LECTURE 3

3.1 Land Clearing

Land clearing is the removal of native vegetation for agricultural purposes and other
developmental projects. When clearing land, particularly for agricultural purposes, the density of
native cover and soil type must be considered to help conserve the topsoil.

This is an operation usually carried out before the conventional tillage in a farm land. Generally,
there are several operations that are involved in land clearing depending on the type of
vegetation, soil condition, topography, the extent of clearing required and the purpose for which
the clearing is done. The land clearing operations include the following listed below;

1. Removal of all vegetation at the ground level and moving and stacking them in windrows
for burning so that roots are left to decay or to be removed at later dates.
2. Removal of all tree and stumps include roots, and moving and stacking them in windrows
for subsequent burning.
3. Ploughing and mixing in the vegetation to a soil depth of about 20cm and allowing it to
decay.
4. Knocking all vegetation down and crushing it to the surface of the ground to be either
burnt or left to decay.
5. Killing or retarding the growth of small trees by cutting the roots below surface of the
ground and leaving them to decay or removing and stacking them for subsequent burning
if necessary.

Mechanized agriculture requires a proper land clearing completion that will avert premature
failure of the conventional tillage machines put in use subsequently and minimize soil nutrient
depletion and structural damage due to interacting heavy land clearing equipment-bulldozer and
so on. To avert these adverse effects, it is usually advisable that land clearing should be better
done in the dry season when the soil has adequate mechanical stability or impendence to resist
soil deformation or structural damage. This is at minimal soil moisture content; the risk of soil
structural damage is minimized with the corresponding high shear strength which can withstand
both the vertical and horizontal loads of the tractor – implement aggregate.
Total removal of vegetation is required for land clearing done for highway, dam construction and
as well as building site for poultry. In these particular requirements, the need to preserve the top
soil (that houses the essential nutrient) and avert the soil structural damage is inconsequential
unlike in mechanized agriculture. The following factors among others, affect the rate of clearing;

1. Rainfall
2. Topography
3. Equipment used
4. Skill of equipment operators
5. The end use of the land being cleared
6. Sizes and kinds of trees
7. Density of vegetation
8. Soil condition

The aforementioned factors listed above determine the various capacities of equipment used for
land clearing for farm operations.

Bush clearing for crop production referred to as agricultural bush clearing is different from bush
clearing for other purposes. This is because, whereas the cardinal objective in clearing for other
purposes is not only the removal of all bush, rubbish, debris and other objectionable materials,
the top soil is also removed and may be replaced with sub soil (lateriting) and where necessary
compacted or stabilized depending on the type of project. In agricultural bush clearing, the top
soil must be preserved. The top soil contains nutrients needed by crops for optimum performance
Agricultural bush clearing is therefore defined as the process of scientific removal and disposal
of existing material, vegetation, rubbish and other obstructions from the land by manual,
mechanical and chemical means for agricultural food production.

Agricultural bush clearing operation is effective only when all the unwanted vegetation including
all roots and stumps are removed with minimum disturbance to the top soil. This is done to a
maximum depth of 20 cm.
3.2 Objectives of Land Clearing

The basic objectives of agricultural bush clearing and land development are to remove unwanted
materials from the land and to increase the size of land to be cultivated. Unwanted materials
include trees, boulders, stumps and tree trunks. These materials cause obstructions to smooth
operations of the tractor during subsequent tillage and other operations on the land. Tall trees
also prevent rain and sunlight from getting to the soil by shielding. The area to be cultivated
could be limited by presence of unwanted vegetation and undulating terrain, and stumps which
could be easier removed using mechanical means.

Bush clearing in general increases erosion and sedimentation of waterways and reduces water
quality. Also, the operation removes habitats leading to the direct loss of millions of native
animals and plants. To reduce the negative effects of agricultural bush clearing especially in the
tropics the

operation requires. Soils in the tropics are known to be delicate and low in organic matter content
both down the depth and in profiling. In Nigeria for instance, about 63% of the soils are low in
productivity and over 90 of them are alfisols and ultisols which are low in inorganic matter and
have low activity clays.

3.3 Techniques of Agricultural Land Clearing

Land clearing operation can be accomplished through the use of one or more of these methods:

1. Hand method. (2) Burning. (3) Chemical method. (4) Explosive blasting. (5) Mechanical
methods.

3.3.1 Hand Method

This method involves use of hand tools such as cutlass, hoes, axes, diggers for land clearing.
However, when vegetation is thick, it is very tedious and costly. This method does not encourage
mass production in agricultural production because of drudgery involved. It is also very difficult
to work in the field cleared by this method because of the presence of stumps and underfoot
which forms impediment to agricultural machines.
3.3.2 Burning Method

Burning method of land clearing is very common in the savanna belt of Nigeria for a variety of
reasons: it clears the land for cultivation and for travel; it provides grazing at the time of the year
when the grass is at its scariest; it drives game from cover thus facilitating their capture; man,
appears to enjoy the sight of a good blaze especially at night. However, preliminary results
indicate that this method adversely affects the soil in that the earthworm and microbial
populations decrease as do the organic matter and nitrogen content and general fertility.

3.3.3 Chemical Method

Stumps and regrowth can be eliminated or killed by the use of arboricides. These are artificially
prepared chemicals which kill unwanted forest trees. The arboricides that contain sodium
arsenite are highly poisonous and should be handled with care.

3.3.4 Explosive Blasting Method

This method is employed to remove very big stumps to avoid excessive excavation of the soil. A
wood auger is used to make a hold in the centre of the big stump and an appropriate quantity of
dynamite is applied and remotely detonated to shatter the wood. In cases of smaller stumps, the
soil auger may be used to bore hole in the soil and apply the explosive under the stump. This
again shatters and removes the stump upon detonation.

