Water is a basic necessity of life and access to clean water is vital for sanitation, hygiene, agriculture, and industry. Yet the world faces threats of scarcity of clean drinking water and the pollution of the water resources.... more
Water is a basic necessity of life and access to clean water is vital for sanitation, hygiene, agriculture, and industry. Yet the world faces threats of scarcity of clean drinking water and the pollution of the water resources. Groundwater is an important source of drinking-water in many regions of the world, particularly in areas with limited or polluted surface water sources. It could be contaminated with chemicals that may affect human health. Nitrate is the most common chemical contaminant in the world’s groundwater aquifers, and surface water are particularly affected by the presence of phosphorus. Occurrence of reactive N and P species in water can have serious environmental and human health impacts. Nitrate by itself is usually non-toxic. Its adverse effects on human health are due to conversion of nitrate into nitrite, nitric oxide and N-nitroso compounds. In the human body, NO3− is converted to NO2−, which can cause methaemoglobinemia by interfering with the ability of haemoglobin to take up O2. Infants younger than 3 months of age are particularly prone to adverse effects of nitrate exposure. Opinions differ on the effects of high dietary intake of nitrate on human health and the evidence linking high nitrate level in drinking water with methaemoglobinemia is still controversial. High nitrate level in drinking water has also been implicated, but not incontrovertibly, in the incidence of cancers of the digestive track. Besides the possible adverse human health effects associated with high nitrate intake, evidence is emerging of its potential benefits in cardiovascular health and providing protection against infections. Enrichment of surface waters with nitrogen and phosphorus contributes to the phenomenon of eutrophication leading to harmful algal blooms, which can impact several ecosystem services. Therefore, it is important to protect the quality of groundwater and surface water by proper management of sources of pollutants and reducing input of nitrogen and phosphorus in agricultural systems. In this chapter, we provide information on sources of reactive nitrogen and phosphorus species in water, their effects on ecosystems and human health as well as mitigation strategies.
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Emerging pollutants in the environment due to economic development have become a global challenge for environmental and human health management. Potentially toxic elements (PTEs), a major group of pollutants, have been detected in soil,... more
Emerging pollutants in the environment due to economic development have become a global challenge for environmental and human health management. Potentially toxic elements (PTEs), a major group of pollutants, have been detected in soil, air, water and food crops. Humans are exposed to PTEs through soil ingestion, consumption of water, uptake of food crop products originating from polluted fields, breathing of dust and fumes, and direct contact of the skin with contaminated soil and water. The dose absorbed by humans, the exposure route and the duration (i.e., acute or chronic) determine the toxicity of PTEs. Poisoning by PTEs can lead to excessive damage to health as a consequence of oxidative stress produced by the formation of free radicals and, as a consequence, to various disorders. The toxicity of certain organs includes neurotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, skin toxicity, and cardiovascular toxicity. In the treatment of PTE toxicity, synthetic chelating agents and sym...
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In rice-wheat cropping, puddling of field in standing water damages soil structure and affects soil physical properties. Application of inorganic fertilizer and organic manure stimulates crop biomass and amount of residue returned into... more
In rice-wheat cropping, puddling of field in standing water damages soil structure and affects soil physical properties. Application of inorganic fertilizer and organic manure stimulates crop biomass and amount of residue returned into soil after crop harvest, and may improve soil physical properties. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted for 5 years at Regional station, Gurdaspur to assess the effect of inorganic fertilizers and farmyard manure (FYM) applied either alone or conjointly on physical properties of soil under rice-wheat cropping system. Soil fertility management treatments consisted of unfertilized control, NPK, FYM, N+FYM and NPK+FYM. Soil porosity increased significantly (p<0.05), while bulk density (Db) decreased with the application of NPK and FYM. The effect was however, more pronounced when applied conjointly. Final infiltration rate also increased significantly with the application of NPK and FYM either alone or conjointly, although the effect was greater when applied conjointly. Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), on the other hand was significantly higher with FYM, compared with NPK alone application. Application of FYM either alone or conjointly with inorganic fertilizers (N+FYM/NPK+FYM) did not significantly influenced Ks. Soil moisture retention at field capacity (FC) and permanent wilting point (PWP) increased significantly with NPK+FYM application. Our results showed that conjoint application of inorganic fertilizers and organic manure improved physical properties of soil under ricewheat cropping system.
