摘要：The impact of the mountain cropping system on groundwater quality and soil heavy metal accumulationwas studied in mid-hills of Solan and Kullu districts of Himachal Pradesh. To assess the impact ofdominant cropping systems, the four commonly occurring systems, namely vegetable, fruit, cerealcrop and agroforestry were selected in the area ranging from 800-1800m. Uncultivated land in theregion was considered as control. In total, there were five treatments which were replicated six timesunder randomized block design. The study was conducted for two years, i.e. during 2014 and 2015.The study indicated that the mountain cropping systems varied significantly with respect to theirimpact on groundwater quality and soil heavy metal accumulation. The pH, electrical conductivity,chlorides, nitrates and sulphates in groundwater were within drinking water permissible limits prescribedby Bureau to Indian Standards (BIS). The concentration of zinc, arsenic and nickel in groundwaterwas also within drinking water critical limits prescribed by BIS but lead and cadmium exceeded thelimits. The concentration of lead and cadmium ranged from 0.12 to 0.27 mg L -1 and 0 to 0.02 mg L -1 ,respectively, and followed similar crop system-wise trend, i.e. vegetable > fruit > agriculture >agroforestry > control. The soil accumulation of zinc, arsenic and nickel was within permissible limitsprescribed by WHO but lead and cadmium violated the limits. Interestingly, soil accumulation of leadexceeded WHO permissible limits under all cropping systems, including the control. The accumulationof lead and cadmium in soil ranged from 0.16 to 0.44 mg kg -1 and 0.02 to 0.12 mg kg -1 , respectively, andhad a similar crop system-wise trend they had in groundwater. Therefore, to maintain the quality of theimportant natural resources like groundwater and soil in mid-hills of Himachal Pradesh, necessarysteps need to be taken.