3.3.5 Mechanical Method

Mechanical method is employed usually when a large area of land is required because of the
cost. In this method of land clearing, various mechanical equipment are used, some of which are
listed in Table 1. Some of the procedures for mechanical land clearing are: surveying,
knockdown of trees, windrowing, burning and removal of debris, and pioneer ploughing. Survey
helps to determine the size of tractor, the type and size of matched equipment, and the clearing
method to be used. Two main operations are involved in mechanical land clearing: knockdown
and windrowing, and removal of debris. The knockdown is the process of pulling or pushing
down of the trees. Various mechanical tools are employed for the process which are: bulldozer
blade, the rolling chopper, the anchor chain, and the winching cable.
3.4 Vegetational Zones of Nigeria

The vegetation of a place in Nigeria is determined by various factors such as the length of the
rainy season, the total precipitation, as well as the temperature of the area. Thus, Nigeria has two
major vegetation divisions: -

1. Forests to the South, 2. Savannas to the North

But it is often difficult to delimit where a forest becomes savanna. The vegetation zones of
Nigeria are shown in Fig. 1. Within the general definition of forest, various types have developed
in response to different environmental factors. At about 1200 m, temperature and other climatic
factors account for the presence of montane forest which due to the scarcity of high ground, is
very

rare in Nigeria. Where the soil is waterlogged for at least a part of the year, swamp forest may
occur due to edaphic factor of high soil moisture. There are two types of swamp forest: brackish-
water or mangrove swamp forest which extends along much of Nigerian coast especially where

there are well-developed tidal lagoons and rivers; and Fresh-water swamp forest which occurs
inland from much of the mangrove forest and in the coastal reaches of the larger rivers. This type
of swamp is in abundant in the delta of the River Niger.

3.4.1 Swamp Forests

These areas permanently occupy the brackish and tidal waters which are clad mainly with
mangrove vegetation. Raphia palms are common and other forest trees.

3.4.2 Fresh water Swamp Forests

Fresh water swamp forests occupy the annually flooded areas of the river-bank areas and creeks.
The soil is blue-black mangrove clay and alluvial usually swampy and unsuitable for agriculture,
but mangrove trees provide pit-props, fuel, and tannin.

3.4.3 Rain Forest

Rain forests consist of big trees, and provide the bulk of the exploitable timber. The chief centres
are Benin, Ondo, and Calabar. Lands of the rainforests are the farming areas of the South,
producing root-crops for food, and cocoa, palm-oil produce, and kola nuts.

3.4.4 The Savannas

In the widest sense, the savanna zone includes the grass plains interspersed with trees. There are
different

Types of savanna

3.4.4.1 The Guinea Savanna

Nearest to the high forest is the Guinea Savanna. It has limited visibility, an outcome of closely
packed grass with trees. The annual firing of lands changes the dry season scenery to that of
scorched, scattered, leafless stems standing on ash coated fallow lands.

3.4.4.2 The Sudan Savanna

It has shorter grass and medium-sized trees, usually acacias, dum and fan-palms, and shear butter
trees. The loose sandy soils which characterize the zone in Sokoto, Katsina, and Kano provinces
are farmed for groundnuts and millets, while the loamy soil of Zaria is ideal for guinea corn and
millet. Cows have good areas for grazing also.

3.4.4.3 The Sahel Savanna

Farther North has poorer grass, fewer and more drought-resistant woody plants. This vegetation
should be distinguished from the almost treeless grass in the more clayey and impervious parts of
Bornu.
Table 1: Mechanical land clearing methods and equipment for different vegetation zones in Nigeria

Vegetation Clearing Power Unit Equipment: Remarks

Zone Method (Crawler
Tractor) Knockdown Raking
Mangrove Single tractor 90 KW or Bulldozer Rake Rake Lighter
knockdown more blade Tree power units
depending on pusher, will aid
tree diameter Clearing transportation
and traction

Tropical Single tractor 200 KW and Bulldozer Rake, Tractor

Rain Forest knockdown above blade Tree shearing armed with
pusher, blade shearing
Shearing blade will aid
Blade in cutting
where
necessary

Deciduous Single tractor 134 KW or Bulldozer Rake, In developing

Forest Knockdown less blade Tree shearing secondary
(Derived depending on pusher, blade forest,
Savanna) tree diameter Clearing chaining can
Rake be possible
and is
economical
 when the area
is
large.

Guinea 1. Single Above 90 Bulldozer, Rake, For areas of

Savanna tractor KW Tree shearing 40 ha or less
knockdown pusher, blade For large area
2. Chain Two Crawler Clearing with average
knockdown tractors of Rake 5 cm tree
134 KW or link dia diameter less
more anchor chain than 45 cm,
92 m or tree
longer population
less than
2,500/ha

Sudan 1. Single About 65 Bulldozer, Rake, Average tree

Savanna tractor KW tree shearing diameter
knockdown 2 crawler pusher blade slightly
2. Chain tractors of 5 cm link dia Root above 10 cm.
knockdown about anchor rake
3. Chopping 134 KW chain 92 m or
or root 65 KW or more
ploughing less Rolling
chopper

Sahel 1. Chopping 65 KW or Rolling Root Average tree

Savanna and disking less chopper rake diameter does
or root not
ploughing exceed 7.5
2. Disking or Rolling Root cm – 10 cm
 root 65 KW or chopper rake
ploughing less

Fig 1: Vegetational Zones of Nigeria