IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i23p16230-d1286091.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Changes in Soil Chemistry and Soil Nutrient Stocks after 30 Years of Treated Municipal Wastewater Land Disposal: A Natural Experiment

Author

Listed:
  • María Jesús Gutiérrez-Ginés

    (Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), Christchurch 8041, New Zealand)

  • Brett H. Robinson

    (School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8041, New Zealand)

  • Sky Halford

    (Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), Christchurch 8041, New Zealand)

  • Izzie Alderton

    (Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), Christchurch 8041, New Zealand)

  • Vikki Ambrose

    (Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), Christchurch 8041, New Zealand)

  • Jacqui Horswell

    (Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), Christchurch 8041, New Zealand)

  • Hamish Lowe

    (Lowe Environmental Impact, Palmerston North 4410, New Zealand)

Abstract

The benefits and risks of irrigation with treated municipal wastewater (TMW) on soil quality and crop production have been largely investigated. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the effect of plant species on the interaction between soil quality and TMW. We leveraged a natural experiment investigating the effect of 30 years of TMW irrigation at a rate of 4 m y −1 (eq. 1860 kg N ha −1 y −1 , and 264 kg P ha −1 y −1 ) on a sandy soil under pine plantation and pasture, compared with soil under New Zealand native Kunzea robusta . There was a consistent increase in soil P with irrigation under both pasture (Olsen P in topsoil 40 mg kg −1 vs. 74 mg kg −1 ) and pine (18 mg kg −1 vs. 87 mg kg −1 ), which was significant down to 2 m deep. The pH, electrical conductivity, total organic C and N, inorganic N and Na were affected by both irrigation and vegetation type. Beyond P soil accumulation, there was no evidence of soil degradation by Na or trace element accumulation. Estimations of nutrient mass balance indicated that 80% and 60% of the total applied P was lost under pine and pasture, respectively. This percentage increased to 96% and 83% for N, respectively. Although plant species had a significant effect on soil quality and N and P losses from TMW-irrigated areas, adjusting irrigation rates to levels that can be managed by plants is the only way to design sustainable TMW irrigation schemes.

Suggested Citation

  • María Jesús Gutiérrez-Ginés & Brett H. Robinson & Sky Halford & Izzie Alderton & Vikki Ambrose & Jacqui Horswell & Hamish Lowe, 2023. "Changes in Soil Chemistry and Soil Nutrient Stocks after 30 Years of Treated Municipal Wastewater Land Disposal: A Natural Experiment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-14, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:23:p:16230-:d:1286091
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/23/16230/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/23/16230/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pedrero, Francisco & Kalavrouziotis, Ioannis & Alarcón, Juan José & Koukoulakis, Prodromos & Asano, Takashi, 2010. "Use of treated municipal wastewater in irrigated agriculture--Review of some practices in Spain and Greece," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(9), pages 1233-1241, September.
    2. -Lal, Khajanchi & Minhas, P.S. & Yadav, R.K., 2015. "Long-term impact of wastewater irrigation and nutrient rates II. Nutrient balance, nitrate leaching and soil properties under peri-urban cropping systems," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 110-117.
    3. Josef Zavadil, 2009. "The effect of municipal wastewater irrigation on the yield and quality of vegetables and crops," Soil and Water Research, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 4(3), pages 91-103.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Feder, Frédéric, 2021. "Irrigation with treated wastewater in humid regions: Effects on Nitisols, sugarcane yield and quality," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    2. Garcia, X. & Pargament, D., 2015. "Reusing wastewater to cope with water scarcity: Economic, social and environmental considerations for decision-making," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 154-166.
    3. George Pavlidis & Vassilios A. Tsihrintzis, 2018. "Environmental Benefits and Control of Pollution to Surface Water and Groundwater by Agroforestry Systems: a Review," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 32(1), pages 1-29, January.
    4. Azunre, Gideon Abagna & Amponsah, Owusu & Takyi, Stephen Appiah & Mensah, Henry & Braimah, Imoro, 2022. "Urban informalities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): A solution for or barrier against sustainable city development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    5. Pedrero, Francisco & Grattan, S.R. & Ben-Gal, Alon & Vivaldi, Gaetano Alessandro, 2020. "Opportunities for expanding the use of wastewaters for irrigation of olives," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    6. Ejovi Akpojevwe Abafe & Yonas T. Bahta & Henry Jordaan, 2022. "Exploring Biblioshiny for Historical Assessment of Global Research on Sustainable Use of Water in Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-34, August.
    7. Dimitra Lazaridou & Anastasios Michailidis & Konstantinos Mattas, 2019. "Evaluating the Willingness to Pay for Using Recycled Water for Irrigation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-8, September.
    8. Maestre-Valero, J.F. & Gonzalez-Ortega, M.J. & Martinez-Alvarez, V. & Gallego-Elvira, B. & Conesa-Jodar, F.J. & Martin-Gorriz, B., 2019. "Revaluing the nutrition potential of reclaimed water for irrigation in southeastern Spain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 174-181.
    9. Jemal Fito & Stijn W. H. Hulle, 2021. "Wastewater reclamation and reuse potentials in agriculture: towards environmental sustainability," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 2949-2972, March.
    10. Pedrero, Francisco & Allende, Ana & Gil, María I. & Alarcón, Juan J., 2012. "Soil chemical properties, leaf mineral status and crop production in a lemon tree orchard irrigated with two types of wastewater," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 54-60.
    11. Licciardello, F. & Milani, M. & Consoli, S. & Pappalardo, N. & Barbagallo, S. & Cirelli, G., 2018. "Wastewater tertiary treatment options to match reuse standards in agriculture," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 232-242.
    12. Deh-Haghi, Zoherh & Bagheri, Asghar & Fotourehchi, Zahra & Damalas, Christos A., 2020. "Farmers’ acceptance and willingness to pay for using treated wastewater in crop irrigation: A survey in western Iran," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    13. Laura Mirra & Simone Russo & Massimiliano Borrello, 2024. "Exploring Factors Shaping Farmer Behavior in Wastewater Utilization for Agricultural Practices: A Rapid Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-19, March.
    14. Cirelli, G.L. & Consoli, S. & Licciardello, F. & Aiello, R. & Giuffrida, F. & Leonardi, C., 2012. "Treated municipal wastewater reuse in vegetable production," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 163-170.
    15. Jeong, Hanseok & Bhattarai, Rabin & Adamowski, Jan & Yu, David J., 2020. "Insights from socio-hydrological modeling to design sustainable wastewater reuse strategies for agriculture at the watershed scale," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    16. Kourgialas, Nektarios N. & Dokou, Zoi, 2021. "Water management and salinity adaptation approaches of Avocado trees: A review for hot-summer Mediterranean climate," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    17. Oliver Maaß & Philipp Grundmann, 2018. "Governing Transactions and Interdependences between Linked Value Chains in a Circular Economy: The Case of Wastewater Reuse in Braunschweig (Germany)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-29, April.
    18. Ana Allende & James Monaghan, 2015. "Irrigation Water Quality for Leafy Crops: A Perspective of Risks and Potential Solutions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-21, July.
    19. Cakmakci, Talip & Sahin, Ustun, 2021. "Improving silage maize productivity using recycled wastewater under different irrigation methods," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    20. Songtao Liu & Furong Yu & Jianuo Zhang, 2022. "Heavy-Metal Speciation Distribution and Adsorption Characteristics of Cr (VI) in the Soil within Sewage Irrigation Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-18, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:23:p:16230-:d:1286091. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.