Assessment of the Effect of Burning on Soil Properties in the Guinea Savannah Zone of Ghana

Bush burning has been adopted by most farmers in northern Ghana for clearing land for cultivation annually, because of its ease and convenience. This exposes the surface soil layer to destruction. In this study, the effects of burning on some selected soil physical and chemical properties in the Guinea Savannah Zone of Ghana were studied. Three samples each from six randomly selected sites were taken from 0–10cm layer on burnt and un-burnt sites. These were used to determine the moisture content (MC), bulk density (BD), pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and soil texture. The double ring infiltration rates (IR) were also measured on sites. The T-test was used to determine differences existing between the burnt and un-burnt soil properties. The results of the analysis showed that the bulk density, EC, soil texture and infiltration rates are not significantly different (p < 0.05) on both the burnt and unburnt sites. However, the moisture content and pH were significantly different (p < 0.05). The soil moisture content, pH and EC under burnt sites were 8.7%, 6.7 and 80.4 uS while they were 14.1 %, 6.0 and 59.9 uS under un-burnt sites respectively. Higher infiltration rates were measured on burnt soils as compared to un-burnt soils. Therefore burning has some effects on soil physical and chemical properties.