Assessment of three decades treated wastewater impact on soil quality in semi-arid agroecosystem
The use of treated wastewater (TWW) for crop irrigation is practiced in many countries worldwide as a strategy to offset water scarcity. Soil quality assessment is required to ensure that the application of this non-conventional irrigation water is sustainable over long periods. A relatively limited...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1658077X22000261 |
| _version_ | 1811184241080270848 |
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| author | Khaled Ibrahimi Kmar Ben Attia Roua Amami Juliana Heloisa Pinê Américo-Pinheiro Farooq Sher |
| author_facet | Khaled Ibrahimi Kmar Ben Attia Roua Amami Juliana Heloisa Pinê Américo-Pinheiro Farooq Sher |
| author_sort | Khaled Ibrahimi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The use of treated wastewater (TWW) for crop irrigation is practiced in many countries worldwide as a strategy to offset water scarcity. Soil quality assessment is required to ensure that the application of this non-conventional irrigation water is sustainable over long periods. A relatively limited number of studies have used soil quality indexing approaches to investigate the impacts of TWW irrigation on soil quality. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the impacts of more than three decades of TWW irrigation on Fluvisol in semi-arid agrosystem to develop soil quality indices and evaluate their use as a practical tool to support TWW irrigation management. Overall, a total of 13 key soil attributes, used as soil quality indicators, were monitored in three TWW-irrigated plots and their adjacent non-irrigated control in eastern Tunisia. These selected indicators were used to develop a soil quality index (SQI) based on either a total data set (SQI-TDS) or a minimum data set (SQI-MDS) indexing approach. In comparison to the control, TWW application significantly increased saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) (+740%), saturation percentage (SP) (+20%), aggregate stability (AS) (+64%), field capacity (FC) (+52), electrical conductivity (EC) (+72%), phosphorous (P) (+472%), potassium (K) (+43%), organic matter (OM) (+90%) and basal respiration (BMR) (+117%) and decreased hydrophobicity (−17%), bulk density (BD) (−13%), cone penetration resistance (CPT) (−17%) and pH (−4%). The two developed SQI-TDS and SQI-MDS indices were sensitive to distinguish the impacts of TWW irrigation on soil quality in the study area. In comparison to the control, the TWW-irrigated soils exhibited higher SQI ratings by 42 and 52% based on SQI-MDS and SQI-TDS, respectively. Based on the monitored soil quality indicators in TWW-irrigated and control plots, this study indicates that long-term TWW application improved the overall soil quality and supports SQI-MDS’s efficiency in providing an adequate evaluation of soil quality in the study area. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T13:09:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5b23cf39bd2046e4ada353f936a6711d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1658-077X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T13:09:05Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-5b23cf39bd2046e4ada353f936a6711d2022-12-22T04:22:37ZengElsevierJournal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences1658-077X2022-12-01218525535Assessment of three decades treated wastewater impact on soil quality in semi-arid agroecosystemKhaled Ibrahimi0Kmar Ben Attia1Roua Amami2Juliana Heloisa Pinê Américo-Pinheiro3Farooq Sher4Higher Institute of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sousse, 4042 Chott Meriem, TunisiaHigher Institute of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sousse, 4042 Chott Meriem, TunisiaHigher Institute of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sousse, 4042 Chott Meriem, TunisiaSchool of Engineering, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Ave. Brasil Sul, Number 56, ZIP Code 15385-000, Ilha Solteira, SP, Brazil; Brazil University, Street Carolina Fonseca, Number 584, ZIP Code 08230-030, São Paulo, SP, BrazilDepartment of Engineering, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham NG11 8NS, United Kingdom; Corresponding author at: Department of Engineering, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, NG11 8NS, UK.The use of treated wastewater (TWW) for crop irrigation is practiced in many countries worldwide as a strategy to offset water scarcity. Soil quality assessment is required to ensure that the application of this non-conventional irrigation water is sustainable over long periods. A relatively limited number of studies have used soil quality indexing approaches to investigate the impacts of TWW irrigation on soil quality. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the impacts of more than three decades of TWW irrigation on Fluvisol in semi-arid agrosystem to develop soil quality indices and evaluate their use as a practical tool to support TWW irrigation management. Overall, a total of 13 key soil attributes, used as soil quality indicators, were monitored in three TWW-irrigated plots and their adjacent non-irrigated control in eastern Tunisia. These selected indicators were used to develop a soil quality index (SQI) based on either a total data set (SQI-TDS) or a minimum data set (SQI-MDS) indexing approach. In comparison to the control, TWW application significantly increased saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) (+740%), saturation percentage (SP) (+20%), aggregate stability (AS) (+64%), field capacity (FC) (+52), electrical conductivity (EC) (+72%), phosphorous (P) (+472%), potassium (K) (+43%), organic matter (OM) (+90%) and basal respiration (BMR) (+117%) and decreased hydrophobicity (−17%), bulk density (BD) (−13%), cone penetration resistance (CPT) (−17%) and pH (−4%). The two developed SQI-TDS and SQI-MDS indices were sensitive to distinguish the impacts of TWW irrigation on soil quality in the study area. In comparison to the control, the TWW-irrigated soils exhibited higher SQI ratings by 42 and 52% based on SQI-MDS and SQI-TDS, respectively. Based on the monitored soil quality indicators in TWW-irrigated and control plots, this study indicates that long-term TWW application improved the overall soil quality and supports SQI-MDS’s efficiency in providing an adequate evaluation of soil quality in the study area.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1658077X22000261Sustainable environmentTreated wastewaterSoil qualityGreen agricultureIndicesIndexing approach and Fluvisol |
| spellingShingle | Khaled Ibrahimi Kmar Ben Attia Roua Amami Juliana Heloisa Pinê Américo-Pinheiro Farooq Sher Assessment of three decades treated wastewater impact on soil quality in semi-arid agroecosystem Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences Sustainable environment Treated wastewater Soil quality Green agriculture Indices Indexing approach and Fluvisol |
| title | Assessment of three decades treated wastewater impact on soil quality in semi-arid agroecosystem |
| title_full | Assessment of three decades treated wastewater impact on soil quality in semi-arid agroecosystem |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of three decades treated wastewater impact on soil quality in semi-arid agroecosystem |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of three decades treated wastewater impact on soil quality in semi-arid agroecosystem |
| title_short | Assessment of three decades treated wastewater impact on soil quality in semi-arid agroecosystem |
| title_sort | assessment of three decades treated wastewater impact on soil quality in semi arid agroecosystem |
| topic | Sustainable environment Treated wastewater Soil quality Green agriculture Indices Indexing approach and Fluvisol |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1658077X22000261 |
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