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Effects of Industrial Effluents on the Population Density of Soil Microarthropods *

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Udai Raj Singh  and
B. D. Tripathi
Udai Raj Singh
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Zoology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, India.
B. D. Tripathi
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Zoology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, India.
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Extract

The present communication gives the results of a quantitative study of soil microarthropods in relation to pollution induced by a chemical and fertilizer factory at Sahupuri, Varanasi, India. The effluent discharged from the factory has been reported to affect adversely the physicochemical properties (porosity, water-holding capacity, hydrogen ion concentration, total nitrogen, exchangeable sodium, and carbonate) of the soil. The samples were processed in Ladell's apparatus by modified floatation technique for faunal estimation. The population density of soil microarthropods has been found to be poor in the effluent-affected soil (28,107/m2) as against the control soil (39,217/m2) of a near-by area. The Acarina formed the most prevalent group in both the control and polluted habitats, constituting 47.8% and 53.6% of the total fauna, respectively. The abnormal physico-chemical properties of the soil have been indicated as being partly responsible for the faunal depletion.

Type
Main Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 5 , Issue 3 , Autumn 1978 , pp. 229 - 231
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1978

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