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EFFECTS OF HEAVY METAL CONTAMINATION ON SOIL
MICROBIAL BIOMASS By Nkosi N.G., supervisor- Kgopa P.M
Faculty Research Day21 November 2016
INTRODUCTIONBackground..
What is soil biomass?Heavy metal contamination.Impacts.
INTRODUCTION CONT….Possible causes.Possible solution. Focus of study.
PROBLEM STATEMENT• Heavy metal contamination poses health risks
to the environment as well as humans, current literature is limited to effect of heavy metal toxicity to humans, the proposed solution is a broader focus on effect on soil microbial biomass.
RATIONALE OF STUDY97% soil microbes are beneficial(Darwin,
2010).Save RSA billions in wasted land, inadequate
land distribution, agricultural input programs for farmers.
Benefits to nation as well as science community.
To investigate the effect of heavy metals on soil biomass.
PURPOSE OF STUDYAIM
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether heavy metal
contamination will affect soil microbial biomass.
HYPOTHESISHeavy metal contamination does not have any
effect on soil microbial biomass
METHODOLOGYstudy area description
Syferkuil commercial site (23.848435 S and 29.6781 E)
METHODOLOGY CONT…Data collection
Soil biomassHeavy metals
Research design
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Week four after acceleration Week eight after acceleration
As Pb Ni Co0
5
10
15
20
25
heavymetal
bacteria
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION CONT…
• Week four after acceleration
• Week four after acceleration
CONCLUSIONThe added concentrations of heavy metals
have changed the soil microbial community structure and activities.
Pb and As have the highest effect on soil fungi since fungi decline greatly from week four to eight. The Interaction of both Pb and As has less effect on soil fungi than when they are single available in the soil.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
FamilyResearch teamSupervisor Soil science and c pathology lab techniciansUniversity of Limpopo
The end…
Thank you