No abstract

Multivariate statistical techniques were employed to study soil-vegetation interrelationships in a secondary forest of South-Southern Nigeria. The grid system of vegetation sampling was used to randomly collect vegetation and soil data from fifteen quadrats of 10m x 10m. The result of principal components analysis identified seven basic sets of soil-vegetation variables that enhanced the interrelationships. Canonical correlation result indicated a positive association between organic matter and tree size, while the linear association between organic matter and tree density revealed an inverse relationship. The result of redundancy coefficient indicated that 18 percent of the variance in vegetation characteristics was accounted for by the variability in soil properties whereas, 81 percent of the variance in soil properties was accounted for by the variability in vegetation characteristics. The regression analyses on the other hand indicated that exchangeable sodium positively influenced tree species composition and richness; and that tree size as well as tree density exerted substantial influence on the contents of organic matter and total nitrogen of the soil. However, drawing inference from results of canonical correlation analysis and those of multiple regression analysis, it was concluded that soil and vegetation components of the secondary forest vegetation were mutually dependent and therefore exerted joint influences on each another.

In Nigeria, soil fertility restoration for improved agricultural production is a recurrent issue of immense importance mostly with her ever increasing population currently above 150 million.

Land management practices provide the basis for evaluating sustainability and monitoring environmental impacts. In Calabar, the current land management practice of grass planting along major routes as a way of beautifying and managing degraded areas has not received much research attention. The study examined the dynamics in soil physical and chemical

The management of people’s attitude towards the environment in today’s world has become an issue of global concern as it has been identified as the only way out to achieving a clean, safe and healthy environment. This study examined the waste situation presently in Port Harcourt as well as the constraints to environmental management in Port Harcourt and it was reported that most people have adopted wrong attitudes that impacts on the environment knowingly or unknowingly and hence these overtime have become a way of life that have overtime crept into the society as a lifestyle not minding its attending consequences and as a result puts a limitation to managing environmental challenges. The study also examined environmental and health implications of poor attitudes to waste management and it was discovered that arising from poor attitudes to the environment, the quality of the environment has deteriorated and that this have helped in increasing the spread of communicable diseases among residents and also flooding and other environmental challenges. The study however stated that poor air quality affect human health through adverse health conditions which affects the gastrointestinal linings, respiratory tract diseases and other   ill health. Arising from the study enlightenment campaign for all at schools, churches,        communities and Local Government levels, adoption and integration of environmental education into the present day school curriculum at all levels and the enforcement of environmental laws  on indiscriminate waste disposal will serve as a panacea for effective waste management in   Port Harcourt.