A nature-based solution to water pollution: A viable option for urban forestry | [Soil and Environment • 2025]

Author(s):

1. Sajjad Hussain: Department of Forestry & Range Management, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

2. Muhammad Irfan Ashraf: Department of Forestry, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Sargodha,Sargodha,Pakistan

3. Muhammad Jawad Hussain: Department of Forestry & Range Management, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

4. Sami Ullah: Applied Statistics, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha,Sargodha,Pakistan

5. Muhammad Ibrahim Khan: Director,Forests, WWF-,Pakistan

Abstract:

Sewage water is one of the leading causes of pollution in developing countries. The key concern is its use for irrigating agriculture crops including vegetables and fruits in many low-and middle-income countries. Sewage water not only pollutes the land but also contaminates the edible produce due to accumulation of heavy metals and other poisonous material. This study not only provided a nature-based solution for disposal of toxic sewage water but also offered an economically viable option for urban forestry. Five tree species, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Populus deltoides, Pinus roxburgii, Platanus orientalis, and Melia azedarach were selected for the evaluation of growth performance and heavy metals accumulation. One-year-old saplings of these tree species were transplanted into pots and applied with fresh water (T0), 100 percent sewage water (T1) and 50 percent sewage water (T2). This study concluded that Eucalyptus and Populus species performed remarkably well in terms of biomass and heavy metals accumulation. Melia and Platanus are relatively slow-growing thus their biomass accumulation was lower than Eucalyptus and Populus but their heavy metal accumulation was ample. Heavy metal accumulations in plants were observed the most where watered with T1. The highest amount of Arsenic was 1.44 mg L-1 and Cobalt was 0.08 mg L-1 in Eucalyptus plants with T1. Zinc was under the safe limits in all samples analyzed, Lead was 137.37 mg L-1 in Eucalyptus plants with T1, very high compared to safe limits defined by World Health Organization (WHO). We recommend planting Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Populus deltoides, and Melia azedarach species for urban forestry in the Abbottabad region, using sewage water for irrigation.

Page(s): 41-52

DOI: 10.25252/SE/2025/253799

Published: Journal: Soil and Environment, Volume: 44, Issue: 1, Year: 2025

Keywords:

Heavy metals , Phytoremediation , Sewage water , Heavy metals , Forest , waterpollution , treespecies

References:

[1] Abreu-Junior C. H.,Firme L.P.,Maldonado C.A.B.,P. de Moraes Neto S.,Alves M.C.,Muraoka T.,Capra G.F. .2017 .Fertilization using sewage sludge in unfertile tropical soils increased wood production in Eucalyptus plantations. Journal of Environmental Management, 203 : 51-58.

[2] ADB. .2022 .Provincial strategy for inclusive and sustainable urban growth: Greater Abbottabad regional development plan technical assistance consultant's report. [Accessed, 13 : .

[3] Ali H.M.,Siddiqui M.H.,Khamis M.H.,Hassan F.A.,Salem M.Z.,El-Mahrouk E.S.M. .2013 .Performance of forest tree Khaya senegalensis (Desr.) A. Juss. under sewage effluent irrigation. Ecological Engineering, 61 : 117-126.

[4] Ali H.M.,El-Mahrouk E.S.M.,Hassan F.A.,ElTarawy M.A.,Swietenia mahagoni (L.) Jacq M.A. .2011 .Usage of sewage effluent in irrigation of some woody tree seedlings. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 18(2) : 201-207.

[5] Amin N.,Hussain A.,Alamzeb S.,Begum S. .2013 .Accumulation of heavy metals in edible parts of vegetables irrigated with waste water and their daily intake to adults and children. District Mardan, Pakistan. Food Chemistry, 136(3-4) : 1515-1523.

[6] Arora M.,Kiran B.,Rani S.,Rani A.,Kaur B.,Mittal N. .2008 .Heavy metal accumulation in vegetables irrigated with water from different sources. Food Chemistry, 111(4) : 811-815.

[7] Balkhair K.S.,Ashraf M.A. .2016 .Field accumulation risks of heavy metals in soil and vegetable crop irrigated with sewage water in western region of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 23(1) : S32-S44.

[8] Bhattacharya P.,Samal A.C.,Majumdar J.,Santra S.C. .2010 .Uptake of arsenic in rice plant varieties cultivated with arsenic rich groundwater. Environment Asia, 3(2) : 34-37.

[9] Bhatti M.F.,Ashraf M.I.,Masoom Z.,Malik S.U. .2017 .Impact of industrial effluents on growth of dominant tree species of Islamabad, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Botany, 49(5) : 1833-1839.

[10] Biswas S.K.,Mojid M.A. .2018 .Changes in soil properties in response to irrigation of potato by urban wastewater. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 49(7) : 828-839.

[11] Bourioug M.,Alaoui-Sehmer L.,Laffray X.,Benbrahim M.,Aleya L.,Alaoui-Sossé B. .2015 .Sewage sludge fertilization in larch seedlings: Effects on trace metal accumulation and growth performance. Ecological Engineering, 77 : 216-224.

[12] Chen G.H.,M.C. van Loosdrecht G.A.,Ekama G.A. .2023 .Biological Wastewater Treatment: Principles, Modeling and Design. 2nd edition. , : .

