Soil plant animal relationship

1. Soil Plant
Animal
Relationship
J.RAJU

2. Soil/Plants/Animals
Plants remove minerals
from the soil
Plants are eaten by animals
Minerals are returned to
the soil via the animals’
manure and dead bodies.
Manure fertilizes the soil
Plants grow.

3. Essential Major Elements – Plants/Animals
Major Plant Nutrients Major Animal Nutrients
Carbon (C) Carbon (C)
Hydrogen (H) Hydrogen (H)
Oxygen (O) Oxygen (O)
Nitrogen (N) Nitrogen (N)
Phosphorus (P) Sulfur (S)
Potassium (K) Calcium (Ca)
Calcium (Ca) Phosphorus (P)
Magnesium (Mg) Potassium (K)
Sulfur (S) Magnesium (Mg)
Sodium (Na)
Chlorine (Cl)

4. Essential Trace Elements – Plants/Animals*
Trace Plant Nutrients Trace Animal Nutrients
Boron (B) Copper (Cu)
Copper (Cu) Iron (Fe)
Iron (Fe) Manganese (Mn)
Manganese (Mn) Molybdenum (Mo)
Molybdenum (Mo) Zinc (Zn)
Zinc (Zn) Arsenic (As)
Chlorine (Cl) Chromium (Cr)
Nickel (Ni) Cobalt (Co)
Flourine (F)
Essential for Some Plants Iodine (I)
Cobalt (Co) Nickel (Ni)
Silicon (Si) Selenium (Se)
Sodium (Na) Silicon (Si)
Vanadium (V) Tin (Sn)
Vanadium (V)
* Plants will not only absorb essential plant and animal elements, but many
non-essential elements found in soils are also found in plant tissue ash.

5. Geochemical aspects of the
Soil-Plant-Animal Relationship

6. Trace element content of soils and associated
grassland or forage may, under certain conditions of
farming practice, influence the health of Livestock
production.
The prime source of trace elements in soils is the
parent material from which they are derived.
The soils developed from parent materials tend to
reflect their chemical composition.

7. Soils developed from acid igneous rocks, such as
rhyolites contain smaller amounts of essential trace
elements than those developed from basic igneous
rocks .
Trace element deficiencies in grazing livestock,
particularly of copper and cobalt, are frequently
reported on the former soils, while problems due to
excess are sometimes found on the latter.

8.  Relationship between animal health and soil
does not apply in those parts of the world where
appreciable areas of soils have been developed
from wind-borne, water-borne.
 The trace mineral content of soils and plants
may be considerably enhanced by
contamination from urban industrial sources,
including past and present-day metalliferous
mining.

9. • Examples of trace element problems in animals
related to the composition of soils or plants or both
are numerous and worldwide.
(Russell & Duncan, 1956;Underwood, 1971)
• A typical example is the problem of Grass tetany in
cattle.

10. GRASS TETANY
Mg in soil-plant-animal continuum
Magnesium occurs as
as a structural component
of soil organic matter.
The amount of plant-available Mg is affected
by soil type, soil age, parent material, soil
acidity, liming, past cropping and fertilization
management', and rainfall.

11. Passive uptake occurs most readily at high soil
Mg levels as Mg moves into plants through the
transpiration stream.
Active uptake of Mg, which is more important at
low soil Mg levels is dependent on energy from
respiration in the roots.
Cool-season grasses generally contain lower Mg
concentrations when grown at lower temperatures,
higher soil moisture levels and lower oxygen levels.

12. Mg uptake is severely depressed by high NH4 and
K concentrations in soil.
In contrast to cations that depress Mg uptake,
NO3 in soil solution stimulates Mg uptake.
Both K and Ca appear to restrict Mg translocation
to plant shoots .
Potassium fertilization of cool season pastures
enhances occurrence and incidence of hypo-
magnesemia.

13. Trace element deficiencies with a geochemical
origin include Co ‘pine’ in sheep grazing pastures
of low Co status on soils developed from granite.
Coast disease, a deficiency of both Cu and Co in
sheep, has been related to low concentrations of
both elements in soils and herbage on calcareous
sands .
A combined deficiency of Cu and zinc in cattle
is associated with low pasture contents on sandy
soils .

