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Research ArticleInteraction between Soil PhysicochemicalParameters and Earthworm Communities in IrrigatedAreas with Natural Water and Wastewaters
Kourtel GhanemNadra12 Kribaa Mohammed3 and El Hadef El Okki Mohammed4
1Agronomic Sciences Department Veterinary Sciences and Agronomic Sciences Institute Batna 1 University 05000 Batna Algeria2Ecology and Environment Department Faculty of Life and Natural Science Batna 2 University Fisdis Batna Algeria3Biology Departement Universite Larbi Ben Mrsquohidi Oum El Bouaghi 04000 Oum El Bouaghi Algeria4Institut National de lrsquoAlimentation Universite des Freres Mentouri de Constantine 1 Constantine Algeria
Correspondence should be addressed to Kourtel Ghanem Nadra nadra ghyahoofr
Received 6 March 2017 Revised 14 June 2017 Accepted 31 July 2017 Published 11 October 2017
Academic Editor Marco Trevisan
Copyright copy 2017 Kourtel Ghanem Nadra et alThis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionLicense which permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properlycited
Our objective is to study interaction between physical and chemical properties of soils and their earthworm communitycharacteristics in different areas irrigated by wastewaters and well waters The fields have different topography and agriculturalpractices conditions and are located in two regions of Batna department (Eastern Algeria) Both regions are characterized by asemiarid climate with cold winters and Calcisol soils Nine fields were subject of this study Three of these fields are located inOuled Si Slimane region whose irrigation is effectuated by natural waters of Kochbi effluentThe other six fields are located at edgesof Wed El Gourzi effluent from Batna city and partially treated through water treatment stationThe best rates of water saturationand infiltration as well as abundance of earthworms were recorded at sites characterized by irrigation with wastewaters downstreamof El Gourzi effluent PCA characterizes two major groups a group of hydrodynamic infiltration parameters and structural indexstability of soil explained by fields irrigated with wastewaters downstream of El Gourzi effluent This group includes chemicalcharacteristics pH and electric conductivity The second group is the characteristics of earthworms and includes organic mattercontent active limestone levels and Shannon Biodiversity Index
1 Introduction
Treated or untreated urban wastewater has been used com-monly for agricultural irrigation in arid and semiarid regionsof the world According to the estimations at least 20 millionhectares of agricultural land worldwide is irrigated withtreated and untreated wastewaters [1] In areas sufferingfrom water shortage such as arid and semiarid areas whereinsufficiency and water scarcity inevitably pose problemsespecially from the point of view of meeting quantitativeneeds of irrigation in agriculture the wastewater recyclingas a complementary water resource is interesting for cul-tivated soils to solve the problem posed in agriculture bywater resources insufficiency in these zones [2] Its use hasincreased recently because there are inadequate freshwaterresources The population suffering from water scarcity is
presently 11 of the total worldwide population it is esti-mated that the population with adequate water will be 38in 2025 [3]
Reuse of raw or treated agricultural wastewater is awidespread practice downstream of urban centers andmostlyin areas affected by water shortages [4] Although proscribedthis practice is appreciated by farmers because wastewater isa regularly available and abundant resource and contains thefertilizer needed to improve soil properties and yield crops[5 6]
Urban wastewater contains higher levels of organic mat-ter nutrients and pollutants (heavy metals and suspendedsolids) compared to fresh water Although wastewater appli-cation provides positive effects on soil properties and cropproductivity because of its high organic matter and macro-andmicronutrient contents the pollutants in wastewatermay
HindawiApplied and Environmental Soil ScienceVolume 2017 Article ID 5808945 16 pageshttpsdoiorg10115520175808945
2 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
cause some problems to soil and crops [7] Neverthelesswastewater compounds in particular affect soil porosity andhence hydrological properties [8] Nadav et al [9] indicatedthat the physicochemical properties of soils were altered withtreated wastewater irrigation because long-term wastewa-ter application caused the accumulation of organic matterin soil High organic matter in wastewater is cement forthe improvement of soil aggregates Therefore lower bulkdensity and higher infiltration and water retention havebeen obtained under the wastewater irrigation conditionsHowever suspended solids inwastewater negatively affect thesoil porosity
Earthwormrsquos activities of a mechanical or metabolicnature allow transforming organic matter recycling nutri-ents and transferring matter and energy between differenthorizons Their importance in mixing soil horizons has beenunderlined bymany authors [10ndash13] Earthworms have a veryimportant role for soil fertility they essentially favor theformation of clay-humic complexes anecic worms togetherfeed on organic and mineral matter increase stability ofaggregates and make it possible to unpack compacted soils[14] Above all they create loose structure elements in soilpossessing high porosity which increases useful reservesand allows good aeration this structure is very favorable togermination and nodulation of clover and increases yield ofcertain crops [15] Roots use earthworm galleries to grow [14]Earthworms alsomodify themicrobial communities throughdigestion stimulation and dispersion in casts Consequentlychanges in activities of earthworm communities as a result ofsoil management practices can also be used as indicators ofsoil fertility and quality [16] Despite the importance of thisfauna and work done on these organisms it is not importantin Algeria [17] In Algeria work on biodiversity of earth-worms is still insufficient This very varied biogeographicspace in terms of climate soil and vegetation from the littoralto the desert could reveal a great diversity of earthwormswith certainly species very adapted to the drought Studieson this subject are difficult on one hand identification andclassification of these organisms remain difficult due to lackof qualified taxonomists [18] and on the other hand study ofearthworms is not obvious due to several constraints relatedto nature of soil and the complexity of these organisms [19]
In this complex set of contexts we have found it interest-ing to contribute to studying the interaction between physicaland physicochemical properties of soil and the propertiesof earthworm community in El Madher region where soilsare cultivated and irrigated by the partially treated watersof El Gourzi effluent and are in incessant extension Wehave chosen Ouled Si Slimane area as a control field whichis irrigated by water from natural sources El Madher andOuled Si Slimane areas are located in Batna departmentcharacterized by a semiarid climate with cold winters andCalcisol soils according to WRB in 1999
2 Materials and Methods
21 Presentation of El Madher Region El Madher town islocated in the northeast part of Batna department at a dis-tance of 23 km from Batna town (Figure 1) The geographical
coordinates of this region are as follows latitude 35∘3710158405210158401015840Longitude 6∘2210158400910158401015840 It is at an altitude of 1100 meters
The geomorphology of this region is related to brittletectonics where a collapse zone corresponds to a plain and ahigh zone corresponds to the mounts Dj Bou Arif (1744m)Koudiat Tfouda in Dj Tafraout (1080m) and Dj Sarif(1744m) The hydrographic network is mainly representedby Gourzi effluent or El Madher river which springs fromBatna watershed and empties into the Chott Gadine with amultitude of Chaabas and Talwegs
Precipitation is very low distributed over a period of 30years (1985ndash2015) with total annual average precipitationof 31928mmyear The average monthly temperature rangeis from 523∘C in January to 2566∘C in July The GaussenOmbrothermic diagram shows a relatively long dry periodspreading from May to October The study area is classifiedaccording to Embergerrsquos Climogram in semiarid bioclimaticzone with cool winter and hot summer
