to differences in pH, organic matter and soil texture. Due to the possible overestimation of results with the use of NH4OAc (pH 7), there arises the need to compare and explore the results that could be obtained with the use of other methods on Nigerian savannah soils. Materials and Methods: Eighty samples were collected from 4 different Savannah zones, Derived Savannah, Sudan Savannah, Northern Guinea Savannah and Southern Guinea Savannah. The different method of determination used were NH4OAc (pH 7), NH4OAc (at soil pH) and BaCl. The obtained results was subjected to analysis of variance by using JMP software. Means separated by using Fishers protected least significant difference. Results: Results obtained using Bacl2 was generally similar to the range obtained with the use of NH4OAc (7) from soils of the savannah region. The use of NH4OAc (soil pH) gives good result on acidic soils with low content of organic matter. Conclusion: The amount of CEC observed with the use of different methods is influenced by the experimental conditions as well as the physicochemical properties of the soil and the exchange ability of the reagent used.

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