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International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences
Physicochemical properties of urban soils and microbial indices in relation to selected heavy metals in Nger-delta environment, Nigeria
Aririguzo, B.N, Ndukwu, R.I, Ihem, E.E, Agim, L.C, Ihezie, C.I, Ogueri, C, Anyanwu, C.N, Nwaka, D, Chinnah, U.K, Madu, H.C, Nwaka, S.U, Agorua, U.N, Nwokeke, B.C, Osisi, A, Chukwu, E.D and Chikaire, J.U
Year : 2026 | Volume: 11 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 202-215
Received on: 23/12/2025
Revised on: 14/01/2026
Accepted on: 19/02/2026
Published on: 01/03/2026
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Aririguzo, B.N, Ndukwu, R.I, Ihem, E.E, Agim, L.C, Ihezie, C.I, Ogueri, C, Anyanwu, C.N, Nwaka, D, Chinnah, U.K, Madu, H.C, Nwaka, S.U, Agorua, U.N, Nwokeke, B.C, Osisi, A, Chukwu, E.D and Chikaire, J.U( 2026).
Physicochemical properties of urban soils and microbial indices in relation to selected heavy metals in Nger-delta environment, Nigeria
. International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences, 11( 2), 202-215.
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Abstract
Understanding the physicochemical properties of soils with microbial activities, there sensitivity in nature and their changes in the urban environment together with their response to heavy metal stress are very important. However, this study investigated the physicochemical properties of urban soils, microbial indices in relation to heavy metals in the Niger-Delta environment in Nigeria. A free survey technique was used in the study. The sampling sites were divided into 5 land use types namely, commercial, recreational, Agricultural, Residential and Industrial areas. Five (5) profile pits were dug with one pit each on the selected land units. The profile pits were geo-referenced using a hand-held Global positioning system (GPS) receiver. Profile digging, description and sampling were done according to FAO (2006). The result indicated that sand content was highest compared to clay and silt irrespective of the land use. Bulk density varied highly in Agricultural soils (40.65 %) and moderately in soils of residential (19.24 %) and recreational area (CV=11.63 %). Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) varied highly in soils of commercial area (CV=91.07 %) and lowest in Agricultural soils (CV=11.24 %). Moisture content (Mc) was highest in agricultural soils. Organic C had the highest variation in commercial soils (CV=62.22 %) and lowest in soils of Industrial area (CV=1.92 %). Total N was highest in soils of Industrial area (CV=0.18 %) and lowest in Soils of commercial area (CV=0.14%). Soils were generally acidic. The C/N ratio was below 10 and was highest in soils of commercial area (C/N =3.66) and lowest in soils of industrial area (C/N=2.31). Available P was highest in Agricultural soils (Avail.P= 27.82 mg kg-1) and lowest in soils of commercial area. Effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) was highest in soils of Industrial area (ECEC =5.82 cmolkg-1) and lowest in agricultural soils (ECEC=4.09 cmolkg-1). However, both Arsenic (As) and Chromium (Cr) concentrations were below the permissible limits of 20 mgkg-1(As) and 100 mgkg-1 (Cr) according to WHO/FAO, 2004 respectively. The concentration of as was highest in soils of residential area (As= 0.67 mgkg-1) and lowest in soils of Industrial area (As=0.27 mgkg-1). Chromium concentration was in this format commercial>recreational>residential>Agricultural>Industrial soils. The microbial population and Microbial Biomass were influenced by heavy metal sources and soil properties. The microbial bacteria were highest in Agricultural and residential soils and lowest in commercial soils. Microbial fungi were highest in soils of commercial area and lowest in soils of Industrial area. MBC and MBN were highest in Industrial soils and lowest in soils of recreational area. Microbial biomass P was highest inAgricultural soils and lowest in soils of commercial area. MBC was significantly correlated with OC. MBP correlated positively with Available P. Arsenic (As) correlated positively with ECEC (r=0.05, p<0.05). Therefore, proper use of good soil management practices, remediation, pollution prevention measures such as controlling the release of harmful compounds in human activities from urban environment should be recommended.
Keywords
Physicochemical properties, Microbial indices, Heavy metals, Urban soils, Environment.
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© The Author(s) 2025. This article is published by International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (creativecommons.org), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
