Effects of rural domestic sewage reclaimed irrigation and regulation on heavy metals, PPCPs, water and nitrogen utilization, and microbial diversity in paddy field

Shizong Zheng, Menghua Xiao, Lei Wang, Yuanyuan Li, Wanchuan Xiao, Dan Xu, Jiafang Cai

Abstract


Rural domestic reclaimed water (RDRW) is rural domestic sewage that being safely treated, the irrigation and reuse of RDRW are an effective way to alleviate the contradiction between supply and demand of water resources in South China. In this study, four kinds of irrigation water sources (primary and secondary treated water R1 and R2, purified water R3 and river water CK) and three kinds of water level regulations (low, medium, and high field water level control of W1, W2 and W3) were set to study the impact of RDRW on soil and crop safety, water and nitrogen utilization and biodiversity for establishing the regulation mechanism of RDRW irrigation with field experiment, and monitoring was carried out in RDRW irrigation demonstration area to assess the effectiveness of RDRW. The results showed that, under RDRW irrigation, the contents of Cd and Pb increased slightly, while the contents of Cr, Cu and Zn decreased in paddy soil. The heavy metals content decreased along the direction of stem, leaf and grain in rice plants, but did not increase significantly in rice grains. With the increase of field water level, pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) content in 60-80 cm soil layer was accumulated, and the PPCPs content in rice husks was higher than that in grains, but it was at a very low level. Compared to CK, RDRW irrigation can effectively increase rice yield, rainwater use efficiency (RUE) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) by 5.4%-7.6%, 6.7%-9.4% and 21.7%-24.2%, respectively, and the species diversity, community diversity and richness in rice fields were improved. Additionally, water level regulation of W3 with R2 water resource irrigation was conducive to the exertion of comprehensive benefits. The monitoring of demonstration area showed that the consumption of fresh water was reduced by 530 mm, yield was increased by 9.6%, and the soil and crop were both safety. Short-term irrigation of RDRW did not cause soil and crops pollution, however, it is still necessary to track and monitor the effect of the system on soil, crop, and underground water with long-term reclaimed water irrigation.
Keywords: reclaimed water irrigation, heavy metals, pharmaceutical and personal care products, water and nitrogen use efficiency, soil microbial diversity, technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution
DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20231604.7657

Citation: Zheng S Z, Xiao M H, Wang L, Li Y Y, Xiao W C, Xu D, et al. Effects of rural domestic sewage reclaimed irrigation and regulation on heavy metals, PPCPs, water and nitrogen utilization, and microbial diversity in paddy field. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2022; 16(4): 245–256.

Keywords


reclaimed water irrigation, heavy metals, pharmaceutical and personal care products, water and nitrogen use efficiency, soil microbial diversity, technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution

Full Text:

PDF

References


Boechat C L, Ribeiro M D O, Ribeiro L D O, Santos J A G, Accioly A M D A. Urban and industrial sewage sludge in the initial growth and quality of physic nut seedlings. Bioscience Journal, 2014; 30: 782–791.

David Z, Ramón B, Antonio S M, Silvia M P, Andrés G D. Influence of reclaimed water irrigation in soil physical properties of urban parks: A case study in Madrid (Spain). Catena, 2019; 180: 333–340.

Zhuang Y, Zhang L, Li S, Liu H, Zhai L, Zhou F, et al. Effects and potential of water-saving irrigation for rice production in China. Agricultural Water Management, 2019; 217: 374–382.

Xiao M H, Li Y Y. Mechanism of photothermal energy on the growth and yield of rice under water level regulation. Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, 2021; 90: 1131–1146.

Xiao M H, Li Y Y, Jia Y, Wang J W. Mechanism of water savings and pollution reduction in paddy fields of three typical areas in southern China. International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 2022; 15: 199–207.

Arjun P, Van T M, Duong Q V, Thi P L B, Thi L A M, Lars S J, et al. Organic matter and water management strategies to reduce methane and nitrous oxide emissions from rice paddies in Vietnam. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 2014; 196: 137–146.

Liu H, Ma F, Xu C, Wu W, Ma Z. Effect of irrigation with reclaimed water on quality and yield of winter wheat and summer corn. Transactions of the CSAE, 2010; 26: 82–86. (in Chinese)

Khamisi S, Prathapar S A, Ahmed M. Conjunctive use of reclaimed water and groundwater in crop rotations. Agricultural Water Management, 2013; 116: 228–234.

Alkhamis S A, Ahmed M, Al-Wardy M, Prathapar S A, Choudri B S. Effect of reclaimed water irrigation on yield attributes and chemical composition of wheat (Triticum aestivum), cowpea (Vigna sinensis), and maize (Zea mays) in rotation. Irrigation Science, 2017; 35: 87–98.

Chen W, Lu S, Pan N, Wang Y, Wu L. Impact of reclaimed water irrigation on soil health in urban green areas. Chemosphere, 2015; 119: 654–661.

