Land/Soil Pollution

311007-ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
▪ What is Soil..?
▪ What is soil pollution?
▪ How is it caused ?
Environmental Pollution
▪ Types of soil pollution?
Land/Soil Pollution
▪ What are the effects of soil pollution?
▪ How can we control soil pollution?

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What is Soil..??

▪ Soil is the thin layer of organic and

inorganic materials that covers the
Earth's rocky surface.

Soil ▪ Soil is composed of particles of

broken rock that have been altered by
chemical and mechanical processes
that include weathering and erosion.

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 Land/Soil Pollution
▪ It is defined as the build-up in soils of
persistent toxic compounds, chemicals,
salts, radioactive materials, or disease
causing agents, which results in the
change in soil quality and have adverse
Land/Soil Pollution effects on plant growth and animal
health.
▪ The unwanted change in the physical
and chemical properties of land such
that it becomes unsuitable for any use or
becomes unproductive or less productive
Institute of Technology is called land/soil pollution.
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Soil Pollutants

▪ Soil pollutants include Petroleum

hydrocarbons, Heavy metals,
Pesticides, Solvents, Fertilizers,
plastics, leather goods, etc.
Soil Pollutants
▪ These soil pollutants have an adverse
effect on the physical, chemical and
biological properties of the soil and
reduce its productivity.

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 Types of Soil Pollution
▪ Agricultural Soil Pollution
i) pollution of surface soil
ii) pollution of underground soil
• Soil pollution by industrial effluents and solid wastes
Types of Soil Pollution i) pollution of surface soil
ii) pollution of underground soil
iii) disturbances in soil profile
▪ Pollution due to urban activities
i) pollution of surface soil
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ii) pollution of underground soil
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Causes of Land/Soil Pollution

Natural Cause Manmade Cause

Causes of Land/Soil Pollution

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 Causes of Land/Soil Pollution Causes of Land/Soil Pollution
Natural Cause Manmade Cause ▪ Deforestation ▪ Rupture of underground storage
▪ Landslides ▪ Urbanisation ▪ Agricultural Activity (Excess tanks
▪ Hurricanes ▪ Industrial Wastes application of pesticides, ▪ Dumping
(a storm with a violent wind) herbicides or fertilizer) ▪ Soil erosion
▪ Mining
▪ Agricultural Wastes ▪ Unskilled irrigation (Water ▪ Soil mismanagement by improper
Logging) use
▪ Domestic Wastes and Garbage
▪ Over crowded landfill ▪ Discharge of industrial waste into
▪ Radioactive Wastes (Seepage from a landfill) the soil
▪ Mining activities ▪ Percolation of contaminated water
▪ Shifting Cultivation into the soil
▪ Acid Rain
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Causes of Land/Soil Pollution Causes of Land/Soil Pollution

Deforestation Agricultural activities
▪ It is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is ▪ With growing human population, demand for food
thereafter converted to a non-forest use. has increased considerably.
▪ Deforestation also loosens the soil and hence leads to soil
erosion ▪ Farmers often use highly toxic fertilizers and
pesticides to get rid off insects, fungi and bacteria
▪ Land that is once converted into a dry or barren land, can
never be made fertile again. from their crops.
▪ Hence deforestation is one of the major reason to soil ▪ However with the overuse of these chemicals, they
pollution. result in contamination and poisoning of soil.

Pesticides being sprayed

Deforestation
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 Causes of Land/Soil Pollution Causes of Land/Soil Pollution
Unskilled irrigation Overcrowded landfills
▪ Water logging may occur when the drainage system of
the agricultural field is not maintained scientifically ▪ Each household produces tones of
▪ For examples:- inadequate surface drainage, seepage garbage each year.
from canal system, over-irrigation of fields, obstruction
of natural drainage, construction of water reservoirs, etc.
▪ Garbage like aluminium, plastic, paper,
▪ Water logging closes the passage of air to the soil, stops
cloth, wood is collected and sent to the
the growth of soil organisms and makes the soil barren. local recycling unit.
▪ Items that can not be recycled become
a part of the landfills and hence pollute
the soil.

Overcrowded landfills
Water logging
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Causes of Land/Soil Pollution Causes of Land/Soil Pollution

Mining Activities Shifting cultivation
▪ Mining is also a source of land ▪ In shifting cultivation, selected portions of the
forest are cut and burned. Crops are cultivated on
pollution. that land for some years till it becomes sterile.
▪ Metals like cadmium and lead will be ▪ Then fresh fields formed for crop cultivation. This
deposited, which are toxic, practice has led to complete destruction of forests
contaminating the soil. in many hill areas of India and caused soil erosion
and problems that accompany soil erosion.
▪ This will leave the mining land barren
and unable to use again.

Mining Activities Example of Shifting cultivation

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 Causes of Land/Soil Pollution Causes of Land/Soil Pollution
Acid rain ▪ Soil erosion: Loss or removal of the
▪ Soil is also affected by acid superficial layer of the soil by the action of
rain as it converts the water, wind and also by the activities of
neutralized soil to acidic one. man is termed as soil erosion. The top layer
of the soil is very fertile. Therefore, its
removal degrades the quality of land,
▪ Hence making it barren and making it less productive.
unproductive. ▪ Soil mismanagement by improper use:
Faulty methods of surface drainage, over
grazing, wrong methods of cultivation,
forests fires, etc come under soil
Effects of acid rain mismanagement. The mismanagement of
on soil soil degrades the quality of land.
▪ Dumping: Dumping of solid
wastes is one of the most
important factors which are
responsible for the land
pollution. In developing
countries like India, the garbage
and refuse products are simply
dumped leading to land
pollution.

