title: Impact of treated urban wastewater for reuse in agriculture on crop response and soil ecotoxicity.
abstract: The scarcity of freshwater resources is a serious problem in arid regions, such as Tunisia, and marginal quality water is gradually being used in agriculture. This study aims to study the impact of treated urban wastewater for reuse in agriculture on the health of soil and food crops. The key findings are that the effluents of Sfax wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) did not meet the relevant guidelines, therefore emitting a range of organic (e.g., up to 90 mg L(-1) COD and 30 mg L(-1) BOD5) and inorganic pollutants (e.g., up to 0.5 mg L(-1) Cu and 0.1 mg L(-1) Cd) in the receiving aquatic environments. Greenhouse experiments examining the effects of wastewater reuse on food plants such as tomato, lettuce, and radish showed that the treated effluent adversely affected plant growth, photosynthesis, and antioxidant enzyme contents. However, the pollution burden and biological effects on plants were substantially reduced by using a 50 % dilution of treated sewage effluent, suggesting the potential of reusing treated effluent in agriculture so long as appropriate monitoring and control is in place.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Laboratory of Biodiversity and Aquatic Ecosystems, Ecology and Planktonology, University of Sfax-Tunisia, FSS, Street Soukra Km 3.5, BP 1171, CP 3000, Sfax, Tunisia. dalel_belhaj@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Dalel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Belhaj
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Water-Energy-Environment, University of Sfax-Tunisia, ENIS, Street Soukra Km 3.5, BP 1173, CP 3038, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Bouthaina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jerbi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Useful Material Valorization (LVMU), University of Sfax-Tunisia, FSS, BP 1171, CP 3000, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Mounir
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Medhioub
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, NSW, 2007, Australia.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Water-Energy-Environment, University of Sfax-Tunisia, ENIS, Street Soukra Km 3.5, BP 1173, CP 3038, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Monem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kallel
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Laboratory of Biodiversity and Aquatic Ecosystems, Ecology and Planktonology, University of Sfax-Tunisia, FSS, Street Soukra Km 3.5, BP 1171, CP 3000, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Habib
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ayadi
mesh_terms: D057914:Agricultural Irrigation / Q000379:methods*; D000383:Agriculture; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D005618:Fresh Water; D018545:Lactuca; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D014416:Tunisia; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000032:analysis; D060753:Water Quality
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Antioxidant; Crop plants; Ecotoxicology; Heavy metals; Treated wastewater irrigation