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Heavy metals concentration in soils under rainfed agro-ecosystems and their relationship with soil properties and management practices

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Abstract

Heavy metals are governed by parent material of soils and influenced by the soil physicochemical properties and soil and crop management practices. This paper evaluates total heavy metal concentrations in rainfed soils under diverse management practices of tropical India. Vertisols (clayey soils with high shrink/swell capacity) had the highest concentrations of heavy metals. However, chromium (Cr) content was above the threshold value in Aridisol [calcium carbonate (CaCO3)]-containing soils of the arid environments with subsurface horizon development. Concentration increased at lower depths (>30 cm). Basaltic soils showed higher concentrations of nickel (Ni), copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn). Cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), Cu and Mn concentrations were higher in soils cultivated to cotton, whereas Cr concentration was above the threshold level of 110 mg kg−1 in food crop cultivated soils. As the specific soil surface is closely related to clay content and clay type, soil’s ability to retain heavy metals is more closely tied to the specific surface than to the soil cation exchange capacity. Higher positive correlations were found between heavy metal concentrations and clay content [Cd(r = 0.85; p ≤ 0.01); Co (r = 0.88; p ≤ 0.05); Ni (r = 0.87; p ≤ 0.01); Co (r = 0.81; p ≤ 0.05); Zn (r = 0.49; p ≤ 0.01); Cr (r = 0.80; p ≤ 0.05); Mn (r = 0.79; p ≤ 0.01)]. The amounts of nitrogen–phosphorus–potassium applied showed a positive correlation with Co and Ni (r = 0.62; p ≤ 0.05). As several soils used for growing food crops are high in Ni, Cr and Mn, the flow of these metals in soil–plant–livestock/human chain needs further attention.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the in charges of All India Coordinated Research Project on Dryland Agriculture (AICRPDA) centers, and other staff for helping with profile-based soil sampling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santoshnagar, Hyderabad, 500 059, Andhra Pradesh, India

    Ch. Srinivasarao, B. Venkateswarlu, V. S. Jakkula, S. Kundu & G. Gopala Krishna

  2. International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India

    S. Rama Gayatri, S. P. Wani & K. L. Sahrawat

  3. Department of Agriculture, Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae 411, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea

    B. K. Rajasekhara Rao

  4. Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India

    S. Marimuthu

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  1. Ch. Srinivasarao
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Correspondence to Ch. Srinivasarao.

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Srinivasarao, C., Rama Gayatri, S., Venkateswarlu, B. et al. Heavy metals concentration in soils under rainfed agro-ecosystems and their relationship with soil properties and management practices. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 11, 1959–1972 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-013-0350-9

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