M. Ashraf
Not Available
S. M. Muyassir Bukhari
Not Available
Shoukat Ali Shahid
Not Available
M. Arshad Azad
Not Available
ABSTRACT
Soil samples from 3-6 inches depth were collected at 8 different locations from Cholistan desert during an expedition in November 1997. Physico-chemical analysis by standard methods revealed the following information as; electrical conductivity as 211±25.63 μ S/cm, pH as 8.72±0.09, total alkalinity as 5.36±1.63, bicarbonate content 91.44±6.8 MEq/L, chloride content 1.12±0.25 MEq/L, sulphate as 212.49±23.26 MEq/L, Na as 12.12±1.66 MEq/L, K as 11.83±5.06 MEq/L, Ca as 0.62±0.097 MEq/L and Mg as 1.00±0.17 MEq/L. Carbonate and orthophosphate were not detected by the employed methods. The amount of organic matter was 1.035±0.167 per cent with total nitrogen content of 0.047±0.01 per cent. When soil samples were subjected to metal analysis by atomic absorption spectroscopy, sub-optimal levels of all four studied metals (in ppm) were found, i.e., Cu was 0.079±0.022, Fe was 1.808±0.316, Mn was 1.653±0.212 and Zn was 0.0363±0.007. These lower levels of essential metals indicate lower demands of these metals by the desert vegetation.
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How to cite this article
M. Ashraf, S. M. Muyassir Bukhari, Shoukat Ali Shahid and M. Arshad Azad, 1999. Physico-chemical Analysis of Soils of Cholistan Desert . Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences, 2: 430-433.
DOI: 10.3923/pjbs.1999.430.433
URL: https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=pjbs.1999.430.433
DOI: 10.3923/pjbs.1999.430.433
URL: https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=pjbs.1999.430.433