[13] Chu S.,Wu D.,Liang L.L.,Zhong F.,Hu Y.,Hu X.,Lai C.,Zeng S. .2017 .Municipal sewage sludge compost promotes Mangifera persiciforma tree growth with no risk of heavy metal contamination of soil. Scientific Reports, 7(1) : 13408.

[14] Crini G.,Lichtfouse E. .2019 .Advantages and disadvantages of techniques used for wastewater treatment. Environmental Chemistry Letters, 17 : 145-155.

[15] Ezugbe O.E. and S.,Rathilal O.E. and S. .2020 .Membrane technologies in wastewater treatment: A review. Membranes, 10(5) : 89.

[16] Farahat E. and H.W.,Linderholm E. and H.W. .2015 .The effect of long-term wastewater irrigation on accumulation and transfer of heavy metals in Cupressus sempervirens leaves and adjacent soils. Science of the Total Environment, 512 : 1-7.

[17] Imtiaz Z.F.,Ashraf M.I.,Khan S.,Goheer M.A.,Rafiq M.K.,Ahmad H.B.,O.E. Sakici. H.B. .2024 .Impact of industrial effluent on selected grass species. International Journal of Applied and Experimental Biology, 3(2) : 265-274.

[18] Iqbal M.A.,Chaudhary M.N.,Zaib S.,Imran M.,Ali K.,Iqbal A. .2011 .Accumulation of heavy metals (Ni, Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb) in agricultural soils and spring seasonal plants, irrigated by industrial waste water. Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2(1) : 1-9.

[19] Jones E.R.,van-Vliet M.,Qadir M.F.P.,Bierkens M.F.P. .2021 .Country-level and gridded estimates of wastewater production, collection, treatment and reuse. Earth System Science Data, 13(2) : 237-254.

[20] Khalid S.,Shahid M.,Bibi N.I.,Sarwar T.,Shah A.H.,Niazi N.K. .2018 .A review of environmental contamination and health risk assessment of wastewater use for crop irrigation with a focus on low and high-income countries. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(5) : 895.

[21] Kyene M.O.,Gbeddy G.,Mensah T.,Darko D.A. .2023 .Bioaccessibility and children health risk assessment of soilladen heavy metals from school playground and public parks in Accra, Ghana. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 195 : 1199.

[22] Liang H.,Khan Z.I.,Ahmad K.,Nisar A.,Mahmood Q.,Ebadi A.G.,M. Toughani. A.G. .2020 .Assessment of zinc and nickel profile of vegetables grown in soil irrigated with sewage water. Revista de Chimie, 71(4) : 500-511.

[23] Mahmud H.N.M.E.,A. K. O. Haq R. B.,Yahya R. B. .2015 .Removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater aqueous solution by polypyrrole-based adsorbent. RSC Advances, 6 : 14778-14791.

[24] Meng W.,Wang Z.,Hu B.,Wang Z.,Li H.,Goodman R.C. .2016 .Heavy metals in soil and plants after long-term sewage irrigation at Tianjin China: A case study assessment. Agricultural Water Management, 171 : 153-161.

[25] Mishra S.,Bharagava R.N.,More N.,Yadav A.,Zainith S.,Mani S.,Chowdhary P.,Arora N.K. .2019 .For Sustainable Future. , : 103-125.

[26] Mojid M. A.,A.B.M.Z. Hossain G.C.L.,Wyseure G.C.L. .2019 .Impacts of municipal wastewater on basic soil properties as evaluated by soil column leaching experiment in laboratory. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 19 : 402-412.

[27] Naser H.M.,Rahman M.Z.,Sultana S.,Quddus M.A.,Hossain M.A. .2018 .Heavy metal accumulation in leafy vegetables grown in industrial areas under varying levels of pollution. Bangladesh Journal of Agricultural Research, 43(1) : 39-51.

[28] Natasha M.,Shahid S.,Khalid B.,Murtaza H.,Anwar A.H.,Shah A.,Sardar N.K.,Niazi N.K. .2023 .A critical analysis of wastewater use in agriculture and associated health risks in Pakistan. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 45 : 5599-5618.

[29] Nathanson J.A.,Ambulkar A. .2021 .Wastewater treatment. com/technology/wastewatertreatment [Accessed, 13 : .

[30] Othman Y.A.,Al-Assaf A.,Tadros M.J.,Albalawneh A. .2021 .Heavy metals and microbes accumulation in soil and food crops irrigated with wastewater and the potential human health risk: A metadata analysis. Water, 13(23) : 3405.

[31] Sobolev D.,Begonia M.F.T. .2008 .Effects of heavy metal contamination upon soil microbes: Lead-induced changes in general and denitrifying microbial communities as evidenced by molecular markers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 5(5) : 450-456.

[32] Suarez D.L.,Gonzalez-Rubio A. .2017 .Effects of the dissolved organic carbon of treated municipal wastewater on soil infiltration as related to sodium adsorption ratio. pH. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 81(3) : 602-611.

[33] Ungureanu N.,Vlăduț V.,Voicu G. .2020 .Water scarcity and wastewater reuse in crop irrigation. Sustainability, 12(21) : 9055.

[34] UNIDO. .2000 .. -report/annual-report-2000 [Accessed, 30 : .

[35] UN-water ,- .2021 .-water-and-sanitation-for-. all/ [Accessed, 14 : .

Citations

Citations are not available for this document.

Citations

Downloads

Views