Assessment of soil available macronutrient trends in the vicinity of cement factories of Kashmir

The present study was conducted to assess the impact of cement dust pollution on soil available macronutrients around Khrew Industrial area of Kashmir. Three cement industries (Max, Arco and JK) were selected for the purpose and a total of one hundred composite soil samples (0-15 cm depth) were collected from different distances around Max, Arco and JK cement industries of Khrew Kashmir. The chemical analysis indicated that available N content at Max, Arco and JK cement plants varied from 80.44-128.80, 82.00-130.00 and 78.14-122.32 mg kg^-1, respectively whereas, available P content of soils ranged from 6.68-12.38, 6.72-12.51 and 6.65-12.22 mg kg^-1 respectively. The data revealed that available K content of soils varied from 80.16-128.72, 78.87-126.87 and 80.92-130.14 mg kg^-1, in the soils of Max, Arco and JK cement factories, respectively, whereas, available Ca content varied from 1172.00-2150.00, 1161.00-2147.00 and 1182.00-2153.00 mg kg^-1, around Max, Arco and JK cement industries, respectively. In general, available N, P and S showed an increasing trend, whereas, Ca, Mg and K indicated a decreasing trend with increasing distance from the cement plants. It was seen that the cement dust adversely affect the available nutrient status of soil.