Abstract
Yamuna river is one of the most important rivers of India and is highly polluted. The river water and the adjacent soil are contaminated with various pollutants including heavy metals. Soil enzymes play important role in various bio-geochemical cycles and help in maintaining nutrient availability of soil. They are very sensitive toward changing environment and therefore act as a key indicator of soil health. In the present study, effects of seasonal variations and heavy metals contamination in Yamuna river water were observed on physicochemical properties and enzyme activities of soil. Soil samples were collected from ten different locations, along the course of the Yamuna river in Delhi–NCR, in three different seasons, i.e., summer, rainy and winter. These sampling sites were divided into three segments, up, middle and lower streams. The concentrations of heavy metals were found to be higher than their safe limit at all the ten sampling points. The total organic carbon content and soil respiration was significantly higher in lower stream. Dehydrogenase enzyme activity was higher in winter season, while urease and arginine deaminase enzyme activity was higher in summer season. Dehydrogenase, arginine deaminase and nitrate reductase enzyme activities were higher in lower streams, while urease enzyme shows maximum activity in the up stream. Thus, we conclude that the continuous application of Yamuna water for irrigation may degrade the soil quality.
Highlights
Yamuna River plays an important role in day to day life of many people living along its bank and nearby areas
About 40–60% of soil enzyme activity comes from enzymes, which are no longer associated with viable cells
The average C/N ratio of the river bank soil samples ranged between 2.1% mg−1 and 2.4% mg−1 while in case of field soil, it ranged between 2.0% mg−1 (Up stream) and 2.4% mg−1 and did not show any significant seasonal variations during the entire study period. pH of Yamuna River soil and field soil remained slightly alkaline throughout the study period ranging from 7.2 to 8.1
Summary
Yamuna River plays an important role in day to day life of many people living along its bank and nearby areas. With the rapid increase in population and industrial revolution during the last few decades, it became one of the most polluted rivers in the world. Industrial effluents and household wastes through various major and minor drains are mainly responsible for its current state. Deterioration of soil, and thereby soil health, is one of the major concerns for human, animals and plant health because air and water consumed by them can be adversely affected by contaminated soil (Singer and Ewing 2000). Microorganisms (living or dead), plants roots and residues, and animals are the main source of soil enzymes. Enzyme activity does not necessarily correlate with soil microbial biomass. It is the cumulative effect of long-term microbial activity
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