Department Of Environmental Science And Technology

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    Assessment and monitoring of land degradation using geospatial technology in Bathinda district, Punjab, India
    (Copernicus GmbH, 2018) Ahmad, N.; Pandey, P.
    Land degradation leads to alteration of ecological and economic functions due to a decrease in productivity and quality of the land. The aim of the present study was to assess land degradation with the help of geospatial technology - remote sensing (RS) and geographical information system (GIS) - in Bathinda district, Punjab. The severity of land degradation was estimated quantitatively by analyzing the physico-chemical parameters in the laboratory to determine saline or salt-free soils and calcareous or sodic soils and further correlating them with satellite-based studies. The pH varied between 7.37 and 8.59, electrical conductivity (EC) between 1.97 and 8.78dS m 1 and the methyl orange or total alkalinity between 0.070 and 0.223 (HCO3 )g L 1 as CaCO3. The spatial variability in these soil parameters was depicted through soil maps generated in a GIS environment. The results revealed that the soil in the study area was exposed to salt intrusion, which could be mainly attributed to irrigation practices in the state of Punjab. Most of the soil samples of the study area were slightly or moderately saline with a few salt-free sites. Furthermore, the majority of the soil samples were calcareous and a few samples were alkaline or sodic in nature. A comparative analysis of temporal satellite datasets of Landsat 7 ETM+ and Landsat 8 OLI-TIRS of 2000 and 2014, respectively, revealed that the water body showed a slight decreasing trend from 2.46km2 in 2000 to 1.87km2 in 2014, while the human settlements and other built-up areas expanded from 586.25 to 891.09km2 in a span of 14 years. The results also showed a decrease in area under barren land from 68.9847km2 in 2000 to 15.26km2 in 2014. A significant correlation was observed between the digital number (DN) of the near-infrared band and pH and EC. Therefore, it is suggested that the present study can be applied to projects with special relevance to soil scientists, environmental scientists and planning agencies that can use the present study as baseline data to combat land degradation and conserve land resources in an efficient manner. ? Author(s) 2018.
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    Role of soil physicochemical characteristics on the present state of arsenic and its adsorption in alluvial soils of two agri-intensive region of Bathinda, Punjab, India
    (Springer Verlag, 2016) Kumar, Ravishankar; Kumar, Rabindra; Mittal, Sunil; Arora, Meenu; Babu, J. Nagendra
    Purpose: Arsenic (As) contamination of groundwater has received significant attention recently in district Bathinda, due to consequent health risk in this region. Soil is the one of the primary medium for arsenic transport to groundwater. Thus, there is an essential requirement for understanding the retention capacity and mobility of arsenic in the soils to ensure sustainability of the groundwater in the locality. Arsenic interaction with various physicochemical properties of soil would provide a better understanding of its leaching from the soil. Materials and methods: Fifty-one soil samples were collected from two regions of Bathinda district with extensive agricultural practices, namely, Talwandi Sabo and Goniana. The soils were analyzed for arsenic content and related physicochemical characteristic of the soil which influence arsenic mobility in soil. Adsorption studies were carried out to identify the arsenic mobilization characteristic of the soil. SEM-EDX and sequential extraction of arsenic adsorbed soil samples affirmed the arsenic adsorption and its mobility in soil, respectively. Multiple regression models have been formulated for meaningful soil models for the prediction of arsenic transport behavior and understand the adsorption and mobilization of arsenic in the soil matrices. Results and discussion: Region-wise analysis showed elevated levels of arsenic in the soil samples from Goniana region (mean 9.58?mg?kg?1) as compared to Talwandi Sabo block (mean 3.38?mg?kg?1). Selected soil samples were studied for As(V) and As(III) adsorption behavior. The characteristic arsenic adsorption by these soil samples fitted well with Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and D-R isotherm with a qmax in the range of 45 to 254?mg?kg?1 and 116 to 250?mg?kg?1 for As(III) and As(V), respectively. Adsorption isotherms indicate weak arsenic retention capacity of the soil, which is attributed to the sandy loam textured soil and excessive fertilizer usage in this region. PCM and MLR analysis of the soil arsenic content and its adsorption strongly correlated with soil physicochemical parameters, namely, Mn, Fe, total/available phosphorus, and organic matter. Conclusions: Manganese and iron content were firmly established for retention of arsenic in soil, whereas its mobility was influenced by organic matter and total/available phosphorus. The poor adsorptive characteristic of these soils is the primary cause of higher arsenic concentration in groundwater of this region. A strong correlation between monitored arsenic and adsorbed As(III) with manganese suggests As(III) as the predominant species present in soil environment in this region. ? 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.