| dc.description.abstract | Soils are important components of the environment and their
understanding is essential in planning and management for
environmental conservation and sustainable use of natural
resources. However, reliable soil information required for longterm
conservation and development planning is scarce, particularly
for wildlife protected areas. A semi-detailed soil survey of Ruma
National Park was conducted with the principal objectives of
identifying, describing, mapping and interpreting the soil
information with respect to planning and management of the
environment and wildlife conservation. The survey provides
information on the park's major soil types, their distribution and
gives a broad estimate of soil erosion susceptibility and soil
limitations to establishment of public facilities in the park. A
soil map at a scale of 1:50,000 is presented, while the results of
the estimated soil erosion susceptibility and soil limitations to
public recreation facilities are presented in tables.
The results were based on air photo interpretation, fieldwork
and laboratory soil testing. The results show that the park is
dominated by poorly drained, calcareous, black cracking clay soils
developed on sedimentary materials derived from volcanic rocks
deposited in previous basin. The distribution pattern of the soils
closely parallel that of physiography. Four ma jor physiographic
units containing ten soil mapping units were identified. Each
mapping unit described was evaluated for susceptibility to soil
erosion and soil limitations to recreational facilities. Calcareous
Vertisols on the flat piedmont plains and valley bottom plains are
dominant. Shallow Leptosols occur on the volcanic hills and
escarpments while brown clay Cambisols occur in the footslopes. The
natural soil fertility is generally high in all the soils but with
very high available calcium and magnesium content.
Soil erosion susceptibility was evaluated using a qualitative
method based on climate, topography and soil erodibility The
results predicted low erosion susceptibility for the soils of the
hills and scarps, and very low susceptibility for the rest of the
soils. Field evidence showed that soil erosion is currently not a
serious problem in the park. This may be attributed to the
predominance of flat terrain and good vegetation cover during most
part of the year. Moderate erosion occur in the skeletal soils of
the hills and scarps, where minor gullies are associated with
primary drainage lines. However, severe erosion occur on the
cultivated foots 1opes adjacent to the park, which require immediate
conservation measures. The soils of the footslopes were found to be
the most suitable for establishment of campsites and walking trails
in the park. The evaluation was based on soil depth, drainage,
erodibility, slope and soil surface stoniness. Out of 12,000
hectares of the park 13% have severe limitations, 68% have moderate
and about 19% have slight limitations for campsites and walking
trails. The areas with severe limitations largely consist of the
hills and the scarps with shallow soils. The predominance of poorly
drained, calcareous, sodic seasonally waterlogged clay soils make
the park an excellent area for wildlife conservation since the area
cannot be used economically for arable land use. The infancy stage
of the infrastructure and facility development in the park provides
a unique opportunity to utilize this soil information in the
planning for sustainable use and conservation. | en |
