Wednesday, November 7, 2007
245-23

Denitrification in Municipal Wastewater-Irrigated Soils.

Chris Sheppard and Cary Green. 15th and Detroit, Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University, Plant & Soil Science Department, Lubbock, TX 79409-2122

Application of treated wastewater onto agricultural fields is a common practice for many cities and municipalities. Wastewater can contain high amounts of plant nutrients such as nitrogen, as well as a high level of salinity. As excess water is applied to leach the salts below the root zone, nitrogen can potentially be over applied, leading to leaching and groundwater contamination. One sink for the excess nitrogen is denitrification, which occurs under anaerobic conditions. These anaerobic conditions may be enhanced by the high leaching requirements associated with saline effluent water. The objective of this research is to quantify denitrification from soils irrigated with saline municipal wastewater. Our research will be conducted at 2 locations in West Texas. Denitrification will be evaluated as a function of depth and landscape position.