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Influence of N, P and K application through inorganic and organic fertilizers on P and K removal in crop plants, changes in soil fertility status and their balance in the soil-plant (maize-wheat-cowpea fodder) studied for the first 22... more
Influence of N, P and K application through inorganic and organic fertilizers on P and K removal in crop plants, changes in soil fertility status and their balance in the soil-plant (maize-wheat-cowpea fodder) studied for the first 22 years of a long-term experiment at Punjab Agricultural University farm, Ludhiana, India. The results showed that P uptake by wheat was about
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Dust particles can consist of either natural soil-borne particles or of particulate matter from human activities, or both of them. Particulate matter is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets consisting of soil... more
Dust particles can consist of either natural soil-borne particles or of particulate matter from human activities, or both of them. Particulate matter is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets consisting of soil or dust particles, metals, organic chemicals, and acids. Naturally generated particles consist of weathered rock materials, dryland soil and sediment materials, biogenic fibres and residues from forest fires, and ash developed during volcanic eruptions. World dust emissions from drylands amount to about 5 billion Mg per year. Dominant dust sources around the world are almost wholly in or adjacent to the great drylands of the northern hemisphere. The greatest of these includes a large belt from the western Sahara to the Yellow Sea, across North Africa, the Middle East, northwest India, and central and eastern Asia. Saharan dust, driven by the northeast trade winds, takes about a week to cross the Atlantic Ocean, reaching northeastern South America t...
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Prions are recognized as misfolded, pathologic isoforms of the normal mammalian prion protein, which can uniquely cause infectious inherited or spontaneous disease. They are agents of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). The... more
Prions are recognized as misfolded, pathologic isoforms of the normal mammalian prion protein, which can uniquely cause infectious inherited or spontaneous disease. They are agents of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). The normal, benign, host-encoded forms of PrP are denoted PrPC, and the infectious disease-associated, misfolded conformers are designated PrPTSE. Earlier it was hypothesized that TSEs were caused by a new type of “slow virus” that was too small to purify but had virus-like phenotypes such as transmissibility and heritability. This was the predominantly held theory until 1982, when Stanley Prusiner proposed that the causative agent was exclusively a protein. He solidified the “protein-only” hypothesis which had been developing and termed the agent proteinacious infectious only, or prion. Prion diseases are a family of inevitably fatal neurodegenerative disorders affecting a variety of mammalian species, including human diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob...
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Protecting soil and preserving its overall quality has become a key international goal. Early concepts of soil quality dealt mainly with soil properties that contribute to soil productivity, with little consideration for environment... more
Protecting soil and preserving its overall quality has become a key international goal. Early concepts of soil quality dealt mainly with soil properties that contribute to soil productivity, with little consideration for environment regulation and human health. It is only recently that studies integrating soil and human health have been initiated. While soil performs several important functions related to ecosystem services, the most significant functions for human health are production of safe and nutritious food and protecting from environmental pollution. Human health is greatly dependent on the soil-water-air continuum which is strongly moderated by processes in the soil. The functions of soil such as filtering, buffering and transformation help in protecting the environment, including human beings against the contamination of groundwater and the food chain. Human activities impact several processes in soil that could lead to physical (accelerated erosion, deterioration of soil ...
