Climate Change Effect and Adaptation Measures on Selected Soil Properties

Soil sustainability in climate changing trends is critical to address future food security and safety. This study investigated the effect of air and soil temperature on some selected soil properties. The impact of soil conditioning with composted organic wastes on the temperature effect was also assessed. Four different chambers were set up using electrical bulbs of 60, 100, 200, and 300 W given air temperature ranges of 30-32, 33-35, 36-38 and 39-41°C (10 h daily photoperiod) respectively with two other natural growth units (27-29°C) with or without organic compost were established and replicated four times under screen house for 95 days. Soil properties; particle size distribution, electrical conductivity (EC), pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), organic carbon (OC), N, P, and K were determined using standard methods. Positive correlation was obtained for air and soil temperature, and soil parameters varied significantly (P ≤ 0.05) for the different temperature ranges. Combined effect of elevated temperature and compost amendment increased soil properties by 0.45-54, 9-28, 0.4-0.6, 89–91 and 10-29% for C, K, pH, EC and CEC under different temperature regimes respectively. Nitrogen and phosphorus availability decreased by 16-21 and 8-37% with increased in temperature. The addition of compost cushioned the effects of increasing temperatures on soil factors. It is evident from the study that global warming could potentially alter fate of soil factors and which may be detrimental to sustainable food production and food security.