An investigation of the influence of human disturbance on selected soil nutrients in Narok District, Kenya

Abstract

Selected soil nutrients were analysed purposely to establish whether they display a spatial pattern due to environmental factors and whether the pattern has been affected by human activities. Data analysis involved descriptive and canonical variate analysis. Except for grassland and shrubland sites, mean carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, most base cations and copper in the 0–10 cm depth is low for disturbed sites. Within profile data are closer to each other than to data between profiles, suggesting that the former are chemically similar, and that the combined effects of underlying factors is similar. A two-dimensional ordination using canonical discriminant analysis suggests three soil sample clusters that are largely determined by altitude and moisture gradient. Sample ordination of group means show differences between disturbed and undisturbed forest and grassland site categories, suggesting the overriding role of human disturbance over environmental factors on soil nutrients.