IMPACT OF BRICK KILN OPERATION TO THE DEGRADATION OF SOIL QUALITY OF AGRICULTURAL LAND

Abstract

Brick kiln is a big environmental issue in terms of agricultural production. The soil of brick kiln less productive compare to soil far from brick kiln. The aim of the study is to assess the impact of brick kiln operation for soil quality degradation in different area of Kurigram. The study was conducted with 24 soil samples collected from six brick kiln and adjacent agricultural field at Kurigram district. The study reveals that brick kiln industrial activity affected the soil characteristics and degraded soil quality. The results indicated that burning of soils significantly decreased the average pH values of soils both in surface and subsurface soil. The Organic matter content of the samples recorded from 0.250 to 0.920 in the burnt soil and from 0.290 to 1.055 in the unburnt soil for surface soil and for subsurface soil 0.210 to 0.740 and 0.206 to 0.705 in burnt and unburnt soil respectively. The total N content in the surface soil ranged from 0.023 to 0.100% and 0.029 to 0.123% in the burnt and unburnt soil, respectively. In case of subsurface soil, the nitrogen content in burnt and unburnt soil ranged from 0.020% to 0.068% and 0.023% to 0.073% respectively. The available P content of the samples in surface soil were within the range of 9.85 to 10.10 ppm in the burnt soil and of 17.40 to 21.90 ppm in the unburnt soil. In subsurface soil the range were from 8.60 to 13.10 for burnt soil and from 11.00 to 19.00 ppm for unburnt soil. The level of exchangeable potassium content in burnt soil ranged from 0.092 to 0.363 meq100g -1 in surface soil and 0.083 to 0.113 meq100g in subsurface soil. In case of unburnt soil near the brick field the range is from 0.190 to 0.518 meq100g -1 in the surface soil and from 0.102 to 0.412 meq100g in subsurface soil. The EC of burnt soil were ranged from 9.8 to 32.2 dsm -1 -1 for surface soil and from 5.3 to 13.2 dsm for subsurface soil. For the unburnt soil near brick field were from 13.4 to 36.1 dsm -1 -1 for surface soil and from 8.5 to 24.6 dsm for subsurface soil. All the chemical properties of soil decreased in burnt soil of brick kiln than the unburnt agricultural field. The chemical properties also decreased with increasing depth. The study reaves that brick burning near agricultural field is detrimental for soil fertility. The burning of enormous C, N and S not only degrade the agricultural soils but also contributing to the changes in the global climate. -1 -1