This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, on the condition that users give exact credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if they made any changes. Suitability Evaluation of Pedons from Some Agricultural Communities on the Niger River Flood Plains in Bayelsa State, Nigeria Achimota A. Dickson  Department of Crop and Soil Science, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Nigeria Bassey E. Udom Department of Crop and Soil Science, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria Payou T. Ogboin Department of Crop and Soil Science, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Nigeria Abstract: Farmers under modern agriculture are expected to have direct or indirect knowledge of soil chemical and physical characteristics as well as their suitability for intended uses. This, however, is lacking in Bayelsa State, hence this study examined the potentials and limitations of some lower Niger River plain soils of southern Nigeria and their suitability for maize production. Based on landform differences, landscape segments were separated into three mapping units per location while profile pits were dug in each unit and morphologically described. Horizon differentiation guided soil sample collection followed by laboratory analysis. Silt loam dominated soil texture while Ca dominated the exchange complex but exchangeable bases concentration was generally low. Organic C, total N and available P concentrations were closely related and low which was attributed to land clearing and frequent bush burning. Excessive rainfall and inadequate length of day were the most limiting factors under climatic factors while temperature and relative humidity were highly suitable. The ELM3 and TFN3 pedons flooded each year by Nun and Forcados Rivers, respectively, were marginally suitable S3f. Texturally, ELM1, ELM2 and TFN1 were highly suitable (S1) while ELM3, TFN2 and TFN3 were moderately suitable (S2). Due to insufficient length of dry days and wetness challenges owing to excessive rainfall, all pedons were placed under actually not suitable but potentially suitable (N1) class. Improvement measures recommended included planting early in the dry spell to avoid excessive wetness and making available more dry days as well as organic matter conservation, avoiding frequent land clearing and bush burning. Keywords: Land Suitability, Land Characteristics, Floodplains, Niger River, Bayelsa State. Introduction Soils are pivotal in sustaining life on planet earth. Nearly all of the food that humans consume, except what is harvested from marine environments, is grown in the earth’s surface (Schoonover and Crim, 2015). A nation's ability to advance economically, industrially, and technologically depends, therefore, on having a strong agricultural base. Soil is the foundation for agricultural development and all investments revolve around it (Blum, 2013; Usman and Kundiri, 2016). Soil provides ecosystem services Suggested Citation Dickson, A.A., Udom, B.E., & Ogboin, P.T. (2024). Suitability Evaluation of Pedons from Some Agricultural Communities on the Niger River Flood Plains in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. European Journal of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, 2(3), 142-151. DOI: 10.59324/ejtas.2024.2(3).13