Notes on Land Cover Changes and Soil Quality in the Niger Delta

Land cover has been changing since pre-historic times, at scales ranging from global to local; at times at rates that escape attention. In the Niger Delta, the conversion of primary forests into other land cover types often results from destructive activities, such as deforestation due to slash-and-burn land cultivation, timber logging, and hydrocarbon extraction activities. In most of the Niger Delta, the built-up areas have nearly doubled in three decades, due largely to industrialization and urbanization. Consequently, soil quality, or the capacity of soils to sustain ecological functions, has been compromised. Although this may be contingent on natural variables, it is obvious that human actions have altered the natural balance. To halt this decline, and possibly reverse it, there is need for measures to mitigate, ameliorate or compensate the effects of man’s actions on land cover changes and soil quality. This book draws attention to issues relating to land cover changes and soil quality in the Niger Delta, and presents arguments for the need to pay attention to issues raised.