Cheng X J, Xu D. Effects of carbon content on transport and transformation discipline of nitrogen in soil with wastewater irrigation. Transactions of the CSAE, 2012; 28: 85–90. (in Chinese)

Chen W, Lu S, Chi P, Jiao W, Wang, M. Accumulation of Cd in agricultural soil under long-term reclaimed water irrigation. Environmental Pollution, 2013; 178: 294–299.

Ugulu I, Khan Z I, Sheik Z, Ahmad K, Ashfaq A. Effect of wastewater irrigation as an alternative irrigation resource on heavy metal accumulation in ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) and human health risk from consumption. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 2021; 14: 702. doi: 10.1007/s12517-021-07073-8.

Chen W, Jian X, Lu S, Jiao W, Wu L, Chang A C. Fates and transport of PPCPs in soil receiving reclaimed water irrigation. Chemosphere, 2013; 93: 2621–2630.

Roberts J, Kumar A, Du J, Hepplewhite C, Ellis D J, Christy A G, et al. Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in Australia's largest inland sewage treatment plant, and its contribution to a major Australian river during high and low flow. Science of the Total Environment, 2016; 541: 1625–1637.

SEPAIQ (State Environmental Protection Administration, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China). Discharge standard of pollutants for urban sewage treatment plants, 2002; GB18918–2002. (in Chinese)

MEESAMR (Ministry of Ecology and Environment, State Administration for Market Regulation). Standards for irrigation water quality, 2021; GB5084–2021. (in Chinese)

Liu Y, Zhang J S. Application of TOPSIS method based on coefficient of entropy in water quality evaluation. Journal of Fujian Normal University (Natural Science Edition), 2010; 26: 109–114. (in Chinese)

Li Y, Li J, Zhao W, Wang Z. Review on irrigation technology applying sewage effluent-advances and prospects. Transactions of CSAM, 2015; 46: 102–110. (in Chinese)

Li L, He J, Gan Z, Yang P. Occurrence and fate of antibiotics and heavy metals in sewage treatment plants and risk assessment of reclaimed water in Chengdu, China. Chemosphere, 2021; 272: 129730. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.129730

Xiao M H, Li Y Y. Distribution characteristics and ecological risk assessment of heavy metals under reclaimed water irrigation and water level regulations in paddy field. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 2022; 31: 2355–2365.

Gottschall N, Topp E, Metcalfe C, Edwards M, Payne M, Kleywegt S, et al. Pharmaceutical and personal care products in groundwater, subsurface drainage, soil, and wheat grain, following a high single application of municipal biosolids to a field. Chemosphere, 2012; 87: 194–203.

Wang F H, Qiao M, Lv Z E, Guo G X, Jia Y, Su H Y, et al. Impact of reclaimed water irrigation on antibiotic resistance in public parks, Beijing, China. Environmental Pollution, 2014; 184: 247–253.

Christou A, Eliadou E, Michael C, Hapeshi E, Fatta-Kassinos D. Assessment of long-term wastewater irrigation impacts on the soil geochemical properties and the bioaccumulation of heavy metals to the agricultural products. Environmental Monitoring & Assessment, 2014; 186: 4857–4870.

Bastida F, Torres I F, Abadía J, Romero-Trigueros C, Ruiz-Navarro A, Alarcón J J, et al. Comparing the impacts of drip irrigation by freshwater and reclaimed wastewater on the soil microbial community of two citrus species. Agricultural Water Management, 2019; 203: 53–62.

Chopyk J, Nasko D J, Allard S, Bui A, Treangen T, Pop M, et al. Comparative metagsis of microbial taxonomic and functional variations in untreated surface and reclaimed waters used in irrigation applications. Water Research, 2020; 169: 115250. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2019.115250

Cakmakci T, Sahin U. Improving silage maize productivity using recycled wastewater under different irrigation methods. Agricultural Water Management, 2021; 255: 107051. doi: 10.1016/j.agwat.2021.107051

Li Z Y, Fan X Y, Qi X B, Qiao D M, Li P, Zhao Z J. Effect of reclaimed municipal wastewater on ryegrass growth and soil phosphorus conversion. Chinese Journal of Eco-Agriculture, 2012; 20: 1072–1076. (in Chinese)

Li P, Zhang J, Qi X, Du Z, Zhao Z. The responses of soil function to reclaimed water irrigation changes with soil depth. Desalination and water treatment, 2018; 122: 100–105.

Han H, Liu X, Gao R, Cui Y. Effect of water saving and emission reduction under reclaimed water irrigation of rice. Water Saving Irrigation, 2021; 12: 43–49. (in Chinese)

Maestre-Valero J F, Martin-Gorriz B, Nicolas E, Martinez-Mate M A, Martinez-Alvarez V. Deficit irrigation with reclaimed water in a citrus orchard. Energy and greenhouse-gas emissions analysis. Agricultural Systems, 2018; 159: 93–102.




Copyright (c) 2023 International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

2023-2026 Copyright IJABE Editing and Publishing Office