Abstract

Cement dust pollution is one of the sources of atmospheric pollution. The main impacts of the cement activity to the environment are the broadcasts of dusts and gases. The objective of this study is to determine the effects of cement dust pollution, which was generated by cement plant, on soil microbial population, microbial respiration, and some enzyme activities in cultivated wheat (CT) and no-till (NT) soils. The fields are located at distances of 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15 km away from the cement plant. In dominant wind direction, three replicated 36 soil samples were taken from a depth of 0 to 20 cm and analyzed for chemical, physical and microbiological properties. Soil microbial population and CO₂-C production showed significant (p < 0.05) positive correlation in CT and NT soils. The highest microbial population and CO₂-C production was observed at 15 km away from the cement plant in CT and NT soils. Acid phosphatase, urease and dehydrogenase enzyme activities of the soils showed significant (p < 0.01) positive correlation with distance in CT and NT (r²= 0.80-0.86; r² = 0.90 to 0.92; r² = 0.79 to 0.82, respectively). There was negative correlation between alkaline phosphatase enzyme activity and distance in CT and NT (r² = 0.60, r² = 0.68; p < 0.05).

Key words: Microbial respiration, CO₂-C production, microbial population, cement dust pollution, soil enzyme activity.