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Soils have an impact on human health in many ways. The link between soils and human health has been recognized for thousands of years. Examples of how soils influence human health include the transfer of nutrients from soil to people... more
Soils have an impact on human health in many ways. The link between soils and human health has been recognized for thousands of years. Examples of how soils influence human health include the transfer of nutrients from soil to people through plant and animal sources as well as through direct ingestion. The principal source materials for soil components that are beneficial to human health or that are to be used as medicine can be grouped into soil minerals as a source of elements essential to the human body or used in healthcare products and mud, peat, and clay for fangotherapy for healing purposes, as well as soil microorganisms that produce drugs. Involuntarily or deliberately ingested components of soils can be beneficial to humans. However, minerals can also have an adverse effect on human health when they are inhaled over a very long period. Podoconiosis, a non-infectious disease, is associated with chronic barefoot exposure to red volcanic soil, with greater prevalence in high-...
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Nitrogen (N) is a critical component of food security, economy and planetary health. Human production of reactive nitrogen (Nr) via Haber-Bosch process and cultivation-induced biological N2 fixation (BNF) has doubled global N cycling over... more
Nitrogen (N) is a critical component of food security, economy and planetary health. Human production of reactive nitrogen (Nr) via Haber-Bosch process and cultivation-induced biological N2 fixation (BNF) has doubled global N cycling over the last century. The most important beneficial effect of Nr is augmenting global food supplies due to increased crop yields. However, increased circulation of Nr in the environment is responsible for serious human health effects such as methemoglobinemia (“blue baby syndrome”) and eutrophication of coastal and inland waters. Furthermore, ammonia (NH3) emission mainly from farming and animal husbandary impacts not only human health causing chronic lung disease, inflammation of human airways and irritation of eyes, sinuses and skin but is also involved in the formation of secondary particulate matter (PM) that plays a critical role in environment and human health. Nr also affects human health via global warming, depletion of stratospheric ozone laye...
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The occurrence of organic pollutants at elevated levels has been of significant environmental and human health concern at numerous contaminated “hot spots” and their regional and global importance has received increasing attention in the... more
The occurrence of organic pollutants at elevated levels has been of significant environmental and human health concern at numerous contaminated “hot spots” and their regional and global importance has received increasing attention in the last decade. Many different forms of organic pollutants exist. Among this group, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) play a key role. Importantly, POPs have the ability to enter the gas phase under environmental temperatures and may volatilize from soils, vegetation and water bodies into the atmosphere. Because of their resistance to breakdown reactions in the air they travel long distances before being re-deposited. The cycle of volatilization and deposition may be repeated several times, with the result that POPs could accumulate in an area far away from where they were used or emitted.
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Radionulides in soils from natural and man-made sources constitute a direct route of exposure to humans. The most significant part of the total exposure is due to natural radiation. Soil- or rock-borne radionuclides generate a significant... more
Radionulides in soils from natural and man-made sources constitute a direct route of exposure to humans. The most significant part of the total exposure is due to natural radiation. Soil- or rock-borne radionuclides generate a significant component of the background radiation people are exposed to. Naturally occurring radionuclides with half-lives comparable with the age of the earth and their corresponding decay products existing in terrestrial material, such as thorium (232Th), uranium (238U, 235U) and potassium (40K), are of great importance. Their spatial distribution depends on geological parent materials and plays an important role for radiation protection. Another source of exposure to natural radiation is expressed through high energy cosmic ray particles in earth’s atmosphere. Additional amounts of natural radionuclides are released into the environment through human activities such as mining and milling of mineral ores, processing and enrichment, nuclear fuel fabrications,...
