Effect of Industrial Effluents on Mineral Uptake of Two Rabi Crops (Triticum aestivum and Raphanus sativus)

摘要

Limestone mining in East Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya, India is being carried out extensively for the productionof cement. Extraction of limestone is done mainly by adopting opencast method of mining. Miningactivities have deteriorated the environment of the area in terms of deforestation, biodiversity loss,water quality and availability, noise pollution, landscape disturbance, soil erosion, generation of spoilsand degradation of land. In this paper, we report the results of study conducted on the soil quality inrelation to limestone mining. Comparison of soil quality in mining area with that of unmined area showsthat soil quality has degraded with respect to most of the parameters analysed during the presentstudy. Remarkable decrease in moisture content, water holding capacity, organic carbon and totalnitrogen has been found. Electrical conductivity and bulk density of soil increased in the mining area.On the other hand, there was an improvement in pH from acidic to slightly alkaline soil. However,changes in the values of phosphorus and potassium were not so prominent. The overall changes insoil quality can be attributed due to limestone mining in the area.