Abstract
Within Eastern Nigeria there occur some of the most spectacular examples of soil erosion and ‘badland’ topography to be seen in West Africa. Erosion gullies attain a degree of severity and destructiveness seldom experienced in other parts of the continent. An unusual susceptibility to secular erosion, due to distinctive soils, geological formations and landforms (Figs. 6.1, 5.2, 4.1), together with marked disturbance of the natural vegetation cover by man in the course of agricultural pursuits, have initiated the regrettable scenes of devastation of natural resources in several areas of Eastern Nigeria today.
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Notes
The gullied areas in Awka Division, and others in Onitsha, Enugu and Owerri Provinces, were first studied in some detail by a geographer in 1948; the results of this investigation appeared in a monograph published by the Nigerian Government: A. T. Grove, Land Use and Soil Conservation in Parts of Onitsha and Owerri Provinces. Bulletin No. 21, Geological Survey of Nigeria (Zaria, 1951). (Hereafter referred to as Land Use.)
This area has been authoritatively investigated by Jean Carter, ‘Erosion and Sedimentation from Aerial Photographs: a Micro-Study from Nigeria’, The Journal of Tropical Geography, xi (1958), pp. 100–6.
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© 1969 Barry Floyd
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Floyd, B. (1969). Soil Erosion and Deterioration. In: Eastern Nigeria. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-00666-3_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-00666-3_7
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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