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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Soil Sci.
Sec. Soil Pollution & Remediation
Volume 4 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fsoil.2024.1448016
This article is part of the Research Topic Emerging Contaminants in Water-Soil-Plant Systems View all articles

Fate of Emerging Contaminants in the Soil-Plant System: A Study on Durum Wheat Irrigated with Treated Municipal Wastewater

Provisionally accepted
Michele Denora Michele Denora 1Andi Mehmeti Andi Mehmeti 2,3Vincenzo Candido Vincenzo Candido 1Gennaro Brunetti Gennaro Brunetti 4Francesco De Mastro Francesco De Mastro 4Sapia Murgolo Sapia Murgolo 5Cristina De Ceglie Cristina De Ceglie 5Giuseppe Gatta Giuseppe Gatta 6Marcella M. Giuliani Marcella M. Giuliani 6*Costanza Fiorentino Costanza Fiorentino 7*Michele Perniola Michele Perniola 1*
  • 1 Department of European and Mediterranean Cultures, University of Basilicata, Matera, Italy
  • 2 Istituto Agronomico Mediterraneo di Bari, Valenzano, Italy
  • 3 University of Basilicata, Potenza, Basilicata, Italy
  • 4 Department of Soil, Plant, and Food Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural Science, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
  • 5 Water Research Institute, Department of Earth System Sciences and Technologies for the Environment, National Research Council (CNR), Rome, Lazio, Italy
  • 6 Department of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources and Engineering Sciences, University of Foggia, Foggia, Apulia, Italy
  • 7 School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, Potenza, Basilicata, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Emerging contaminants in irrigation wastewater can cause bioaccumulation in crops, posing health risks to humans and other living organisms. The extent to which different emerging contaminants (ECs) are taken up by plants varies depending on the physicochemical properties of the contaminants and the type of crops grown. This study investigated the fate of emerging contaminants (ECs), particularly pharmaceuticals, in durum wheat grown on soils irrigated with treated wastewater in southern Italy. The experiment was conducted in lysimeters irrigated with wastewater during previous crop cycles, assessing the presence and distribution of ECs in both soil and plant tissues. Three different levels of exposure to ECs were compared: freshwater irrigation (FW), wastewater treated to European average contaminant levels (TWWx1), and a triple dose of contaminants (TWWx3). The behavior of 12 different ECs in the plant-soil complex was analyzed and found variable. Fluconazole and carbamazepine were found to have higher uptake concentrations in the plant, with accumulation observed in the plant and grain, especially in the TWWx3 treatment. However, some ECs (such as Sulfamethoxazole, Trimethoprim, Ketoprofen, Diclofenac, Metoprolol, and Naproxen) showed high uncertainties in their fate, probably due to degradation in soil and influential crop parameters. The results of this study contribute to the argument that the reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation, if properly monitored, can be a safe approach in agriculture and can support policymakers in developing future legislative frameworks for sustainable water management.

    Keywords: Cereals, emerging contaminants, wastewater reuse, Plant uptake, soil contamination, active compounds of pharmaceuticals; bioconcentration and translocation factors

    Received: 12 Jun 2024; Accepted: 23 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Denora, Mehmeti, Candido, Brunetti, De Mastro, Murgolo, De Ceglie, Gatta, Giuliani, Fiorentino and Perniola. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Marcella M. Giuliani, Department of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources and Engineering Sciences, University of Foggia, Foggia, 71122, Apulia, Italy
    Costanza Fiorentino, School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, Potenza, 85100, Basilicata, Italy
    Michele Perniola, Department of European and Mediterranean Cultures, University of Basilicata, Matera, 75100, Italy

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