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Effect of Land/Soil Pollution

Effects of Land/Soil Pollution
Soil erosion
Soil erosion leads to loss of top
cover of the soil and hence leads to
loss of fertile land for agriculture,
forest cover, fodder patches.

Soil erosion

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 Effect of Land/Soil Pollution Effect of Land/Soil Pollution
Change in climate patterns Environmental Impact:
▪ The effects of soil pollution are very When deforestation is increasing, this leads
hazardous and can lead to the loss to a steep imbalance in the rain cycle. A
of ecosystems. disturbed rain cycle affects a lot of factors.
▪ When land is polluted, it directly or To begin with, the green cover is reduced.
indirectly affects the climate Trees and plants help balance the
patterns. atmosphere, without them we are subjected Deforestation Leads to
to various concerns like Global warming,
Contamination of underground and the green house effect, irregular rainfall and Inadequate rain fall,
surface drinking water flash floods among other imbalances. global warming,
greenhouse effects
etc.
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Effect of Land/Soil Pollution Effect of Land/Soil Pollution

Effect on human health
The land when contaminated with toxic chemicals and pesticides lead
to problem of skin cancer and human respiratory system.
The toxic chemicals can reach our body through foods and vegetables
that we eat as they are grown in polluted soil.
Cause Air pollution
Landfills across the city keep on growing due to increase in waste and are
later burned which leads to air pollution.

Contaminated Soil leads to Leads to

Skin cancer Respiratory Diseases

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 Effect of Land/Soil Pollution Effect of Land/Soil Pollution
Distraction for Tourist The city looses its attraction as tourist destination Effect on wildlife: The animal kingdom has suffered mostly in the past
as landfills do not look good when you move around the city. It leads to decades. They face a serious threat with regards to loss of habitat and
loss of revenue for the state government. natural environment. The constant human activity on land, is leaving it
polluted; forcing these species to move further away and adapt to new
regions or die trying to adjust. Several species are pushed to the verge of
extinction, due to no homeland.
Landfills And hence city
Detroit looses its
The beauty tourist
of city attraction and
revenue too
Animals are forced to leave their home and are mostly killed by vehicles Animals on verge of extinction
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Effect of Land/Soil Pollution Effect of Land/Soil Pollution

Global Warming: Soil pollution also leads to global warming as the one Bio magnification
of the main cause of soil erosion is deforestation and due that there is a The discharge of chemicals on land, makes it dangerous for the
imbalance in the ratio of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Hence there is a rise ecosystem too.
in temperature leading to Global Warming.

These chemicals are consumed by the animals and plants and

thereby make their way in the ecosystem.

This process is called bio magnification and is a serious threat

to the ecology.

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Effect of Land/Soil Pollution

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Control/Solution of Land/Soil Pollution

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 Control/Solution of Land/Soil Pollution Control/Solution of Land/Soil Pollution

Make people aware about the concept of ▪ Use bio-fertilizers and natural pesticides
R’s: Reduce, Recycle and Reuse
▪ Reducing chemical fertilizer and pesticide use.
▪ Recycling is another way to reduce and
control soil pollution. Recycling paper, plastics
and other materials reduces the volume of Shift to bio-fertilizers
refuse in landfills, another common cause of
soil pollution.
▪ Reusing of materials.

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Control/Solution of Land/Soil Pollution Control/Solution of Land/Soil Pollution

▪ Better agricultural practices: Better agricultural practices like terracing, regular cultivation
▪ People should be encouraged to go for afforestation and crop rotation are ways to control land pollution.

Terracing Cultivation

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 Control/Solution of Land/Soil Pollution Control/Solution of Land/Soil Pollution
▪ Create dumping ground away from residential areas. ▪ Proper treatment of liquid wastes from industries and mines must be done
▪ Faulty sanitation practices must be improved.
▪ Polluted soil can be treated by bioremediation. It uses microorganisms
(yeast, fungi or bacteria) to breakdown, or degrades hazardous
substances into less toxic or nontoxic substances (such as CO2 and H2O).
▪ Judicious and controlled use of Pesticides and Fertilizers
▪ Complete treatment and then discharge of Sewage and Industrial
Effluents on Land.
▪ Secured land filling for domestic solid wastes.
▪ Control through legislation.

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Control/Solution of Land/Soil Pollution Control/Solution of Land/Soil Pollution

▪ As plastics are non-degradable so, We should stop using plastic bags and switch over to paper ▪ Ensure that you do not litter on the ground and do proper disposal of garbage
and cloth bags.

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 Control/Solution of Land/Soil Pollution
▪ Planting Wind breaks and Shelter Belts: To check the velocity of wind, two or more rows of tall trees are planted at right
angles to the direction of the prevailing winds. These wind breaks check the movement of wind and therefore check soil erosion.

Thank You

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