Comparative Assessment of Fractional and Erosion Plot Methods for Quantifying Soil Erosion and Nutrient Loss Under Vetiver Grass Technology on Two Contrasting Slopes in Rainforest Agroecology

Oshunsanya, Suarau O.; Yu, Hanqing; Odebode, Ayodeji M.; Edem, Ini D.; Oluwatuyi, Tunde S.; Imasuen, Esther E.; Odeyinka, Dorcas E.

doi:10.3390/agriculture15161762

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Comparative Assessment of Fractional and Erosion Plot Methods for Quantifying Soil Erosion and Nutrient Loss Under Vetiver Grass Technology on Two Contrasting Slopes in Rainforest Agroecology

by

Suarau O. Oshunsanya

^1,2,

Hanqing Yu

^1,*,

Ayodeji M. Odebode

²,

Ini D. Edem

³,

Tunde S. Oluwatuyi

²,

Esther E. Imasuen

⁴ and

Dorcas E. Odeyinka

²

¹

Agricultural Clean Watershed Research Group, Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Haidian District, Beijing 100081, China

²

Department of Soil Resources Management, University of Ibadan, Ibadan 200284, Nigeria

³

Department of Soil Science and Land Management, University of Uyo, Uyo 520003, Nigeria

⁴

Department of Soil Science and Land Management, University of Benin, Benin 300283, Nigeria

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Agriculture 2025, 15(16), 1762; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15161762 (registering DOI)

Submission received: 26 June 2025 / Revised: 11 August 2025 / Accepted: 12 August 2025 / Published: 16 August 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessing Soil Erosion and Associated Nutrient Losses in Agrosystems)

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Abstract

The erosion plot method (EPM) is the most accurate method for measuring total runoff and soil loss in the field, but it is expensive, time-consuming, and tedious to use, thereby limiting the scope of soil erosion research. Alternatively, the fractional method (FM) involves measuring a portion of total runoff and soil loss to estimate the total erosion. Although the FM may be easier to use in rainforest agroecology, it has not been evaluated under vetiver grass technology (VGT). Thus, a 2-year field study was conducted to verify the efficacy of the FM under VGT by comparing soil nutrient erosion between the FM and the EPM on two slopes (5% and 10%). Three piped drums (left, central, and right) were used to collect total runoff under the EPM, while only a central piped drum was used under the FM (usual practice). The FM’s runoff and soil loss values were similar to those under the EPM (R² = 0.98–0.99; p < 0.001). Runoff nutrients (R² = 0.90; p < 0.001) and eroded nutrients (R² = 0.97; p < 0.001) from the FM were highly similar to those of the EPM on the 5% slope. Similarly, runoff nutrients (R² = 0.86; p < 0.001) and eroded nutrients (R² = 0.95; p < 0.001) from the FM were strongly similar to those of the EPM on a 10% slope. The FM accounted for 92% of the total nutrient erosion measured by the EPM under VGT management. Thus, the FM will make research more efficient, cost-effective, and attractive, particularly in large-scale water erosion studies.

Keywords: runoff nutrient discharge; soil nutrient release; conventional technique; fractional approach; cost analysis

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MDPI and ACS Style

Oshunsanya, S.O.; Yu, H.; Odebode, A.M.; Edem, I.D.; Oluwatuyi, T.S.; Imasuen, E.E.; Odeyinka, D.E. Comparative Assessment of Fractional and Erosion Plot Methods for Quantifying Soil Erosion and Nutrient Loss Under Vetiver Grass Technology on Two Contrasting Slopes in Rainforest Agroecology. Agriculture 2025, 15, 1762. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15161762

AMA Style

Oshunsanya SO, Yu H, Odebode AM, Edem ID, Oluwatuyi TS, Imasuen EE, Odeyinka DE. Comparative Assessment of Fractional and Erosion Plot Methods for Quantifying Soil Erosion and Nutrient Loss Under Vetiver Grass Technology on Two Contrasting Slopes in Rainforest Agroecology. Agriculture. 2025; 15(16):1762. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15161762

Chicago/Turabian Style

Oshunsanya, Suarau O., Hanqing Yu, Ayodeji M. Odebode, Ini D. Edem, Tunde S. Oluwatuyi, Esther E. Imasuen, and Dorcas E. Odeyinka. 2025. "Comparative Assessment of Fractional and Erosion Plot Methods for Quantifying Soil Erosion and Nutrient Loss Under Vetiver Grass Technology on Two Contrasting Slopes in Rainforest Agroecology" Agriculture 15, no. 16: 1762. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15161762

APA Style

Oshunsanya, S. O., Yu, H., Odebode, A. M., Edem, I. D., Oluwatuyi, T. S., Imasuen, E. E., & Odeyinka, D. E. (2025). Comparative Assessment of Fractional and Erosion Plot Methods for Quantifying Soil Erosion and Nutrient Loss Under Vetiver Grass Technology on Two Contrasting Slopes in Rainforest Agroecology. Agriculture, 15(16), 1762. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15161762

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Comparative Assessment of Fractional and Erosion Plot Methods for Quantifying Soil Erosion and Nutrient Loss Under Vetiver Grass Technology on Two Contrasting Slopes in Rainforest Agroecology

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