22 Presentation of Ouled Si Slimane Region Ouled Si Sli-mane town is located in the western part of Batna departmentat a distance of 90 km (Figure 1) The chief town of Daıra islimited by the following Lambert coordinates 35∘371015840N forlatitude North and 5∘381015840 for longitude East with an averagealtitude of 760m
Themain geological structure of Ouled Si Slimane regionis divided into three strata as follows
(i) The mountainous region consists mainly of calcare-ous rocks of the Cretaceous
(ii) The plains consist mainly of calcareousmarls of lowerMiocene
(iii) There are also slopes and Wadis (rivers or effluents)Those are alluviums regs and terraces of the Quater-nary constituted principally of clays silt and pebbles
Hydrography is represented by an effluents network all ori-ented from north to south and from north to east of theregion This network is practically seasonal dry in summerand torrential in winter It includes Wed Laıoune and WedKochbi effluents
Precipitation is very low distributed over a periodof 25 years with total annual average precipitation of31812mmyear The Gaussen Ombrothermic diagram showsa relatively long dry period spreading from May to OctoberThe study area is classified according to Embergerrsquos Climo-gram in semiarid bioclimatic zone with cold winter and hotsummer
23 Selection and Description of Sampling Sites We selectedin our first study area six different siteswith different peculiar-ities of topography (upstream and downstream) vegetationagricultural practice and irrigation by wastewaters fromEl Gourzi effluent for more than 10 years These sites aredistributed along the effluent upstream at an altitude of 924mto downstream at an altitude of 868m for a distance of about25 km El Gourzi effluent is the main collector of sewagenetwork of the city of Batna as well as rainwater It is anopen effluent that crosses this town with a flow that varies
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 3
N
N5 5 6 6 7
Coordinate system WGS 1984 UTM Zone 31N and 32NProjection Transverse MercatorDatum WGS 1984
S SitesP Sampling points
3943000
3944000
3945000
3946000
3947000
3948000
3949000
3950000
3943000
3944000
3945000
3946000
3947000
3948000
3949000
3950000
254000 256000 258000 260000 262000252000
254000 256000 258000 260000 262000252000
34
35
35
36
36
34
35
35
36
36
5 6 6 75
2 6 10minus6 minus2minus10
18
22
26
30
34
38
18
22
26
30
34
38
minus10 minus6 minus2 2 6 10
3942596
3942764
3942933
3943101
3943269
740556 740792 741028 741264 741500
3942596
3942764
3942933
3943101
3943269
741500741028 741264740792740556
N
N
0 2 4(km)
0 0175 035(km)
S9S8
S7
EffluentCultivated fields
S5S6
S4
S3
S1S2
Effluent
Figure 1 Maps of localisation of study area and sampling sites at edges of El Gourzi and El Kochbi effluents
4 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Table 1 Average values of physicochemical characteristics of El Gourzi effluent wastewaters in 5 different upstream to downstream points[15]
Sites T∘C pH EC (dSm) MES (mgl) BOD5 mg (drsquoO2l) COD mg (drsquoO2100ml)1 131 866 2200 48025 2644 39822 135 832 2750 53003 22428 35763 134 821 2700 55226 42674 59734 131 782 2390 52509 26418 50345 129 755 1880 44921 15778 2707EC electric conductivity MES suspended matter BOD5 5-day biological oxygen demand COD chemical oxygen demand
Table 2 Range of nitrogen phosphorus heavy metals (ETM) and pathogens contents from 7 upstream to downstreamwastewater samplingpoints in El Gourzi effluent according to Tamrabet et alrsquos [20] study
Parameter NO3minusmgl
NH4+mgl
PO43minus
mglFemgl
Mnmgl
Cumgl
Mnmgl
Znmgl
FCG100ml
FSG100ml
Range values 325ndash64 585ndash1707 14ndash1345 014ndash408 514ndash91 060ndash066 514ndash91 028ndash074063 times
104ndash275 times104
07 times104ndash11 times
104
NO3minus nitrates NH4+ ammonium PO43minus orthophosphates Fe iron Cu copper Zn zinc Mn manganese FC fecal coliforms FS fecal streptococci Ggermsseeds
according to seasons Before leaving the city it passes throughindustrial zone where it collects in addition to urban wasteall industrial waste [20] Only a part of these discharges(15000ndash2000m3 per day) are treated in treatment stationbefore joining the effluent [21]
Maalem et Ghanem [22] studied the water quality ofEl Gourzi effluent at 5 upstream to downstream points heshowed that these wastewaters are characterized by highervalues of pH EC MES BOD5 and COD upstream thandownstream (Table 1) This was also proven in the studyof Tamrabet et al [20] According to the same study [20](Table 2) this effluent is generally more charged upstreamthan downstream by nitrates ammonium orthophosphatesiron copper zinc manganese fecal coliforms and fecalStreptococcus The process of evolution from upstream todownstream direction acts by current force on water flowitself on suspended matter flow mineral and organic matterand that of living organisms [23] In conditions of our studyarea problems of phytotoxicity by Trace Element Metals donot arise for the moment because of their low content on oneside and physicochemical characteristics of soil on the otherside The soil of El Madher region is of clay loam natureaccording to Marschner [24] these conditions favor theprecipitation of TEM However Alouni [25] mentions thatthe epidemiological risks of pathogens such as Salmonellaand Vibrio cholerae are zero Only the risks related to fecalcoliforms and fecal streptococci are latent in wastewaters
Three other sites in second studied area are irrigated withhealthy potable and unpollutedwaters fromKochbi and differonly in conditions of vegetation and cultural practices ElKochbi is the effluent from natural water source of KochbiThese sites are distributed in two localities of Guerza andTeniet El Abed at an altitude oscillating between 780 and849m for a distance of about 20 km
The sites are all characterized by fine granulometric sizetextures (Table 3)The sites are characterized by their culturalpractices (cereal cultivation and arboriculture) and tillageirrigation takes place according to climatic demands of cropsThe input of fertilizers is made as basic fertilizer every twoyears generally with plowing in form of NPK The siteschosen as control are the borders of effluent under naturalvegetation and without any practice they are influencedby their proximity to effluents and are wet by capillaryascension We carried out 5 sampling points of soil andearthworms in each of the sites In total 45 points werestudied (Table 4) in 2014 2015 and 2016 in spring period ofMarch April and May This period is the most suitable forremoving earthworms because the soil is moist and springtemperatures favor worm activity
24 Methods Sampling The method used is manual sorting[10ndash12] It is a physical method of extracting earthwormsEach sampling point consists of a single sample using ashovel with a volume of soil of 30 times 30 times 30 cm Wormswere collected at the same time as soil and stored in vialswith 4 formalin Soil sampling was carried out after sortingthe earthworms and deposited in labeled and numberedpolyethylene bags and taken to the laboratory
25 Methods of Soil Physical Properties Analysis Determina-tion of different particle size soil fractions was performedafter organic matter destruction and particles dispersionthe clay the fine loam and the coarse silt content wereestimated by Robinson pipette fine sand and coarse sand bysieving
Soil moisture at time of earthwormsrsquo removal was deter-mined after passing in oven set at 105∘C of a soil moist weight
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 5
Table 3 Textural classification of soils from sampling sites in El Madher and Ouled Si Slimane areas
Sites S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 sand 1420 1996 4577 3263 2982 3293 4624 3058 2544 silt 3302 4228 1505 3512 3075 4211 3205 6573 6707 clay 5278 3776 3919 3225 3942 2496 2171 369 749Textural class Clay Clay loam Clay loam Clay loam Clay Loam Loam Silt loam Silt loam
Table 4 Cropping practices characteristics in the selected sites at El Madher and Ouled Si Slimane areas
