Impact of metal polluted sewage water on soil nematode assemblages in agricultural settings of Aligarh, India

Highlights

● Sewage water in agriculture threatens human health and soil ecosystems through metal pollution.

● Nematodes show promise as bioindicators of soil health due to their abundance and position in soil food webs.

● Metal-polluted water decreased abundance of certain nematode groups and Sigma Maturity Index.

● Metal pollution positively affected nematode groups with r-selected life cycles.

Abstract

Sewage water has been inappropriately used in agriculture, posing possible threats to human health and the soil ecosystems by its constituent pollutants, especially heavy metals. Correct evaluation of its influences on soil biomes needs to consider the response of soil fauna. Among soil organisms, nematodes are seen as the best promising candidates for bioindicators of soil health. Here in, we collected soil samples from fresh water irrigated field from three sites (S1, S2 and S3) and sewage water irrigated distance gradient (5 m−40 m), to assess the influence of metal (Cu, Zn, Cd, Mn, Pb) polluted water on various characteristics of nematode communities. The results indicated that the heavy metals decreased the abundance of C-p3 nematodes, herbivores, and predatory nematodes as well as sigma maturity index, whereas, C-p1, C-p2, bacterivore and fungivore nematodes abundance and diversity positively responded to the metal pollution. Generally, nematode genera with r-selected life cycle were positively affected and those with K-selected life cycle were negatively affected by metal pollution. Overall nematode community has potential to be used as indicator of pollution stress in agricultural soils to check soil health and sustainability.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

heavy metals / sewage irrigation / agriculture / nematodes / bioindicators

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Data availability statement

The data presented in the study are included in the supplementary material. For further inquiries related to data presented in this article corresponding authors can be contacted.

Author contributions

M.F.S.A.G and SA contributed equally to the manuscript. M.F.S.A.G, SA, WA designed the research, M.F.S.A.G performed the soil sampling and analyzed the soil abiotic and biotic community; SA performed the statistical analyses, designed figures and lead the writing of the manuscript, HN corrected the references, HN and ZI corrected the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the farmers who allowed to carry out the soil sampling in their fields. The authors are also thankful to the Aligarh Muslim University for providing the required facilities.

Electronic supplementary material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s42832-023-0193-3 and is accessible for authorized users.

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