Soil Contamination Indicators by Heavy Metals in A Silage Maize Field Irrigated with Recycled Wastewater under Biochar Treatment

The use of recycled wastewater in irrigation is a very effective approach to coping with water scarcity. However, the heavy metals (HM) content of recycled wastewater can cause serious concerns FOR the environment, agriculture, and animal health. For this reason, biochar, which is thought to have a significant potential in the treatment of HM, is used. However, biochar does not always produce promising results in the remediation of HM. This study investigated soil contamination indicators by HM by determining the contamination factor (CF), enrichment factor (EF), geographic accumulation index (GAI), and pollution load index (PLI), instead of directly examining the HM in the soil. The study, which tested the treatment of biochar in silage maize field, was carried out with 3-replications in two different conditions with biochar and non-biochar under two different water qualities: freshwater and recycled wastewater. As a result, it was determined that there was no-significant problem in terms of HM accumulation in the soil for CF, EF, GAI, and PLI values, which indicate soil pollution depending on the extent of HM pollution in the conditions of biochar treatment in the silage maize field irrigated with recycled wastewater, but Cd and Ni may pose a risk in terms of HM pollution in irrigation with recycled wastewater and under biochar conditions. Thus, as a result of the study, it can be suggested that HM, especially Cd and Ni, should be specifically monitored in the use of recycled wastewater in irrigation or in the treatment of biochar to the soil.<br>