14. SOIL – PLANT – ANIMAL RELATIONSHIP
AS ECOPATHOLOGICAL INDICATOR

15. • Bogdan et.al., conducted research study to correlate the soil-
plant-animal relationship and all it’s direct or indirect
implications in a farm located near a highly polluted area.
• The geographic location of the farm, and the industrial
enterprises nearby that have polluted the surrounding area,
but are no longer in function.
• They investigated the elements of this relationship by
following these steps: epidemiologic survey, clinical exams,
metabolic profiles and water and fodder analysis.

16. • Of all the indicators in metabolic profiles , the most
significant seems to be the low selenium and vitamin E
levels in the blood of the examined cows.
• The degree of pollution seems to be closely related to the
low selenium and vitamin E levels, which are directly
responsible for the health and reproduction in dairy cows.
(Bogdan et.al.,2010)

17. Regional trace element maps
and Geochemical surveys

18. • Trace element deficiencies and toxicities in animals do
reflect the composition of the soil and plants.
• In recent years there has been a growing awareness not
only of clinical but of sub clinical or latent situations where
marginal imbalance may results in sub-fertility and
lowered production, which is of greater economic
significance.
• With this awareness comes the need for trace element
maps to focus attention on the possible suspect areas.

19. Indian Soils are deficient in:
42 % P 40 % S
47 % Zn 4.8 % Cu,
11.5 % Fe, 4 % Mn,
20 % B 18 % Mo
(Tripathi, 2003; Biswas, et al., 2004)

20. REGIONS Minerals deficient in feeds
Northern Ca , P , Mg, Zn ,Cu, Mn, I,
Western Ca, P, S, Cu, Zn,
Southern Ca, P, Mg, Cu, Zn,
Eastern Ca, P, Mg, Mn, Cu, Zn, Co,
Mineral status of Feed and Fodder for Dairy
Animals in different Agro-climatic Zones in INDIA

21. Role of soil ingestion in the
soil-(plant)-animal relationship
Purvis (1964) published evidence that, during winter months,
ingested soil could amount to as much as 14% of the sheep’s
dry matter intake.
Healy (1967, 1968) has shown that appreciable amounts of
soil may be involuntarily ingested by both sheep and cattle.
For those elements of low availability to the plant such as Co
and Cr, and on soils heavily contaminated with trace metals,
the soil-animal relationship may well over-ride or at any rate
complement that of the soil-plant-animal system,

22. The relationships between man and the trace
element status of soils, plants and foodstuffs is a field
of increasing concern.
Studies in the Pb-contaminated area of the
southern Pennines of U.S.A have shown a
significant enhancement of Pb in blood and hair of 2-
3-year-old children in villages with high soil Pb values
compared with nearby controls.
(Barltrop et.al.,1974).
Effect of soil-plant-animal
relationship on Human health

23. Factors influencing the
soil-plant-animal relationship

24.  The relationship between soil, plants and
animal is complex and depends upon
1.Selectivity in grazing
2.Degree of dependence of the animal on
grass as a source of trace element
3.Dietary intake
4.Digestibility of the diet
5.Form and ‘availability’ of the ingested trace
elements.

26.  Soil composition:
Def. .of zinc, I, Cu in soil - fodders def. - predisposes
def. in livestock
 Application of manure and fertilizers:
N fertilizers ,super phosphate
 Irrigation:
Ca
 Stage of growth and frequency of cutting
 Variety & strains of plants.

27. Conclusion:
 Soil plant animal relationship studies are more imp.
with respect to trace mineral nutrition.
 The character of the soil on which we grow plants
plays an imp role in determining the nutritional value
of plants .
 Soil plant animal relationship will serves as eco
pathological indicator of diseases.
 The animal &human nutrition ties back into plants and
to the soil stressing the imp. of yields of nutrients from
plants.

28. THANK YOU……….