Station Cropping practices Topography Mean altitude (m) Water irrigation quality Year of studyS1 El Gourzi effluent edges Downstream 8640 Wastewaters 2016S2 Arboriculture (olive tree) Downstream 8624 Wastewaters 2016S3 Cereal farming (barleycornwheat) Downstream 8538 Wastewaters 2016S4 El Gourzi effluent edges Upstream 8748 Wastewaters 2015S5 Cereal crops (wheatalfalfa) Upstream 9034 Wastewaters 2015S6 Market gardeningcereal farming Upstream 9234 Wastewaters 2015S7 El Kochbi effluent edges Downstream 8084 Natural waters 2014S8 Arboriculture (olive tree) Upstream 786 Natural waters 2014S9 Cereal farming (wheatbarley) Downstream 7794 Natural waters 2014
for 24 hours It is estimated by the following formula
119867 = 119882119898 minus119882119889119882119889times 100 (1)
119867 is the soil moisture at time of earthworms removal119882119898is soil moist weight119882119889 is soil dry weight
Soil moisture at maximum retention capacity (Cr) wasestimated by submersion of soil samples by water untilsaturation Steaming is at 105∘C
The method measuring soil bulk density (Da gcm3)consisted in using metal cylinders of known volume(12660 cm3) Porosity (P) was calculated by bulk densitymeasurements and soil real density of 265 gcm3
Heninrsquos structural instability index (IS) according toMussy and Soutter [26] is by definition proportional to soilsensitivity phenomena of bursting on one side and of swellingdispersion on the otherThree samples of 10 g of a soil sampleof 300 g are taken without the destruction of the organicmatter previously sieved to dryness at 2mm Two of themare respectively treated with 5 cm3 of alcohol at 95∘ and5 cm3 of benzene After 5 minutes of imbibition the threesamples are suddenly immersed in water and then after halfan hour of contact sieved to 02mm which makes it possibleto determine the terms AgA AgB and AgE IS was expressedby the following relation
IS = Fraction Oslash lt 002mm (max)(AgA + AgB + AgE) 3 minus 09Sg
(2)
whereAgAAgB andAgE are fractions determined byweightwhich are collected after sievingwith a tamis of 02mmThese
fractions remain after immersion in respectively alcoholbenzene and water Sg is a fraction of sand included in AgAAgB and AgE fractions
The filtration rate K (h) at saturation was estimated fromDarcyrsquos sense by the method of a soil maintained in apermanent water flow K (h) was carried out by open PVCcylindrical tube at both ends having a diameter of 9 cmand a height of 40 cm and is gently pressed into soil layerand carefully removed without being disturbed A piece oftulle is put on using an elastic ring at the bottom of thetube Water soil infiltrating in a beaker is collected every 5minutes in a test tube to determine volume This happensuntil reaching a constant volume during 1 hour K (h) sat(mmh) is determined for the water heights of 005 03 06and 1 kPa and calculated by (3) of Darcy law cited by Mussyand Soutter [26]
119870(cmsdothminus1) = 119864 sdot 119881119867 sdot 119878 (3)
where 119864 is height of soil column by cm119881 is percolated waterfor 1 hour of infiltration by cm3119867 is height of water columnby cm 119878 is internal section of tube by cm2
26 Methods of Soils Chemical Properties Analysis The pHand electrical conductivity (EC) were measured by directreading on a pH meter and conductivity meter in a suspen-sion with a soilwater ratio of 1 25 and 1 5 respectively [27]
Determination of organic matter content (OM) is per-formed using the Walkley and Black method which is basedon the oxidation of carbon with potassium dichromate instrongly acid media [28]
6 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Total CaCO3 is determined by volumetric method ofthe ldquoBernard Calcimeterrdquo while active CaCO3 is deter-mined by contact with a specific extraction reagent ldquoammo-nium oxalaterdquo at 02N
27 Methods Studying Earthworms The determination oftaxa concerns only adult worms In this study we tried touse much more external characters of worms collected usinginternal anatomical features for certain taxa to determinespecies in questionThe external and internal characters usedare those explained by Bouche and Bachelier [10 11] The keychosen for taxa determination is modified by Blakemore in2007 [29] For classification of ecological categories we usedthat of Bouche [10 30] which was used by Bazri [31] in hisstudy of the Northern Algerian earthworm population
Abundance is expressed as point abundance that is totalnumber of earthworms present in a sampling point and isexpressed as number of individuals per m2
Earthworm biomass is expressed as population biomasstaken and expressed by individual biomass (weight of eachworm) andwormpoint biomass (total weight of worms takenat a sampling point)
To estimate diversity of earthworm community for eachsite we used Shannon diversity index derived from a functionestablished by Shannon and Wiener which became theShannon diversity index
Value of Shannon diversity index 1198671015840 varies between 05and 45 bits and is given by the following formula [32 33]
1198671015840 = minussum Pi log2Pi (4)
where Pi (see (5)) is number of species 119894 individuals in relationto total number of individuals identified (119873)
Pi = ni119873 (5)
This index is independent of sample size and takes intoaccount distribution of individuals number per species [34]
3 Results and Discussion
31 Soil Compartment
311 Physical Properties of Soil The means of soil moisture(H) at moment of sampling of earthworm are in Table 5These close rates of soil moisture among the nine sites seemto be more favorable to the biological activity of earthwormsThese moisture levels are due to spring irrigation or precip-itation Average of highest water retention rate (Cr) wasrecorded at S1 S4 and S7 at border of effluents Overallmean water retention rates in study sites appear to be closelyrelated to fine particle contents of study fields especially at theedges of effluents downstream where they are deposited aftertraining by the flow of water Meanwhile Mojid andWyseure[35] determined enhanced water retention capacity values inthe wastewater irrigation conditions compared to fresh waterirrigation
Porosity is highest in S2 characterized by wastewatersdownstream and by cereal crops while it was lowest at
P
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1000
10002000300040005000600070008000
()
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 2 Total porosity average in study sites
S7 at edges of natural water Kochbi effluent (Figure 2)Effectively Gharaibeh et al [36] noted that irrigation treatedfor long periods with wastewaters resulted in slight decreasein bulk density compared to the control Many researchesobtained lower bulk density or higher porosity values underwastewater irrigation [35 37 38] Moreover elevation ofdissolved organic matter in treated wastewaters is reportedto causeincrease clay dispersion by reducing the differentialviscosity of clay suspensions and decreasing the attractionforces between clay particles [39] Wang et al [40] indicatedthat wastewater irrigation caused a slight increase in soilcompaction Particularly high-suspended solid concentra-tion in wastewater may increase the bulk density whilelower concentrationsmay not significantly affect it [41]Thesevalues reflect on one hand the plowing practices in the studysites and on the other hand a less favorable effect of theaccumulation of organicmatter in the fields located upstreamof the effluent
Structural stability is better in S6 characterized by irriga-tion with wastewaters upstream and alternations of vegetablecrops and cereal crops (Figure 3) It is low in S8with irrigationby natural waters and arboriculture Indeed Kirkham [42]notes that inputs of sludge in successive 4 years have raisedorganic matter content of soil of the first 15 cm from 12to 24 Input of organic matter and calcium ions play afavorable role in cements stability which causes improvementof soil particles This same author underlined an improve-ment of unfavorable structures for clayey soils followingapplication of sludge Also Gharaibeh et al [36] noticed thataggregate stability (AS) results revealed that irrigation withtreated wastewaters significantly increased the percentage ofstable soil aggregates compared to the control Miller andKemper [43] observed increases in water-stable aggregates atleast for one growing season following alfalfa incorporationafter which there was a decreaseThey attributed this increaseto the production of cementing substances throughmicrobialactivity by fungal and actinomycete mycelia which providessubstrates to stabilize soil aggregates However Vogeler [38]
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 7
