Abstract
The soil–plant-animal continuum represents an evolving realm in biological research that’s why this study was undertaken in the middle Gangetic plain region of India. Trace and ultra-trace elements were analyzed in 100 soil samples, 147 feed and fodder samples, as well as 69 blood and 127 hair samples with the help of inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The levels of trace and ultra-trace elements in the soil were significantly higher than those in the feed, and similarly, the concentrations in the feed were notably higher than those in the blood of dairy cattle. Blood and hair samples from the cattle showed deficiencies in copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn), with reaching approximately 20% and 50%, respectively. Correlation analysis indicated significant (P < 0.05) associations between the trace and ultra-trace elements in plants and the corresponding elements found in cattle's hair, specifically for iron (Fe) and molybdenum (Mo). Conversely, a significant (P < 0.05) negative correlation was observed between soil composition and cattle's blood, while a positive correlation was evident only in the case of silver content between plant and cattle's hair. Regression analyses revealed positive linear relationships between minerals in soils and plants, as well as between plants and cattle. However, the correlation coefficients were statistically insignificant. The regression equations established to predict mineral concentrations in cattle based on soil and plant mineral contents indicated a positive relationship for both trace and ultra-trace elements, suggesting the potential to measure the mineral status in dairy cattle through this approach.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
References
Bonari G, Monaci F, Nannoni F, Angiolini C, Protano G (2019) Trace element uptake and accumulation in the medicinal herb Hypericum perforatum L. across different geolithological settings. Biol Trace Elem Res 189:267–276
Dong GT, Zhang AJ, Luo GP, Xu WQ, Dai L (2009) Study on contents of available trace elements in oasis soil of Sangong river watershed. Soils 41:726–732
Garg MR, Bhanderi BM, Sherasia PL (2005) Assessment of adequacy of macro and micro-mineral content of feedstuffs for dairy animals in semi-arid zone of Rajasthan. Anim Nutr Feed Technol 5:9–20
Katyal JC (2001) Fertilizer use situation in India. J Indian Soc Soil Sci 49:570–592
Khalili M, Lindgren E, Varvikko T (1993) A survey of mineral status of soil, feeds and cattle in the Seale Ethiopian highlands. Trop Anim Health Prod 25:193–201
Kumaresan A, Bujarbaruah KM, Pathak KA, Brajendra Ramesh T (2010) Soil-plant-animal continuum in relation to macro and micro mineral status of dairy cattle in subtropical hill agro ecosystem. Trop Anim Health Prod 42:569–577
Naveen B, Madhukar B (2022) Collection of soil samples: techniques, procedures and guidelines. Just Agri 2(8):1–5
NRC (1984) Nutrient requirements of domestic animals. National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, Washington, DC
Raju N, Parashar A, Pankaj PK (2022) Soil-plant-animal continuum concerning the certain micro-mineral status of indigenous sheep in hot semi-arid regions. Indian J Anim Res 55:767–773
Rattan RK, Neelam S, Datta SP (1999) Micronutrient depletion in Indiansoils extent, causes and remedies. Fertiliser News 44(2):43–50
Reddy TP, Vijaya Lakshmi D, Kamalaka J, Ch. SambasivaRao (2021) Critical levels of micro and secondary nutrients in soils and crops for optimum plant nutrition. Int J Sci Res Article https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348428664
Shukla AK, Bahera SK, Pakhre A, Chaudhari SK (2018) Micronutrients in soils, plants animals and humans. Indian J Fertil 14(4):30–54
Spears JW, Lloyd KE, Krafka K (2017) Chromium concentrations in ruminant feed ingredients. J Dairy Sci 100(5):3584–3590
Underwood EJ (1977) Trace Elements in Human and Animal Nutrition, 4th edn. Academic Press, London, p 545
Underwood EJ (1981) The mineral nutrition of livestock, 2nd edn. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Franham Royal, UK
Usha S and Mohanty TK (2021) Estimation of plasma mineral thresholds of Karan Fries heifers in different seasons. J Entomol Zool Stud 9(3): 432–436
Wang H, Liu Yong-ming QI, Zhi-ming W-y, Shi-xiang L, Xia Li, Hai-jun W, Xiao-li W, Xin-chao X, Xin-qiang Z (2014) The estimation of soil trace elements distribution and soil-plant-animal continuum in relation to trace elements status of sheep in huangcheng area of qilian mountain grassland, china. J Integr Agric 13(1):140–147
Warman PR, Termeer WC (2005) Evaluation of sewage sludge, septic waste and sludge compost applications to corn and forage: yields and N, P and K content of crops andsoil. Biores Technol 96(8):955–961
Zhang B, Yang L, Wang W, Li Y, Li H (2010) Quantification and comparison of soil elements in the Tibetan Plateau Kaschin-Beck disease area: a case study in Zamtang County, Sichuan Province, China. Biol Trace Elem Res 138:69–78
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to the Vice-Chancellor, ANDUAT, Ayodhya (India) for providing all facilities required for present research.
Funding
This work was supported by Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Ayodhya.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Sandeep Kr. Upadhyay, Dharmesh Tewari and V. K. Singh conceived and designed the study; Sandeep Kr. Upadhyay performed the material preparation and extracted the data and wrote the manuscript; Sandeep Kr. Chaudhary, Dharmesh Tewari and Nidhi Verma analyzed the data.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Animal welfare statement
The authors confirm that the ethical policies of the journal, as noted on the journal's author guidelines page, have been adhered to and the appropriate ethical review committee approval has been received. The authors confirm that they have followed EU standards for the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.
Conflict of interest
We certify that there is no conflict of interest with any financial organization regarding the material discussed in the manuscript.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Upadhyay, S.K., Tewari, D., Singh, V.K. et al. Deciphering soil–plant-animal continuum in relation to trace elements in middle Gangetic plain region of India. Trop Anim Health Prod 56, 197 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-024-04062-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-024-04062-3