The role of vegetal cover in soil erosion control in Esan West Local Government Area, Edo State, Nigeria
Paper Details
The role of vegetal cover in soil erosion control in Esan West Local Government Area, Edo State, Nigeria
Abstract
Soil erosion is a major environmental challenge in Esan West Local Government Area (LGA), Edo State, Nigeria, where intense rainfall, vegetation loss, urbanization, and other land-use activities threaten soil stability, agricultural productivity, infrastructure, and sustainable land management. Assessing the role of vegetal cover is therefore important for identifying environmentally sustainable approaches to erosion control. This study examined the types of vegetal cover and soil erosion, factors influencing vegetation development, drivers of soil erosion, inhabitants’ awareness, and the role of vegetal cover in erosion control. Primary and secondary data were used. Structured questionnaires were administered to 515 respondents selected through simple random sampling, complemented by personal observations and oral interviews; data were analyzed using frequencies and percentages. Results showed that 69% of respondents identified man-made vegetal cover as predominant, while 31% identified natural vegetal cover. Rill erosion was the most prevalent erosion type (36.70%), followed by sheet (21.55%), splash (17.86%), and gully erosion (10.87%). Intense and erratic rainfall (27.96%) was identified as the leading driver of soil erosion, followed by high temperature (16.70%) and deforestation (14.75%). Most respondents (73.59%) reported very high awareness of the role of vegetal cover in erosion control. Reduction of surface runoff (15.92%) ranked as the most prominent role of vegetal cover, followed by reduction of evaporation (14.76%) and interception of raindrops (13.96%). The study concludes that vegetal cover provides an important and sustainable bioengineering approach to soil erosion control and recommends strengthening vegetation conservation, reforestation, cover cropping, and related soil conservation practices in Esan West LGA.
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