Table5Re
sults
ofstatisticalanalyses
ofph
ysicochemicalcharacteris
ticsindifferent
sites
ofthes
tudy
Region
Varia
bles
Sites
Htimestimestimes
Istimestimestimes
Crtimestimestimes
Da
gcm3timestimestimes
Ptimestimestimes
K005
kpatimestimestimes
K03k
patimestimestimes
K06k
patimestimestimes
K1kpatimestimestimes
MOtimestimestimes
ECdS
mtimes
CaC
o 3
tottimestimestimes
CaC
o 3
acttimestimestimes
pHtimestimestimes
ElMadher
(sitesirrigated
bywastewaters
downstre
amof
ElGou
rzieffluent)
S1M
2506
039
3844
087
6513
981
453
278
129
273
071
2646
990
849
SD5294
0051
2527
0092
3475
0473
0839
0422
0134
1225
0611
2962
4129
0162
S2M
2262
046
2759
073
7049
2636
1089
606
310
174
060
4338
1265
844
SD2566
0072
5259
0031
1175
2231
1401
1091
0299
0830
0294
6118
4072
0134
S3M
2787
029
2873
100
6030
2491
1444
707
341
366
053
2353
1245
855
SD6137
0137
1818
0079
296
410
000610
0358
0172
0563
0175
240
70371
0049
S4M
2497
031
3606
084
6628
1589
667
383
191
643
028
3691
2492
768
SD5294
0125
0816
0039
1466
1649
1536
0477
0191
2065
0039
9423
5450
0216
S5M
2233
023
2851
092
6330
2585
946
420
243
512
020
3131
2032
796
SD2566
0094
3069
0015
0551
2346
264
20919
0274
0980
0081
3387
2803
0206
S6M
2497
019
3323
088
6494
2228
1183
518
390
628
036
2910
3560
793
SD6137
0056
2148
0024
0907
1822
1006
0917
0826
1492
0159
5266
5265
0335
Ouled
SiSlim
ane
(sitesirrigated
bynaturalw
ater
ofEl
Kochbieffl
uent)
S7M
4566
050
3059
108
5734
1080
589
346
157
249
026
5823
1180
783
SD6310
0122
7061
0113
4282
0489
0495
0200
0111
0493
0034
3984
4712
0055
S8M
2682
086
2786
093
6308
1918
1489
751
381
172
021
5369
1570
775
SD3191
006
64382
0032
1207
3878
1134
0593
0360
0433
0036
646
82683
0031
S9M
2463
078
2494
097
6155
1947
1306
724
319
212
059
5182
1800
792
SD3944
0089
344
60091
344
23274
0806
0501
0212
0461
0291
1505
4077
0073
Ranges
valuessite
Max
S7S8
S1S7
S2S2
S8S8
S6S4
S1S7
S6S3
Min
S5S6
S9S2
S7S1
S1S1
S1S2
S5S3
S1S8
ANOVA
results
EffectF
d8
88
88
88
88
88
88
8F
628
3086
654
1138
1117
3944
4153
3531
3802
1519
275
1607
2062
1968
P000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
00017
000
0000
0000
0timestimestimesHighlysig
nificanttimesSign
ificantN
Sno
tsignificantMm
ean
SDstand
arddifferenceF
Fischern
umberP
prob
abilitylevelFd
freedom
degree
8 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Is
000010020030040050060070080090100
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 3 Average of Heninrsquos structural stability index in study sites
K (h) saturated
K (005 kpa)K (03 kpa)K (06 kpa)K (1 kpa)
000
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
(mmmiddotB
minus1)
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
Figure 4 Saturated hydraulic conductivity average at differentwaterpotential in study sites
attributed higher AS value to the higher total carbon contentor to the composition of soil organic matter in areas irrigatedfor long periods with treated wastewaters compared with thecontrol block
The best rates of filtration at saturationKs (h) for 005 kPasuction were recorded in S2 and S3 sites characterized bywastewaters downstream of El Gourzi effluent (Figure 4)But globally for this pressure Ks is more important in theirrigated wastewaters For the other pressures differenceis less remarkable Rapid infiltration capacity of a soil isestimated by macroporosity Rabbi et al [44] mention thatpercentages of clay bulk density and porosity have a stronginfluence onKsThese results are in agreement with Bardhanet al [45] who reported a decrease in the infiltration rate dueto clogging of soil pores by suspendedmaterials present in thetreated wastewaters Previous studies with similar soil texture(clay) of the current study reached the same conclusion that
application of wastewater resulted in pore clogging whichleads to reduced soil porosity and subsequently a decrease inthe soil infiltrability [46]
Meanwhile Morel et al [47] showed that permeabil-ity of a soil increases significantly in plots enriched withsludge as organic matter richness of sludge improves waterbalance and increases reserve of useful water this favorsprocesses of stabilization of soil aggregates and in particulargives soil a better permeability in relation to a more stablestructure There is a close relationship between the poresize distribution and soil water content due to the factthat macropores control the aeration and drainage meso-pores control the water conductivity micropores controlthe water retention and the most available water for plants[48]
312 Chemical Soil Properties The pH (Table 5) in studyfields showsmoderate alkalinity in sites irrigated with naturalwaters as well as fields irrigated by wastewater upstreamThepH levels aremore alkaline in sites downstreamofwastewatereffluent than in the sites with upstreamwastewaters Standarddeviations between pHvalues of sampling points of sites oftenirrigated by upstream wastewater are much greater Schipperet al [15] indicate that soil pH increases as a result of along period of irrigation with wastewater They attribute thisincrease to chemical composition of cations effluent such asNa Ca and Mg The pH of soil irrigated with wastewaterdecreases following oxidation of organic compounds andnitrification of ammonium [49ndash51]
Electrical conductivity values are the lowest at samplingpoints of S5 characterized by irrigation by wastewaterupstream of El Gourzi effluent Standard deviation valuesare much higher at sampling points of S1 as previouslydescribed Contrary to the results mentioned in the work ofMaalem andGhanem [22] on the values of ElGourzi effluentrsquoswastewaters which are higher upstream than downstreamthe soil has higher CE values downstream than upstreamThis could be due to the organic matter which acts as abuffer In a general way according to standards presentedby DIAEADRHASEEN in El Oumlouki et al [52] ECof various treatments soils of our experimentation remainsweak
The organic matter is lowest at S8 with well waterirrigation and arboriculture (Figure 5) It is highest at S4upstream of El Gourzi effluent border Indeed Tamrabet etal [6] reported that a comparison of control soil averages andirrigated soils by wastewater shows that irrigation with thiswastewater has a very significant effect on OM improvementHowever many other studies showed increase in the OMwithin creased period of treated wastewaters irrigation [3853 54] This is the case in our study Moreover high claycontent of soil may physically protect the OM from thedecomposition
The average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is lowest atS3 downstream of El Gourzi effluent It is highest at Kochbinatural water effluent border These values are generallystrongly to very strongly calcareous according to gradingscale proposed by GEPPA in Baize [27] The limestone levelsappear to be related to soil pH
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9(
)
OM
000
200
400
600
800
1000
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 5 Organic matter rate percentage average in study sites
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 6 Earthwormsrsquo total abundance in different sites of study
32 EarthwormCompartment (Table 6) The total abundanceand biomass average of earthworms at different samplingpoints of study sites are the lowest in S9 with irrigation bynatural waters of El Kochbi effluent and cereal crop Theywere the highest in S5 with irrigation by El Gourzi wastewaterupstream and cereal growing (Figure 6) This abundance wasrepresented by 54 of adults and 46 of juvenile worms(Figure 7) Our results explain a negative effect of plowingon the abundance and biomass of earthworms Contrariwisethe irrigation with wastewaters improves significantly theirabundance and biomass In Bazri et alrsquos [17] study the densityof earthworm in eastern Algeria from the coast to the desertwas respectively 600 plusmn 141 to 2960 plusmn 1183 individualsm2and 028 plusmn 039 to 1313 plusmn 794 gm2 These results are almostsimilar to those of Omodeo andMartinucci [55] in NorthernAlgeria who found earthworm densities ranging from 110to 127 individualsm2 and biomass ranging from 125 to30 gm2 Edwards and Bohlen [56] explained that soils with
54Abd adult
46Abd juv
Individualm2
Figure 7 Total abundance percentage of earthworms in study sites
34Ap t
33Ap r
0Ap C
Am10
Oc2
E t3 20
P an
Individualm2
Figure 8 Earthwormsrsquo global specific abundance percentage
