Assessing the Effects of Treated Wastewater Irrigation on Soil Physico-Chemical Properties

Wiem Sdiri, Huda S. AlSalem, Soha T. Al-Goul, Mona S. Binkadem and Hedi Ben Mansour ()
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Wiem Sdiri: Research Unit of Analysis and Process Applied on the Environment—APAE UR17ES32, Higher Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, University of Monastir, Mahdia 5121, Tunisia
Huda S. AlSalem: Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdul Rahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
Soha T. Al-Goul: Department of Chemistry, Rabigh College of Sciences & Arts, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
Mona S. Binkadem: Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
Hedi Ben Mansour: Research Unit of Analysis and Process Applied on the Environment—APAE UR17ES32, Higher Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, University of Monastir, Mahdia 5121, Tunisia

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-12

Abstract: For assessing the effects of wastewater on soil physical and chemical properties, manual irrigation (MI) and surface drip irrigation (SDI) systems were investigated. The experiment was conducted over 12 months. Before and after the experiment, soil samples were collected from three depths (0–20 cm, 20–40 cm and 40–60 cm) for analysis. The obtained results indicated that wastewater application probably preserves soil quality by maintaining its pH-water values whatever the irrigation system used. This study suggested that nutrient input from wastewater promotes soil microbial activity and organic matter (OM) mineralization. In fact, at the soil depths of 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm, MI using treated wastewater (TWW) leads to decrease OM content. P input may justify treated wastewater fertilizing effect in the topsoil. Moreover, TWW fertilizing effect was demonstrated by increased potassium (K) amount in the two upper soil layers (0–20 cm and 20–40 cm) following SDI system. This last system may block metals (iron (Fe), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co) and selenium (Se)) translocation to plants and their accumulation in soil. In contrast, metal translocation was maintained by the MI system. The present data is encouraging to reuse TWW for agricultural purposes, especially for orchard irrigation.

Keywords: wastewater; irrigation systems; soil properties; nutrients; heavy metals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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