"ZOOM" SEMINAR
School of Mechanical Engineering Seminar
Wednesday, November 25, 2020 at 14:00
Impact of irrigation with different water qualities and nitrogen loads on the plant-soil-leachate-atmosphere continuum
A thesis submitted toward the degree of
Master of Science in Environmental Engineering
Maya Weinstein
Under the supervision of Prof. Hadas Mamane - The Environmental Engineering Program, School of Mechanical Engineering, TAU and Dr. Shahar Baram - Institute for Soil, Water and environmental sciences, Volcani Agricultural research center
To answer the food and water needs exacerbating by world population growth, alternative water sources and more efficient irrigation and fertilizing approaches need to be developed. To date, excess application of fertilizers harms the environment through leachates that contaminate surface and groundwater sources or through the emission of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Both processes are governed by a range of biogeochemical reactions. While the use of water of lesser qualities, such as saline and treated wastewater (TWW), may alleviate water shortage for agriculture, their application could change the soil structure and properties, and affect its fertility and oxygen availability and nutrient uptake ability of the plants. To address some of these pressing issues, the general objectives of this research were to investigate how the combinations of the different water qualities, salinity level, N fertilization, and drip system affects N management in the plant-soil-leachate-atmosphere continuum. Two lysimeter growing experiments were conducted, growing potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) and lettuce (Latuca sativa, L.) in a sandy soil. In both experiments, surface and subsurface drip systems were used. In each experiment, the plants were fertigated with TWW and desalinated water (DS) to which different levels of salinity (15 – 1200 mg-Cl/L) were added with increasing N concentrations (20 – 150 mg-N/L). An instrument array was used to monitor water content and oxygen concentration in the soil, along with N-losses to the environment as leachates and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. In the lettuce growing experiment, irrigation with TWW aerated with oxygen nanobubbles (ONB) was also evaluated as an additional means for improving yield and soil fertility.
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https://zoom.us/j/96584758181?pwd=WC9PMXdsYzJ3NFdEN2Q5ZUtOZEVjdz09 The meeting will be recorded and made available on the School’s site.