low organic matter contents usually do not support highdensities of earthwormsThe highest values are usually foundin fertilized pastures and the lowest ones are in acid or aridsoils [12 57]
Taxonomic study was carried out on a total of 594 adultworms The taxonomic key and nomenclature quoted byRougerie et al [18] allowed classification of 7 species of Lumb-ricidaeAporrectodea trapezoides (Duges 1828)Aporrectodearosea (Savigny 1826)Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny 1826)Allolobophora molleri (Rosa 1889) Octodrilus complana-tus (Duges 1828) Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedra (Savigny1826) and Proctodrilus antipai antipai (Michaelsen 1891)Percentage of overall specific abundance shows dominanceof Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrectodea rosea(Figure 8)
Ap trapezoides is present in greater quantity (134individualsm2) in S7 characterized by nonpractical plowingand natural vegetation at Kochbi edge where there is healthynatural water (Figure 9) However Ap rosea is present ingreater amounts (130 and 120 individualsm2) in S4 and S5at edges of effluent and irrigated by wastewaters upstreamPr antipai is the most dominant species in S6 characterizedby wastewater irrigation upstream of the effluent and arbori-culture On biomass Ap trapezoides is highest (1248 gm2)in S7 at edges of natural water effluent Ap rosea is presenton a biomass of 117 gm2 in S5 irrigated by wastewaters andcharacterized by cereal cultivation These results allow us todeduce that wastewaters have intense effect on developmentof earthwormrsquos biodiversity Species Ap rosea was the mostconcerned by this improvement
Bazri et al [17] noted in their study that it is curious andhard to explain that Ap trapezoides the most common and
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Table6Re
sults
ofstatisticalanalyses
ofearthw
ormsrsquocharacteris
ticsindifferent
sites
ofthes
tudy
Region
Varia
bles
Sites
Abt
Tottimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
adttimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
juvtimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
tottimestimestimes
Abd
endo
timestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
epigN
S
(Indm2)
Abd
anectimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
endo
timestimestimes
(gm2)
Biom
epigN
S
(gm2)
Biom
anectimestimestimes
(gm2)
IDS
ElMadher
(sitesirrigated
bywastewaters
downstre
amof
ElGou
rzieffluent)
S1M
1660
520
1140
508
300
040
180
184
016
080
1945
SD13939
3493
10455
3513
0707
0548
2490
0689
0230
1131
S2M
1940
1120
920
1035
460
000
660
207
000
651
1401
SD3647
2950
3899
1041
2074
000
02191
1324
000
02063
S3M
980
300
700
565
240
000
080
359
000
066
1425
SD16
4310
000707
1832
1140
000
0044
72086
000
00521
S4M
4380
3440
900
2004
2800
200
520
1056
137
752
2192
SD13755
1616
53536
5726
21319
346
45541
8248
2614
7712
S5M
4960
2680
2280
3756
1980
000
700
1886
000
938
1759
SD7162
6496
11167
6361
7014
000
03082
6887
000
03190
S6M
3860
2140
1720
1922
1540
080
540
640
012
633
1799
SD22041
9813
13498
8450
5320
1789
3507
1620
0264
3985
Ouled
SiSlim
ane
(sitesirrigated
bynaturalw
ater
ofEl
Kochbieffl
uent)
S7M
3440
1520
1840
2105
060
000
1460
017
000
1411
0636
SD6229
5586
9099
7948
0894
000
05639
0244
000
07175
S8M
700
120
580
289
060
000
060
052
000
047
0906
SD4416
1789
3962
2627
1342
000
00894
1167
000
00663
S9M
260
040
220
221
000
020
020
000
019
019
1SD
2793
0548
2683
2308
000
0044
7044
7000
00434
0420
Ranges
values
(site)
Max
S5S4
S5S5
S4S4
S7S5
S4S7
S4
Min
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S8S2S3
S5S7S8
S9S7
ANOVA
results
EffectF
d8
88
88
88
88
8
F1340
1461
366
2595
868
127
981
1400
124
755
P
000
00003
000
0000
0000
00287
000
0000
00301
000
0
timestimestimesHighlysig
nificantNSno
tsignificantMm
ean
SDstand
arddifferenceIndm2ind
ividualm2F
Fisc
hern
umberP
prob
abilitylevelFd
freedom
degree
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
Ap tAp rAp CAmOc
E tP an
0050
100150200250300
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alG
2)
Figure 9 Earthwormsrsquo specific abundance average in study sites
dominant species was not previously quoted by other authorsworking on Algerian lumbricoid fauna Possible explanationsinclude identification problems in this complex group ofspecies recent introduction and posterior expansion orolder introduction as suggested by the large geographicdistribution of the species In the semiarid regions the taxonA molleri is important it locates preferentially in wet points(notably at the edge of effluents) In mountains of semiaridregions the species O complanatus dominates As for Aprosea it is the only one observed in arid bioclimatic stage atpoints where there is sufficient water
Among the 7 species inventoried (Figure 10) the endo-geic species accounted for 62 (Ap rosea A molleri Pantipai and Ap caliginosa) epigeic species for 3 (E tetrae-dra) and anecic species for 22 (O complanatus and Aptrapezoides) the latter may be considered as anecic endogeicor endoanecic because it varies according to the strain
Bouche [10] separated earthworms into three categoriesbased on morphological and behavioral characteristicsEpigeic species are consumer litter living and feeding on orsurface soil Anecic earthworms live in permanent verticalburrows within the soil and may emerge to feed on surfacelayer endogeic species live in temporary horizontal burrowsand feed on the soil This species is geophagous since itgains its nutrients by eating the soil and the green morph ischaracterized by Bouche [10] as more epigeic
Endogeic abundance is much higher in S4 at edgesupstream of the El Gourzi effluent which is without culturalpractices (Figure 11) However S7 at edges of El Kochbi efflu-ent from natural waters without cultural practices is betterrepresented by an anecic population The epigeic populationis important only on S4 and S6 upstream of the wastewatereffluent Endogeic earthworms are a major component of soilfauna communities in most natural ecosystems of the humidtropics [58]
The Shannon diversity index of different study sites is thelowest at S7 corresponding to edges of Kochbi effluent It isthe highest at S4 characterized by wastewaters upstream of ElGourzi effluent and any cultural practices This result allows
62Abd endo
3Abd epig
35Abd anec
Individualsm2
Figure 10 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance average
Abd endoAbd epigAbd anec
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 11 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance in studiedsoil sites
us to deduce that wastewater loaded with organic matterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
33 ANOVA Statistical analysis with the Newman-Keulsmultiple comparison posttest at 119875 le 005 (Table 5) revealeda highly significant effect of different irrigation practices andcultural practices on soilrsquos physical parameters (Is Cr PK 005 K 03 K 06 and K 1) Water retention infiltrationand hydraulic conductivity are among the soilrsquos hydraulicproperties affected by soil porosity and pore size distribution[40 59] Spatial variability of soilrsquos physical properties withinor among agricultural fields is inherent in nature due togeologic and pedologic soil forming factors but some of thevariability may be induced by tillage and other managementpracticesThese factors interact with each other across spatialand temporal scales and are further modified locally byerosion and deposition processes [60] In the regions witha cool climate soils are exposed to freeze-thaw cyclesespecially in the spring period Aggregation and therefore soilstructure may be either positively or negatively affected byfreeze-thaw cycles [61] Therefore the impacts of wastewater
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S1S2
S3S4
S5
S6
S7
S8S9
IsCr
Da
PK (005)
K (03)
K (06)K (1)
MO
CE
Ctot
CactifPH
Abt tot
Abd adult
Abd juv
Abd Ap t
Abd Ap r
Abd Ap CAbd Am
Abd Oc
Abd E t
Abd P an
Bio tot
Abd endoAbd epig
Abd anec
IDS
Biplot (axes F1 and F2 6186)
minus5
minus4
minus3
minus2
minus1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
F2 (1
996
)
minus7 minus6 minus5 minus4 minus3 minus2 minus1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8minus8F1 (4190)
Figure 12 PCA graph of interaction between studied soil properties
irrigation on main soil properties in agricultural areas undercool climate conditions may be different
