Integrated land resources analysis with an application to Ikem (south-eastern Nigeria)

A methodology was developed for an integrated assessment of land resources and land use, and applied to Ikem, southeastern Nigeria. Findings from part icipatory rural appraisals (PRA) were related to two sets of aerial photogr aphs (1962: 1:6000; 1982: 1:40,000). A two level PRA elicited relationships between soil-landscapes, land cover, land use and local classification sch emes at both individual and village decision-making levels. At the field sc ale, local knowledge on the land was coupled with scientific data collected along toposequences and additional verification transects. Individually ow ned homegardens are agro-forestry systems involving field crops, vegetables and valued multi-purpose trees such as oil palm. The family-owned fields i nvolve a mixture of food and tree crops. The land cover was a good indicati on of the fallow period used on fields in the communal farmlands as woody s pecies no longer establish in short fallow periods. At the village scale, p articipatory land resources mapping was combined with aerial photograph int erpretation to create soil-landscape and land cover/use maps that can be us ed for planning purposes at the local government. Additional archival resea rch supported evidence that the growing population and subsequent land scar city has led to shortened fallow periods and reduced numbers of woody speci es in the farmlands. The establishment of new settlements and the gradual i ncrease of private land followed by the planting of tree cash crops have in tensified agricultural land use resulting in a higher tree density across a larger area. Agricultural expansion predominantly took place on the relati vely fertile land along the rivers. Results indicate the need for a non-amb iguous government policy concerning land tenure that recognises traditional land ownership dynamics. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserve d.