title: Effect of irrigation with treated wastewater on soil chemical properties and infiltration rate.
abstract: In Tunisia, water scarcity is one of the major constraints for agricultural activities. The reuse of treated wastewater (TWW) in agriculture can be a sustainable solution to face water scarcity. The research was conducted for a period of four years in an olive orchard planted on a sandy soil and subjected to irrigation treatments: a) rain-fed conditions (RF), as control b) well water (WW) and c) treated wastewater (TWW). In WW and TWW treatments, an annual amount of 5000 m(3) ha(-1) of water was supplied to the orchard. Soil samples were collected at the beginning of the study and after four years for each treatment. The main soil properties such as electrical conductivity (EC), pH, soluble cations, chloride (Cl(-)), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), organic matter (OM) as well as the infiltration rate were investigated. After four years, either a significant decrease of pH and infiltration rate or a significant increase of OM, SAR and EC were observed in the soil subjected to treated wastewater treatment.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Environment and Biology of Arid Area, Department of Life Science, Faculty of Sciences, P.O. Box. 802, 3018 Sfax, Tunisia. Electronic address: saida_bedbabis@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Saida
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bedbabis
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Improvement of Olive and Fruit Trees' Productivity, Olive Tree Institute, P.O. Box. 1087, 3000 Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Béchir
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ben Rouina
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Environment and Biology of Arid Area, Department of Life Science, Faculty of Sciences, P.O. Box. 802, 3018 Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Makki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boukhris
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti, University of Bari 'Aldo Moro', via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferrara
mesh_terms: D057914:Agricultural Irrigation; D018556:Crops, Agricultural; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D062065:Wastewater
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Good quality water; Infiltration rate; Sodium adsorption ratio; Treated wastewater