ANOVA reveals highlight at very highly significant effectof different irrigation practices and cultural practices onstudied chemical parameters of soil (MO CE CaCO3 totCaCO3 act and pH) Effectively the soilrsquos physical propertiesare associated with nutrient applied and environmental soilscience availability solute andpollutantmovementmicrobialactivity and soil organic matter stabilization [62]
On parameters of earthworm characteristics (Table 6)ANOVA revealed a significant effect of study sites differencesexcept for Ap caliginosa and E tetraedra tetraedra speciesrsquoabundance The significant effect of sites has been wellrevealed on endogeic and anecic abundance However thereis no significant effect of different irrigation and croppingpractices on epigeic abundance
34 PCA In order to study interaction between physico-chemical soil parameters and earthworm communities ofstudied sites Principal Component Analysis (PCA)was usedThis procedure makes it possible to group or distributethe sampling sites around principal axes in function of thephysicochemical and earthwormparameters thus facilitatingobservation of possible links between variables and placeswhere they are most represented (Figure 12)
Contribution of principal axes to total variation is 4190for axis 1 and 1996 for axis 2 which makes a total of6186 which is well acceptable On variables distributiongraph both axes 1 and 2 contrast two groups of variablesbiological parameters of earthworms (total biomass totalabundance and adult wormsrsquo abundance) and physical infil-tration parameters (infiltration at saturation K 005 kPa K03 kPa K 06 kPa and K 1 kPa) The first group of biologicalvariables is represented by S5 site characterized by irrigationswith wastewaters upstream of El Gourzi effluent and by cereal
crop (wheatalfalfa) The group of infiltration characteristicsis represented by S2 and S3 sites These sites are irrigatedwith downstream wastewaters and characterized by cerealand arboreal crops This group includes physicochemicalcharacteristics pH and EC Axis 1 is intensely correlatedwith structural stability index and water retention capacityIt divides the characteristics of earthworms studied into twosubgroups One of them is well represented by S4 and S6 withirrigation by wastewater at upstream This group includesOM and active CaCO3 as well as Shannon Biodiversity Index
Francis and Fraser [63] and Capowiez et al [64] reportedthat galleries excavated by terrestrial bioturbation activitycontributed to water transfers Also Bottinelli et al [65]and Peres et al [66] reported that earthworms contribute toimproving soil porosity Indeed the PCA groups the S4 S5and S6 sites with abundance and biomass of earthworms andsoil porosity For his part Supersperg [67] found that annualapplications of liquid sludge cause an increase in compactnessof a heavy soil by clogging and a decrease in pores volume
By this PCA it can be deduced that very high organiccharge of partially treated waters has negative repercus-sions on hydraulic conductivity if this load exceeds certaindoses because the PCA rallied the hydraulic conductivityat saturation by different pressures applied to S1 S2 and S3sites downstream of El Gourzi effluent as well as S8 andS9 sites irrigated with natural waters of El Kochbi effluentThis is contradictory to the results of Minhas and Samra[68] and Ababsa et al [69] who have worked on the effectof earthworms on hydraulic conductivity in soils irrigatedby wastewaters Meanwhile our findings concur with theworks of some authors Wang et al Viviani and Iovino andMolahoseini [40 46 70] who have to work on the same axisof research
This opposition of results can be explained bymore or lessrapid duration of organic matter evolution of wastewaters
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 13
This change in state of OM from pores plugging form tosoil stabilizing and structuring form is closely related to soilphysicochemical parameters (pH active CaCO3 and EC)Indeed Callot and Dupuis [71] assume the role of activeCaCO3 in protection and conservation of organic matterin carbonate soils Active CaCO3 thus acts as a protectoragainst biological degradation of organic matter of these soilsto make it a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition[72] All the soils being studied are carbonate soils theiractiveCaCO3should play an important role in humificationprocess by rapidly sequestering lignified organic compoundsas inherited or residual humus [28]
4 Conclusion
Our objective was to study interaction between earthwormcommunity characteristics and physicochemical propertiesof soils characterized by irrigation with wastewaters andwell waters in conditions of different topography (upstreamand downstream) and cropping practices (natural vegetationcereal cultivation and arboriculture) in two regions of Batnadepartment
The results show that the maximum water retentioncapacity is better explained by the fine texture of the soilat the effluent border The porosity and rates of infiltrationat saturation are higher in sites characterized by irrigationwith wastewaters downstream of effluent This was explainedby clogging of soil pores by suspended materials presentin the wastewaters However structural stability is better insite characterized by irrigation with wastewaters upstreamof El Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This is due on onehand to input of organic matter and calcium ions whichplay the role of cements and cause improvement of particlessoil aggregation according to Kirkham [42] On the otherhand at cereal crop that effect increases production ofcementing substances through microbial activity by fungaland actinomycete mycelia that provide substrates to stabilizesoil aggregates according to Miller and Kemper [43]
The pH levels are more alkaline in downstream sitesthan upstream sites of wastewater effluent The pH of soilsirrigated with wastewater decreases following oxidation oforganic compounds and nitrification of ammonium Electri-cal conductivity values are the lowest at sampling points ofsite characterized by irrigation with wastewater upstream ofEl Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This could probably bedue to the level of organic matter which acts as a buffer Theorganicmatter is highest at site upstreamof El Gourzi effluentborder characterized by natural vegetation which is certainlyexplained by an important load of organic matter from thewastewater upstream of the effluent and high clay content ofsoil may physically protect the OM from the decompositionThe average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is higher atKochbi natural water effluent border while it showed lowvalues at downstream sites However the active CaCO3rate is the lowest at downstream site of El Gourzi effluentborder But it presents the highest values at S6 site irrigatedby wastewaters upstream of effluentThis result appears to berelated to soil pH
The total abundance and biomass average of earthwormsat different sampling points of study sites are the lowestat site irrigated by natural waters of El Kochbi effluentwhich is cultivated by cereal On the contrary they are thehighest at upstream site irrigated by El Gourzi wastewaterand cereal growing This result explains that abundance andbiomass of earthworms are related to wastewaters irrigationEarthworms are muchmore present where irrigation water isheavily loaded with organic materials
Taxonomic study allowed classification of 7 species ofLumbricidae Percentage of overall specific abundance showsdominance of Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrec-todea rosea The result shows that wastewaters have intenseeffect on development of earthwormrsquos biodiversity SpeciesAp rosea was the most concerned by this improvementAmong the 7 species inventoried the endogeic earthwormsrepresent the majority Endogeic abundance is much higherin site at edges upstream of the El Gourzi effluent which iswithout cultural practices However site at edges of El Kochbieffluent from natural waters without cultural practices isbetter represented by an anecic population The Shannondiversity index of different study sites shows that wastewaterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
ANOVA revealed a highly significant effect of differentirrigation types as well as different cultivation practices onall physicochemical properties of soil and on endogeic andanecic population This was not the case for the epigeicpopulation
