Soil Degradation around Orji Municipal Solid Waste Dumpsite: A Spatial Assessment

Abstract

Abstract The present study assessed the impact of municipal solid waste dump on the degradation of soil around Orji dumpsite. The major municipal open solid waste dump was used for this study. A total of fifteen soil samples were collected. Three control samples were randomly obtained from IMSU research farm while twelve soil samples were collected from the base (0 m) of the dumpsite, 10 m and 20 m away from the dumpsite. The samples were collected to the east, west, north and south of the dumpsite. The samples were air dried, crushed and sieved before laboratory analyses. The results obtained indicate that the concentration of the parameters analyzed ranged from 82–91% (sand), 3–9% (silt), 7–9%(clay), 5.30–7.70 (pH), 2–9 dS m− 1 (EC), 0.0013–0.0058 mg kg− 1 (salinity), 1.24–5.71% (OM), 23.20-46.40Cmol kg− 1 (CEC), 2.36–16.20 Cmol kg− 1 (Ca) and 0.34–4.39 Cmol kg− 1 (Mg). These concentrations indicate substantial enrichment. Correlation analysis was applied to establish the relationship between selected chemical parameters. It was found that EC and salinity majorly determined the availability of most of the other analyzed parameters. The extent of soil degradation around the dumpsite was analyzed using the SDI. It showed that the dumpsite soil degradation index varied from 4,863% (0 m), 3,598% (10 m) and 3,353% (20 m). Thus, distance affected the rate of soil degradation in all directions away from the dumpsite.