Medicinal products are a class of emerging environmental contaminants that are increasingly being used in human and veterinary medicine. These products are designed to have a specific mode of action, and many of them for some persistence... more
Medicinal products are a class of emerging environmental contaminants that are increasingly being used in human and veterinary medicine. These products are designed to have a specific mode of action, and many of them for some persistence in the human body. Up to now, only little is known about ecotoxicological effects of medicinal products on aquatic and terrestrial organisms including wildlife. There is thus a need to focus on sources and long-term exposure assessment regarding specific modes of action of medicinal products to better judge their effects on the environment and on the human body. Contamination of the environment with pharmaceuticals has received increased attention in recent years. Unlike agrochemicals, which are applied to fields in pulsed events, pharmaceuticals enter the environment more or less continuously. Many different pharmaceuticals are used in human medicine, and antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs are used in veterinary medicine throughout the world. A number of pharmaceuticals have been detected in many environmental samples worldwide. Their occurrence has been reported in sewage treatment plant effluents, surface water, seawater, groundwater, soils, sediments plants and fish. In several countries of the EU, such as England, Germany, and Austria some pharmaceutical products are used in quantities of more than 100 Mg per year. Sources of human medicinal products include release from industrial production of pharmaceuticals, discharge of pharmaceuticals from wastewater treatment plants into rivers, field-application of sewage sludge as organic fertilizer, and use of treated wastewater for irrigation. Sources of veterinary pharmaceuticals include medical treatment of livestock and medicines from surface-applied liquid or farmyard manure. Pharmaceuticals used in animals raised on pastures are excreted directly to the grassland. Pharmaceuticals entering the terrestrial environment can reach surface water and groundwater.
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Soils are the habitat of about 25% of the Earth’s species. The majority of these organisms are not of any threat to human health, but rather function to provide numerous ecosystem services which emerge through the multitude of complex... more
Soils are the habitat of about 25% of the Earth’s species. The majority of these organisms are not of any threat to human health, but rather function to provide numerous ecosystem services which emerge through the multitude of complex interactions between the organisms and the soil itself. These ecosystem services range from those which are vital for maintaining life on Earth, such as the formation of soil, the cycling of carbon and nutrients with the result of maintaining the global cycles of C and N, soil fertility, the filtering of water, as well as provision of useful compounds such as antibiotics, the majority of which have been isolated from soil organisms (Chap. 12). However, soils also contain microorganisms which are capable of causing diseases in humans. A wide variety of soil-related infections need to be considered, particularly in the case of wound, respiratory tract, or gastrointestinal infections. Soil-borne microbes that are pathogenic for humans include protozoa, fungi, bacteria, and also viruses which require a host for their survival. Over 400 genera of bacteria have been identified with possibly as many as 10,000 species and, with the exception of viruses, they are in most cases more abundant than any other organism in soils. Helminths, belonging to the mesofauna size class, are also important as human pathogens. The number of bacteria that can be cultured in the laboratory is probably less than 1%. Their actual diversity is thus probably much greater. Of the approximately 100,000 species of fungi currently recognized, only about 300 may cause human disease.
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ABSTRACT Disposal of ashes from agro-industrial waste has become an important issue that can cause serious environmental problems. These materials may be used in agriculture for soil fertility improvement and carbon sequestration. The... more
ABSTRACT Disposal of ashes from agro-industrial waste has become an important issue that can cause serious environmental problems. These materials may be used in agriculture for soil fertility improvement and carbon sequestration. The effect of applying bagasse ash (BA), rice husk ash (RHA), and RHA mixed with fly ash (MA) to wheat was evaluated on soil organic carbon (SOC) and microbial activity in a loamy sand soil after four years of wheat-rice cropping. BA application resulted in C accrual at 525 kg ha−1 y−1 in soil, whereas RHA and MA did not have a significant effect. BA increased coarse particulate (cPOC) and mineral-associated organic matter (MinOC) and extractable C pools viz. hot water soluble, potassium permanganate (KMnO4)-oxidizable, easily oxidizable, non-oxidizable, and microbial biomass C. BA application also improved overall microbial and oxidative activity and stimulated fluorescein diacetate (FDA), dehydrogenase, and cellulase enzyme activities in soil. Application of RHA though did not lead to net C sequestration, yet it increased dehydrogenase and cellulase activities. Compared to unamended soil, MA application increased MinOC and FDA activity in soil. After 4 years of their application, none of the ashes adversely influenced soil biological activity expressed in terms of enzyme activities suggesting that these ashes can be disposed to agricultural soils. However, effects of their long-term application on soil biological processes need to be further investigated.