The PCA allowed characterizing two major groups Thefirst group is defined by sites that are explained by the hydro-dynamic infiltration These sites are irrigated by wastewaterthey are located downstream of effluent (lowest load oforganic matter) and characterized by cereal and arborealcrops This group includes other chemical characteristicspH and EC The second group formed by upstream sitesirrigated by wastewaters encompasses the characteristics ofearthworms explained by highest load of organic matter Itincludes chemical characteristics OM and active limestoneIt also includes the ShannonBiodiversity IndexWe explainedthis by active CaCO3 which acts as a protector againstbiological degradation of organicmatter of these soils tomakeit a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition
Overall the results of the PCA show us that the effectof wastewater is positive on improvement of abundance andbiomass and biodiversity of earthworms population On thecontrary the wastewaters are unfavorable for the infiltrationphysical parameters of water into soil This will surelyhave long-term repercussions on the physical and biologicalparameters of soil and will induce a new organization ofmacro- and mesoporosity due to improvement of biologicalparameters of earthworms
Finally we propose complementing these results in thefield and in the laboratory to see the evolution of infiltrationparameters of soil water in parallel with the dynamics ofearthworm community in soil irrigated by wastewaters Thebiodiversity of earthworms may induce an improvement ininfiltration and reduce the problems of clogging pores and
14 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
solve other problems that wastewaters can introduce intosoils
Abbreviations
Cr Water retention capacityIs Structural instability indexDa Bulk density119875 Porosity119870 (h) sat Saturated hydraulic conductivity at
potential differenceCE Electric conductivityMO Organic matterTEM Trace Element MetalsMES Suspended matterBOD5 5-Day biological oxygen demandCOD Chemical oxygen demandAbd AbundanceJuv JuvenileAdt AdultBiom BiomassEndo EndogeicEpig EpigeicAnec AnecicAp t Aporrectodea trapezoidesAp r Aporrectodea roseaAp c Aporrectodea caliginosaAm Allolobophora molleriP ant Proctodrilus antipai antipaiOc Octodrilus complanatusE t Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedraSDI Shannon Biodiversity IndexDj Djebel or mountainWed effluent
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interestregarding the publication of this paper
References
[1] E Corcoran C Nellemann E Baker R Bos D Osborn andHSavelli ick Water The central role of wastewater managementin sustainable development A rapid response assessment UnitedNations Environment Programme UN-HABITAT ArendalNorway 2010
[2] F Hiouani H Messadia A Masmoudi D Madani and C TirldquoInfluence des eaux residuaires de tannerie sur le poids de lamatiere secherdquo in Proceedings of the Revue des Regions Arides-Actes du 4eme Meeting International - Numero Special - n∘35(32014) pp 1023ndash1319 2013
[3] B Jimenez and T Asano ldquoWater reclamation and reuse aroundthe Worldrdquo inWater Reuse An International Survey of CurrentPractice Issues and Needs pp 3ndash26 IWA Publishing LondonUK 2008
[4] Z S Burak ldquoWater wetlands and climate change build-ings linkages for their integrated managementrdquo MediterraneanRegional Roundtable pp 10-11 2002
[5] H Bouzerzour L Tamrabet and M Kribaa ldquoReponse de deuxgraminees fourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee
et de boue residuairerdquo in Proceedings Seminaire InternationalBiologie et Environnement 71 Univ Mentouri ConstantineAlgeria 2002
[6] L Tamrabet H Bouzerzour M Kribaa et and D Golea ldquoLedevenir des eaux usees traitees Reponse de deux gramineesfourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee traiteerdquo inProceedings of the Actes du Colloque international Oasis Eau etPopulation Universite Khider Biskra Algerie 2003
[7] M B Pescod Wastewater Treatment and Use in AgricultureFAO Irrigation and Drainage Rome Italy 1992
[8] A Coppola A Santini P Botti S Vacca V Comegna andG Severino ldquoMethodological approach for evaluating the re-sponse of soil hydrological behavior to irrigation with treatedmunicipal wastewaterrdquo Journal of Hydrology vol 292 no 1-4pp 114ndash134 2004
[9] I Nadav J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoWater repellency inducedby organic matter (OM) in treated wastewater (TWW) infiltra-tion ponds and irrigationrdquo Functions of Natural Organic Matterin Changing Environment pp 883ndash887 2013
[10] M B Bouche Lombriciens de France Ecologie et SystematiqueINRA Publication 72-2 Institut national de la rechercheagronomique Paris France 1972
[11] G Bachelier ldquoLes vers annelesrdquo in La faune du sol IDT n∘38pp 127ndash183 ORSTOM Paris France 1978
[12] K E Lee EarthwormsTheir Ecology and Relationship with Soilsand Land Use Academic Press Sydney Australia 1985
[13] P Lavelle C Lattaud D Trigo and I Barois ldquoMutualism andbiodiversity in soilsrdquo Plant and Soil vol 170 no 1 pp 23ndash331995
[14] T Kautz C Stumm R Kosters andU Kopke ldquoEffects of peren-nial fodder crops on soil structure in agricultural headlandsrdquoJournal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science vol 173 no 4 pp490ndash501 2010
[15] L A Schipper J C Williamson H A Kettles and T W SpeirldquoImpact of land-applied tertiary-treated effluent on soil bio-chemical propertiesrdquo Journal of Environmental Quality vol 25no 5 pp 1073ndash1077 1996
[16] A Lemtiri G Colinet T Alabi et al ldquoImpacts of earthwormson soil components and dynamics A reviewrdquo BiotechnologyAgronomy and Society and Environment vol 18 no 1 pp 121ndash133 2014
[17] K Bazri G Ouahrani Z Gheribi-Aoulmi et D J and D CosinldquoLa diversite des lombriciens dans lrsquoest algerien depuis la cotejusqursquoau desertrdquo EcologiaMediterranea vol 39 no 2 p 17 2013
[18] R Rougerie T Decaens L Deharveng et al ldquoDNAbarcodes forsoil animal taxonomyrdquoPesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira vol 44no 8 pp 789ndash802 2009
[19] T Decaens ldquoMacroecological patterns in soil communitiesrdquoGlobal Ecology and Biogeography vol 19 no 3 pp 287ndash3022010
[20] L Tamrabet M Kribaa B Hamidi S Alalata W Berkani andA Hamdoudi ldquoEvaluation de lrsquoaptitude des effluents drsquoOued ElGourzi (Batna Nord Est drsquoAlgerie) a lrsquoirrigation et leur impactsur le sol et la qualite des cultures maraıcheres et fourrageresrdquoin Actes du congres international lsquoEau et Dechets UniversiteMohamed I Oujda Maroco 2007
[21] Office National de lrsquoAssainissement (ONA) Situation actuelledes stations de traitement drsquoeaux usees en Algerie MRE AlgerAlgerie 7 p 2006
[22] S Maalem and N Ghanem ldquoLa caracterisation physico-chim-iques des eaux usees de Oued El Gourzirdquo In Actes de ColloqueNational de Biologie de lrsquouniversite de Batna 2016
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 15
[23] M Bournaud and C Amoros ldquoDes indicateurs biologiques auxdescripteurs de fonctionnement Quelques exemples dans lesysteme fluvialrdquo Bull Ecol vol 15 no 1 pp 57ndash66 1984
[24] H Marschner Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants vol 78Academic press New York NY USA 2nd edition 1995
[25] Z Alouni ldquoFlux de la charge parasitaire dans cinq stationsdrsquoepuration en Tunisierdquo Revue des sciences de lrsquoeau vol 6 no 4pp 453ndash462 1993
[26] A Mussy et and M Soutter Physique du sol ISBN 1st edition1991
[27] D BaizeGuide des analyses courantes en pedologie INRR 1988[28] P Duchaufour Pedologie I Pedogenese et classificationMasson
Paris France 1977[29] B Blakemore Cosmopolitan Earthworms An Eco-Taxonomic
Guide to the Peregrine Species of the World 2nd Ed 656 p2007
[30] M B Bouche ldquoStrategies Lombriciennes Soil organism ascomponents of ecosystemsrdquo in Proceedings of the 6th Int CollSoil Zool Ecol Bull U Lohm and T Persson Eds pp 122ndash132Stockholm Sweden 1977
[31] K Bazri ldquoEtude de la biodiversite des lombriciens et leursrelations avec les proprietes du sol dans differents etagesbioclimatiques dans lrsquoEst Algerienrdquo in These doctorat p 188Constantine University 2015
