Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Mar 16;9(3):e14580.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14580. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Ecological risk assessment and heavy metals accumulation in agriculture soils irrigated with treated wastewater effluent, river water, and well water combined with chemical fertilizers

Hamed Soleimani  1   2 , Borhan Mansouri  3 , Amir Kiani  4   5 , Abdullah Khalid Omer  6 , Moslem Tazik  1 , Gholamreza Ebrahimzadeh  7 , Kiomars Sharafi  8   9
Affiliations

Ecological risk assessment and heavy metals accumulation in agriculture soils irrigated with treated wastewater effluent, river water, and well water combined with chemical fertilizers

Hamed Soleimani et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Contaminated irrigation water can increase trace heavy metals concentration in agricultural soil. The present research aimed to investigate the effect of three types of irrigation water sources, including treated wastewater effluent, Gharasoo river water, and well water with chemical fertilizer, on the accumulation and ecological risk of heavy metals in agricultural soils. Soil samples were collected before and after crop irrigation to evaluate heavy metal concentrations. The samples were analyzed to determine the presence of arsenic, nickel, cadmium, iron, chromium, zinc, lead, copper, and manganese. Based on the results, the concentration of essential metals in the soil before the irrigation process was more than toxic metals. The different irrigation sources increased the concentration of all heavy metals in the soil, and the accumulation of Cr, Ni, and Cd significantly elevated more than others. Irrigation resources' effectiveness in transferring heavy metals to the soil was obtained as treated wastewater effluent < well water with fertilizer < river water. Furthermore, the potential ecological risk index (RI) for irrigated soil was in a high-risk category. Therefore, it is recommended that the river water should not be used to irrigate vegetables to the utmost possible. Finally, the low heavy metals concentration and the presence of nutrients in treated wastewater effluent make this source the most suited source of irrigation because it eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers by farmers and transfers fewer heavy metals to the soil.

Keywords: Agriculture; Ecological risk assessment; Heavy metals; Irrigation resources; Soil pollution; Water reuse.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. Additional informationNo additional information is available for this paper.

Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The pattern of designated plots for the cultivation of vegetables and different irrigation types of water sources.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The comparison between different HMs (Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, As, Pb, Zn, Fe, and Mn) in the soil before and after irrigation using various irrigation water sources and the Iranian government's declared national standard.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The comparison between different HMs (Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, As, Pb, Zn, Fe, and Mn) in the soil before and after irrigation using various irrigation water sources and the Iranian government's declared national standard.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Accumulation of trace elements in irrigated soil by different irrigation methods.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Soleimani H., et al. vol. 102. 2022. Probabilistic and deterministic approaches to estimation of non-carcinogenic human health risk due to heavy metals in groundwater resources of torbat heydariyeh, southeastern of Iran; pp. 2536–2550. (International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry). 11.
    1. Badeenezhad A., et al. Effect of land use changes on non-carcinogenic health risks due to nitrate exposure to drinking groundwater. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Control Ser. 2021;28(31):41937–41947. - PubMed
    1. Karamia L., et al. Assessment of water quality changes during climate change using the GIS software in a plain in the southwest of Tehran province, Iran. Desalination Water Treat. 2019;148:119–127.
    1. Sharafi K., et al. The comparison of parasite eggs and protozoan cysts of urban raw wastewater and efficiency of various wastewater treatment systems to remove them. Ecol. Eng. 2012;44:244–248.
    1. Pirsaheb M., et al. Evaluation of abamectin, diazinon and chlorpyrifos pesticide residues in apple product of Mahabad region gardens: Iran in 2014. Food Chem. 2017;231:148–155. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources