Microbial activity and organic matter dynamics during 4 years of irrigation with treated wastewater |
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Authors: | Elifantz Hila Kautsky Larisa Mor-Yosef Maya Tarchitzky Jorge Bar-Tal Asher Chen Yona Minz Dror |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization-The Volcani Center, Beit Dagan, 50250, Israel;(2) Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel;(3) The Department of Soil and Water Sciences, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 76100, Israel; |
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Abstract: | The global changes in rainfall frequency and quantity have subjected arid and semi-arid regions to long periods of drought.
As this phenomenon corresponds to increasing trend of water shortage, the use of treated wastewater (TWW) has been suggested
as an alternative for irrigation of agricultural crops in these areas. The aim of the study was to investigate the short-
and middle-term effects of TWW irrigation on the soil microbial activities and organic carbon content. The microbial community
activity was measured every 1–3 months for 4 years in a persimmon (Diospyros kaki) orchard. These activities were used here as an indicator for the soil health. The hydrolysis activity (detected by fluorescein
diacetate hydrolysis (FDA) assay) increased during the irrigation season and was significantly higher in soils irrigated with
TWW compared to those irrigated with freshwater (FW). This activity was also negatively correlated with dissolved organic
carbon (DOC) concentrations during the irrigation season, suggesting that the community degraded the DOC in the soils regardless
of its origin. The irrigation season was also characterized by an increase in nitrification potential in both TWW- and FW-irrigated
soils, which coincided with high concentrations of nitrate (50 mg kg−1 soil). Overall, there was an increase in all measured activities during the irrigation season, and they were higher in the
TWW soils. However, it appears that after each irrigation season, the potential activity of the community returned to levels
similar to or even slightly lower than those of FW-irrigated soil during the wet season, suggesting that the periodic irrigation
did not significantly change the soil microbial activity. |
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