Environmental impact of oil palm processing on some properties of the on-site soil in a growing city in Nigeria

Abstract

Both natural and anthropogenic activities exert a great influence on soil conditions, with some being beneficial to soil health. This study was conducted to assess the impact of oil palm processing activities on selected soil properties in Iwo, Nigeria. Soil samples taken from upstream, mid-section, and downstream points along an oil palm mill dumpsite were compared against a control. Soil organic matter, bulk density, and soil moisture were determined using standard procedures, while soil structural stability was estimated using stability index. The soil organic matter was significantly higher at the oil palm mill relative to the control and reduced by 50.8 and 64.4% at the upstream and downstream relative to the mid-section, respectively. The bulk density did not differ significantly among the sampling points but increased at the upstream, mid-section, and downstream by 2.4–13.1% compared with the control. The soil moisture at field capacity was substantially higher at the site relative to the control, with the upstream having the highest value (0.94 m3m−3). The soil structural stability was superior at the mid-section and reduced by 57.0–76.2% at the upstream, downstream, and control points. In general, oil palm mill processing activities improved the on-site soil organic matter and its physical conditions.

Economic factors affecting environmental pollution in two Nigerian cities: A comparative study

“…41 Some of the scholars that successfully adopted this statistic include. 3 , 8 , 41 , 42 Factorability was determined by KMO and Bartlett test while the eigenvalue was set at 1 maximum. Thus, any variable with a value not up to 1 is observed as insignificant in its contribution to environmental pollution issues in the study area.…”

“…It is clearly evident that human actions have inflicted different degrees of harm to the natural environment through various actions such as industrial, agricultural, and domestic activities. 6 – 9 These, all together, are principal contributors to the contamination of water, air, and soil; introduction of toxic wastes, smoke, effluents and sewage, and solid wastes, among others. Thus, environmental quality varies over space globally and also within a neighborhood scale 7 , 10 , 11 depending on the volume of the contaminants emitted or introduced into the environment.…”

Towards a Sustainable City Environment: Resolving the Challenge of Flooding in a Growing Tropical City in Osun State, Nigeria- A Review

“…These activities generate a lot of wastes such as fronds, empty fruit bunches, mesocarp fibre, palm kernel shell and oil palm trunk among others which are often dumped on the river banks or its bed directly, thereby contributing to the blockage of the stream flow. This induces flooding in the town (Saediman et al, 2021Ogunbode et al, 2022aOgunbode et al, 2022b)…”

“…With the growth and expansion being recorded in Iwo, it is expected that alternative locations will be decided by the appropriate authority with all facilities required for the millers' performance should be provided. Improved technology on the oil palm processing needs to be introduced and embraced to checkmate the contributions of this sector to river channel redirection through dumping of their wastes and residues into the river bed (Merten et al, 2017;Ogunbode et al, 2022a;Ogunbode et al, 2022b) (6). Capacity building, empowerment and enlightenment Another area of importance to avert flooding in this growing urban centre and also emphasized by Hulah and Udoh ( 20115) is through capacity building and empowerment (especially economic areas) for the inhabitants and other stakeholders in the development of the town especially in the areas exposure to modern ways of carrying out tasks in line with the new technology, improved methods of disposing wastes, waste recycling/reuse, greening of our natural and built-up environment, public facilities maintenance among others.…”