Question

How do the chemical fertilizers affect the soil, groundwater, rivers, and lakes. what were the effect of use of chemical fertilizers in Punjab.

Answer 1

Chemical fertilizers may described as factory made fertilizers. These are target specific and widely used in India especially the period post Green Revolution.

Their effects:

ON SOIL :

using too much of fertilizers in the soil can alter the fertility of the soil by increasing the acid levels in the soil. Hence it is recommended to get a soil test to observe that you are using right amount of fertilizers or not. 7pH level is considered to be neutral it may vary from 0-14, pH varies from plant to plant and can be altered by bringing in some changes. Bottom line for using too much of fertilizers in the soil is that, though it may seem to work currently, but it may kill the plants.

ON WATER IN LAKE And RIVER :

fertilizers are washed into lakes and oceans through rains and sewage from farm. These substances prove to become toxic for the aquatic life, increasing the excessive growth of algae in the water bodies and decreasing the levels of oxygen. This leads to a toxic environment and leads to death of fish and other aquatic fauna and flora. t contributes to an imbalance in the food chain as the different kinds of fishes in the water bodies tend to be the main food source of various birds and animals in the environment.

ON GROUND WATER :

the effect of chemical nitrogen fertilizer application on groundwater arsenic pollution. Arsenic and N concentrations in peat sediment were high. In the groundwater, a high arsenic concentration was observed under a high ammonium-N concentration with reducing conditions. source of N in peat sediment and groundwater was possibly chemical N fertilizer. Thus, we assumed that a high N environment created by the fertilizer led the groundwater to reducing conditions through the enhancement of microbial activity, and the reducing condition promoted the arsenic release from peat sediment to the groundwater.

punjab has alluvial soil which is the best and adding fertilisers their productivity goes down and the soil gets damage.

Answer 2

Chemical fertilizer if applied in excess, get concentrated in soil or percolate down to ground water which as base flow meets river. Concentration of dissolved fertilizer is when above standard permissible limit, it contaminate soil/ ground water/ river and harmful for consumption by living being.In punjab people in rural areas are mostly engaged in agriculture and they oftenly use these fertilizers which might cause the problems listed above.