Abstract
A research study was carried out to assess the bioavailability of Cadmium (Cd) in soil-plant-animal continuum. The relation between total available quantity of Cd in soil, transition of the metal into forages and its assimilation into goats feeding on these forages was studied. A significant amount (0.23 to 0.33 mg/kg) of Cd existed in soil in potentially available form. Plants absorb a number of elements from soil, some of which have no known biological function and are known to be toxic at low concentrations. However, the concentration of Cd (0.13 to 0.20 mg/kg) reported in the present study lies within the permissible limits of WHO/FAO. As plants constitute the foundation of the food chain, some concerns have been raised about the possibility of toxic concentrations of certain elements being transported from plants to higher strata of the food chain. The study was carried out to address such concerns which were ruled out as a consequence of the present research because the level of Cd was within the safe limits in soil, forages and goats in the study area.