S. Ahmad
Associate Professor
Geography & Environment, Bangladesh Open University, School of Social Sciences Humanities & Languages, Gazipur-1705, Bangladesh.
Awareness creation, Knowledge development and dissemination, Knowledge pool, Soil quality deterioration
The Bakkhali River and channel estuary were selected as the study area.
Knowledge Management
Awareness, Soil quality
Research Approach- The research was an intermingled one where both Qualitative and Quantitative research approaches were followed. Cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and Zinc (Zn) are the eight most common toxic heavy metals. From there, the present study measured the concentration of five heavy metals, such as Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in sample soil to measure the toxicity level in the soil. Moreover, the concentration of Fe was measured as this metal is one of the essential nutrients for biological entities. The pH, Temperature, and Electric Conductivity (EC) of soil were also measured to identify the physio-chemical quality of soil along the Bakkhali River and channel estuary. KIIs were conducted with the Cox’s Bazar City Corporation authority; Deputy Director, Union Team Leader and volunteers of Bakkhali Upazila ‘Cyclone Preparedness Programme’ (CPP); Scientists of Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI), Cox’s Bazar, and the Chief of Operation of Prime Minister’s Rehabilitation Project, Cox’s Bazar in 2018. Data Sources- Primary Data Source: The field surveys were conducted from 20th-25th March 2016, 24th-26th March 2017, and 16th-20th March 2018 consecutively. The soil samples were collected from eight source points of pollution along the Bakkhali River and channel estuary during the month of March in two consecutive years 2016 and 2017. The KIIs were conducted to collect the information regarding the management plans and policies proposed and executed by the concerned stakeholders in March 2018. (i) Secondary Data Sources- The secondary data were collected to know about the state, causes, and consequences of estuarine soil quality deterioration along the Bakkhali River estuary and channel. The statistical data were collected from published materials like books, journal articles, and reports of concerned authorities and organizations. Study Area and Sample Areas- The Bakkhali River and channel estuary were selected as the study area after a thorough literature review and reconnaissance survey. Total eight extremely polluted point sources of pollution along the study area were selected as the sample areas. Sample Collection- The soil samples were collected from a depth of six to eight inches from point sources of pollution by the ‘Composite Soil Sampling’ method. The sources of pollutants and toxic wastes were the industries, fish markets, fish and fisheries processing factories and ice factories, and municipality garbage dumping points of the sample areas. Sample Analysis and Data Presentation- Wastewater from the Khurushkul Bridge construction area has contaminated estuarine soil at Kasturi Ghat area, 2016. The soil samples were dried, ground, and then digested with the Nitric-hydrochloric Acid Digestion method. The digested soil samples were then filtered into clear bottles to measure the concentration of five heavy metals like- iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn), Lead (Pb), Copper (Cu), and Cadmium (Cd). The Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) method was applied to measure the heavy metal concentration. To measure the two non-metal nutrients like- Phosphorous and Sulphur content the soil samples were digested by the HNO3 digestion method (combination of Nitric-Perchloric acid). The pH Meter, calibrated by pH 7.0 buffer solution (distilled water) was used to measure the physio-chemical parameters of soil like- pH, EC, and Temperature. The samples were processed, measured, and analyzed in the Environmental Laboratories of the Department of Geography and Environment; the Department of Soil, Water and Environment; and the Centre for Advanced Research in Sciences (CARS), University of Dhaka. The attributed data were presented with Maps, Tables, and different graphic forms.
Int. J. Expt. Agric. 11(1):14-23(May 2021)
Journal