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Dependence of Soil Organic Carbon on available Iron and Manganese Concentrations in Submerged Rice Soils Effect of soil submergence on changes in soil organic C (SOC) and DTPA-extractable Fe and Mn and their interrelationship was studied... more
Dependence of Soil Organic Carbon on available Iron and Manganese Concentrations in Submerged Rice Soils Effect of soil submergence on changes in soil organic C (SOC) and DTPA-extractable Fe and Mn and their interrelationship was studied in three texturally-different soils viz. loamy sand, clay loam and silty clay traditionally grown to rice-wheat system. Laboratory incubation experiments were conducted for 120 d under controlled temperature and moisture conditions. Soil organic C increased with incubation period up to 30-45 d and declined sharply thereafter. Similarly, concentration of DTPA-Fe was highest at 30 d and decreased sharply thereafter. However, DTPA-Mn concentration was the highest at 15 and 30 d of incubation, under submerged and field capacity moisture regimes, respectively. Soils incubated under submerged conditions exhibited higher SOC, DTPA-Fe, and DTPAMn than those incubated at field capacity moisture. In all the three soils under submerged conditions SOC, DTPA-Fe and Mn were higher at 40o C followed by 30o C and 20o C temperature. Irrespective of soil and incubation temperature, values of these variables did not change with incubation of air dry soil. The concentration of DTPAFe and Mn showed positive relationship with SOC concentration at submerged and field capacity moisture regimes. Increase in SOC with submergence was considered to be due to an increase in DTPA-Fe and Mn suggesting the need for using some chelating agents to remove their interference in SOC determination by wet digestion method..
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Protecting soil and preserving its overall quality has become a key international goal. Early concepts of soil quality dealt mainly with soil properties that contribute to soil productivity, with little consideration for environment... more
Protecting soil and preserving its overall quality has become a key international goal. Early concepts of soil quality dealt mainly with soil properties that contribute to soil productivity, with little consideration for environment regulation and human health. It is only recently that studies integrating soil and human health have been initiated. While soil performs several important functions related to ecosystem services, the most significant functions for human health are production of safe and nutritious food and protecting from environmental pollution. Human health is greatly dependent on the soil-water-air continuum which is strongly moderated by processes in the soil. The functions of soil such as filtering, buffering and transformation help in protecting the environment, including human beings against the contamination of groundwater and the food chain. Human activities impact several processes in soil that could lead to physical (accelerated erosion, deterioration of soil structure, crusting, compaction, hard-setting), chemical (nutrient depletion and imbalance, acidification, salinization) and biological (depletion of soil organic matter, loss of biodiversity) degradation of soil. Soil degradation directly affects food security through reduction in crop yields, decline in their nutritional quality and reduced input use efficiency. Plant availability of mineral nutrients in the soil is the main source of mineral supply to human beings. Plants, which absorb minerals from soil, are either eaten directly by humans or fed to animals that are then included in human diet. Therefore, any deficiency in plant products could manifest in human beings. Global warming associated with altered rainfall pattern could subject soils to significant risk of climate induced physical and chemical degradation. Therefore, it is imperative to manage soils to minimize soil degradation and to derive benefits for human health. In this chapter, land as a resource for supporting global population and the role it plays in performing ecosystem functions vis-a-vis soil quality, and the impact of anthropogenic activities on soil quality, plant and animal products and human health are discussed.
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ABSTRACT
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To evaluate the response of dryland wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to mulching in preceding maize and fertilizer N application field experiments were conducted for six years (1980–86) with maize-wheat sequence on a sandy loam soil in... more
To evaluate the response of dryland wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to mulching in preceding maize and fertilizer N application field experiments were conducted for six years (1980–86) with maize-wheat sequence on a sandy loam soil in northern India. Four rates of N application viz. 0, 40, 60 and 80 kg N ha-1 in wheat were combined with three mulch treatments
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ABSTRACT
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ABSTRACT