Impact of Industrial Effluents on Soil Quality of Sudan Savanna Alfisols in Semi-arid Tropical Zone of Nigeria (Published)
With increase in industrialization, threat of industrial pollution has been troubling the human world for many years causing environmental pollution including agricultural soils, which are adversely affected when untreated or partially treated industrial effluents are applied on them as irrigation amendments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of industrial effluents on the quality of soils irrigated with the effluents in Sharada industrial area by measuring different physico-chemical quality parameters. The soil samples were collected from three different phases of the industrial area and analyzed using standard laboratory procedures. Findings indicated that application of industrial effluents on soil caused changes in the physico-chemical profile of the soil with parameters like pH, organic carbon (OC) , nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), exchangeable sodium (Na) and potassium (K) recording mean values ranging from 6.6-7.2, 1.0-2.2%, 0.1-0.2%, 9.0- 14.0mg/Kg, 0.1-0.5Cmol/Kg and 0.6-0.7Cmol/Kg respectively. These values were different from the normal range of fertile and qualitative soil according to standards, and no significant differences were recorded among the sampling sites (P>0.05). Furthermore, the study revealed that the soil texture was sandy loam and loamy sand, while the cation exchange capacity (CEC), electrical conductivity (EC) exchangeable calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) recorded mean values in the range of 4.6-6.8Cmol/Kg, 0.3-1.0dS/m, 1.6-3.7Cmol/Kg and 1.0-2.0Cmol/Kg in that order with significant variation among the sampling sites (P<0.05) indicating the moderate impact of industrial effluents on the soil quality. Overall, the research findings indicated that Sharada industrial effluents have impacted relatively on the soil quality of the surrounding soils in the area and their application should be discontinued for irrigation unless with careful monitoring and guarded improvement in the quality of the industrial wastewater as well as application of inorganic and organic amendments that will improve the fertility and quality of the soils of the study area.
Keywords: : Irrigation, Environment, Industrial Effluent, Pollution, Soil Quality