摘要
This study investigated the impact assessment of oil spillage on farmlands of some communities in Ilaje Area of Ondo state. Three farmlands were considered in the course of this study. Two of the three farmlands were within the Ikorigho and Otumara communities that recently experienced oil spillage and they are about 300 m from each other. While the third farm was within the Igbokoda community which is geographically similar but has not experienced oil spillage, it was used as control. The farmland was delineated at each area by the grid technique and soil samples were collected at 0-20 cm depth of the ground. Some physiochemical properties that reflect soil nutrient content and fertility status （pH, electrical conductivity, moisture content, organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorous and cation exchange capacity （CEC）） were determined using standard methods and results from the three areas were compared. There was a significant decrease in the calcium （Ca）, magnesium （Mg）, potassium （K） and organic matter, as well as a significant increase in the electrical conductivity, moisture content and phosphorous content of the oil-spill affected farmlands at Ikorigho and Otumara when compared with the non-affected farmland at Igbokoda. The acidic nature of the farmlands could not be attributed entirely to the oil spill since the control farmland at Igbokoda was slightly acidic. The results show that oil spillage has adversely affected the nutrient level and fertility status of farmland at Ikorigho and Otumara communities, which needs urgent remediation.
