Study on the Effects of Irrigation with Reclaimed Water on the Content and Distribution of Heavy Metals in Soil

Shibao Lu, Jianhua Wang and Liang Pei
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Shibao Lu: School of Urban-rural Planning and Management, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou 310018, China
Jianhua Wang: State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100101, China
Liang Pei: Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-10

Abstract: Reclaimed water is an important resource for irrigation, and exploration in making full use of it is an important way to alleviate water shortage. This paper analyzes the effects of irrigation with reclaimed water through field trials on the content and distribution of heavy metals in both tomatoes and the soil. By exploring the effects of reclaimed water after secondary treatment on the content and distribution characteristics of heavy metals in tomatoes and the heavy metal balance in the soil-crop system under different conditions, the study shows that there are no significant differences in the heavy metal content when the quantity of reclaimed water for irrigation varies. Reclaimed water for short-term irrigation does not cause pollution to either the soil environment or the crops. Nor will it cause the accumulation of heavy metals, and the index for the heavy metal content is far below the critical value of the national standard, which indicates that the vegetables irrigated with reclaimed water during their growth turn out to be free of pollutants. The heavy metals brought into the soil by reclaimed water are less than that taken away by the crops. The input and output quantities have only small effects on the heavy metal balance in the soil. This paper provides a reference for the evaluation and safety control of irrigation with reclaimed water.

Keywords: reclaimed water for irrigation; tomatoes; heavy metal pollution; soil-crops system; migration and transformation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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