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Hydrophobic biochar enhances Escherichia coli retention in a sandy loam soil influenced by irrigation management

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Abstract

Microbial pollution of the groundwater and surface waters could endanger animal and human health as a serious environmental issue. Escherichia coli retention was investigated in the sandy loam columns amended with biochar under deficit irrigation (60%, 80%, 100%, and 120% of the field capacity). A pulse of bacteria (1.00 × 108 CFU ml–1) was poured on the soil surface. Two scenarios were conducted using HYDRUS-1D. The retention rate in all treatments at 0–10 cm was higher than the depths of 10–30. This was more significant in amended soil compared to the control soils. The first scenario (attachment, katt or straining, kstr) showed that katt values were at least 25 times greater than the kstr values, indicating that the physico-chemical process was dominant compared to the physical retention in both biochar treated and the control soils. The katt values calculated for the biochar-treated columns were increased as the deficit irrigation increased. The second scenario (physico-chemical, kdet2 or physical, kdet1 detachment) illustrated no significant difference between the kdet values in both sites, while the kdet2 values of the amended soil were less than the controls, indicating the contribution of biochar in cell attachment. Obvious greater values of katt compared to kstr approved the first scenario determining the fact that biochar's land application under deficit irrigation most probably enhances cell retention via attachment than straining.

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Acknowledgements

The authors greatly appreciate Shahrekord University for supporting this project.

Funding

This work was supported financially by Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Water Engineering, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran

    Z. Ahmadimoghadam & S. H. Tabatabaei

  2. Department of Agriculture, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

    N. Nourmahnad

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  1. Z. Ahmadimoghadam
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  2. S. H. Tabatabaei
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  3. N. Nourmahnad
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Correspondence to S. H. Tabatabaei.

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Editorial responsibility: Samareh Mirkia.

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Ahmadimoghadam, Z., Tabatabaei, S.H. & Nourmahnad, N. Hydrophobic biochar enhances Escherichia coli retention in a sandy loam soil influenced by irrigation management. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 20, 8399–8410 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-023-05002-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-023-05002-8

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