and Ultisols in Ogun State in South Western, Nigeria

One of the critical factors infl uencing land degradation is land use. However, the extent to which land use infl uences land degradation has not been fully ascertained in the southwestern part of Nigeria (i.e. particularly in Ogun State). Th us, this study was designed to assess the extent to which land use infl uences crop productivity in Ogun State. Two major soil types identifi ed at the site were Alfi sols and Ultisols. Within these, three land use types (LUT) were identifi ed: arable crop- Land Use 1, cash crop production- Land Use 2, and non-agricultural use – Land Use 3. Th ese were evaluated for three commonly cultivated crops in the area, namely: maize, cassava and oil palm, using the FAO framework for Land Sustainability Evaluation (LSE). Soil degradation levels were assessed under three LUTs using parametric approach. Descriptive statistics and rank ordered correlation were used for the data analysis. Th e results of the LSE showed that all the pedons were marginally suitable (S3) for maize, 60 % were of moderate (S 2) and 40 % of marginal (S 3) suitability for cassava respectively. However, for oil palm, 47 % of the lands were classifi ed as being marginally suitable (S 3) while 53 % were not suitable (N). Th e major limitation