[32] J BlondelBiogeographie et ecologieMasson Paris France 1979[33] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 505 Dunod Paris France 1985[34] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 434 Dunod Paris France 1975[35] M A Mojid and G C L Wyseure ldquoImplications of municipal
wastewater irrigation on soil health froma study inBangladeshrdquoSoil Use and Management vol 29 no 3 pp 384ndash396 2013
[36] M A Gharaibeh T A Ghezzehei A A Albalasmeh andM ZAlghzawi ldquoAlteration of physical and chemical characteristicsof clayey soils by irrigationwith treatedwaste waterrdquoGeodermavol 276 pp 33ndash40 2016
[37] A Mojiri ldquoEffects of municipal wastewater on physical andchemical properties of saline soilrdquo Journal of Biodiversity andEnvironmental Sciences vol 5 pp 71ndash76 2011
[38] I Vogeler ldquoEffect of long-term wastewater application onphysical soil propertiesrdquoWater Air and Soil Pollution vol 196no 1-4 pp 385ndash392 2009
[39] J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoRheology of sodium-montmoril-lonite suspensions Effects of humic substances and pHrdquo SoilScience Society of America Journal vol 66 no 2 pp 406ndash4122002
[40] Z Wang A C Chang L Wu and D Crowley ldquoAssessingthe soil quality of long-term reclaimed wastewater-irrigatedcroplandrdquo Geoderma vol 114 no 3-4 pp 261ndash278 2003
[41] A Kunhikrishnan N S Bolan K Muller S Laurenson RNaidu and W-I Kim ldquoThe influence of wastewater irrigationon the transformation and bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)sin soilrdquo Advances in Agronomy vol 115 pp 215ndash297 2012
[42] B Kirkham Isposal of sludge on land Effects on soils plants andground water compost Sc pp 6-10 1974
[43] D E Miller andW D Kemper ldquoWater stability of aggregates oftwo soils as in fluenced by incorporation of alfalfardquoAgron J vol54 no 6 pp 494ndash496 1962
[44] S M F Rabbi B R Roy M M Miah M S Amin and TKhandakar ldquoSpatial variability of physical soil quality index ofan agricultural fieldrdquo Applied and Environmental Soil Sciencevol 2014 Article ID 379012 10 pages 2014
[45] G Bardhan D Russo D Goldstein and G J Levy ldquoChanges inthe hydraulic properties of a clay soil under long-term irrigationwith treated wastewaterrdquo Geoderma vol 264 pp 1ndash9 2016
[46] G Viviani and M Iovino ldquoWastewater reuse effects on soilhydraulic conductivityrdquo Journal of Irrigation and DrainageEngineering vol 130 no 6 pp 476ndash484 2004
[47] J L Morel A Guikart and H Sedgo ldquoEffet de lrsquoepandage desboues urbaines sur lrsquoetat physique des sols communsrdquo in XIcongres de lrsquoAISS Ed lA I S S XI congrΦs de Ed pp 12ndash19 Canada Mouton Canada 1978
[48] U Sahin O Anapali and S Ercisli ldquoPhysico-chemical andphysical properties of some substrates used in horticulturerdquoGartenbau wissen schaft 67 pp 55ndash60 2002
[49] M J Mohammad and N Mazahreh ldquoChanges in soil fertilityparameters in response to irrigation of forage crops withsecondary treated wastewaterrdquo Communications in Soil Scienceand Plant Analysis vol 34 no 9-10 pp 1281ndash1294 2003
[50] OVazquez-Montiel N JHoran andDDMara ldquoManagementof domestic wastewater for reuse in irrigationrdquo Water Scienceand Technology vol 33 no 10-11 pp 355ndash362 1996
[51] A R Hayes C F Mancino and I L Pepper ldquoIrrigation ofTurfgrass with Secondary Sewage Effluent I Soil and LeachateWater Qualityrdquo Agronomy Journal vol 82 no 5 p 939 1990
[52] K El Oumlouki R Moussadek A Zouahri H Dakak MChati and M El Amrani ldquoStudy of physic-chemical quality ofwater and soil in the region SoussMassa (Case perimeter Issen)Moroccordquo Journal of Materials and Environmental Science vol5 pp 2365ndash2374 2014
[53] M Galavi A Jalali M Ramroodi S R Mousavi andH GalavildquoEffects of Treated Municipal Wastewater on Soil ChemicalProperties and Heavy Metal Uptake by Sorghum (sorghumbicolor L)rdquo Journal of Agricultural Science vol 2 no 3 2010
[54] M A Gharaibeh N I Eltaif and B Al-Abdullah ldquoImpact offield application of treated wastewater on hydraulic propertiesof vertisolsrdquo Water Air and Soil Pollution vol 184 no 1-4 pp347ndash353 2007
[55] P Omodeo and G Martinucci Earthworms of MaghrebSelected Symposya andMonographsUZI 2MucchiModenapp 235-250 1987
[56] A Edwards and P J Bohlen Biology et Ecology of earthwormsvol 3 Springer Science amp Business Media 1996
[57] P Lavelle and A V Spain Soil Ecology Springer Science ampBusiness Media 2001
[58] P Lavelle GMelendez B Pashanasi andR Schaefer ldquoNitrogenmineralization and reorganization in casts of the geophagoustropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscoleci-dae)rdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 14 no 1 pp 49ndash53 1992
[59] R A Goncalves T V Gloaguen M V Folegatti P L Libardi YLucas andC RMontes ldquoPore size distribution in soils irrigatedwith sodic water and wastewaterrdquo Revista Brasileira de Cienciado Solo vol 34 no 3 pp 701ndash707 2010
[60] J Iqbal J A Thomasson J N Jenkins P R Owens and F DWhisler ldquoSpatial variability analysis of soil physical propertiesof alluvial soilsrdquo Soil Science Society of America Journal vol 69no 4 pp 1338ndash1350 2005
[61] U Sahin I Angin and F M Kiziloglu ldquoEffect of freezing andthawing processes on some physical properties of saline-sodicsoils mixed with sewage sludge or fly ashrdquo Soil and TillageResearch vol 99 no 2 pp 254ndash260 2008
[62] R Lal and M K Shukla Principles of Soil Physics MarcelDekker New York NY USA 2004
16 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[63] G S Francis and P M Fraser ldquoThe effects of three earthwormspecies on soil macroporosity and hydraulic conductivityrdquoApplied Soil Ecology vol 10 no 1-2 pp 11ndash19 1998
[64] Y Capowiez S Cadoux P Bouchant et al ldquoThe effect oftillage type and cropping system on earthworm communitiesmacroporosity and water infiltrationrdquo Soil and Tillage Researchvol 105 no 2 pp 209ndash216 2009
[65] N Bottinelli T Henry-des-Tureaux V Hallaire et al ldquoEarth-worms accelerate soil porosity turnover under watering condi-tionsrdquo Geoderma vol 156 no 1-2 pp 43ndash47 2010
[66] G Peres D Cluzeau P Curmi and V Hallaire ldquoEarthwormactivity and soil structure changes due to organic enrichmentsin vineyard systemsrdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 27 no 4pp 417ndash424 1998
[67] H Supersperg tilisation de la boue a lrsquoetat liquide sur les solslourds BERICHETE Der ATV 28p1977
[68] P S Minhas and J S Samra Wastewater use in peri-urbanagriculture impacts and opportunities Central Soil salinityResearch Institute Karnal 132001 India Tech Bull N562 p2004
[69] N Ababsa M Kribaa D Addad L Tamrabet and M BahaldquoDoes earthworms density really modify soilrsquos hydrodynamicproperties in irrigated systems with recycled waterrdquo Journal ofFundamental and Applied Sciences vol 8 no 2 p 627 2016
[70] H Molahoseini ldquoLong-term effects of municipal wastewaterirrigation on some properties of a semiarid region soil of IranrdquoInternational Journal of Science Engineering and Technologyvol 3 no 4 pp 444ndash449 2014
[71] G Callot and M Dupuis ldquoLe calcaire actif des sols et sa signifi-cationrdquo Science du sol vol 1 pp 17ndash27 1980
[72] H Ben Hassine T Aloui T Gallali T Bouzid S El amri andR Ben Hassen ldquoValuation quantitative et roles de la matiereorganique dans les sols cultives en zones subhumides et semi-arides mediterraneennes de la Tunisierdquo Agro-Solutions vol 17no 2 pp 4ndash17 2008
Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom
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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
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Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
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BiodiversityInternational Journal of
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ClimatologyJournal of
2 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
cause some problems to soil and crops [7] Neverthelesswastewater compounds in particular affect soil porosity andhence hydrological properties [8] Nadav et al [9] indicatedthat the physicochemical properties of soils were altered withtreated wastewater irrigation because long-term wastewa-ter application caused the accumulation of organic matterin soil High organic matter in wastewater is cement forthe improvement of soil aggregates Therefore lower bulkdensity and higher infiltration and water retention havebeen obtained under the wastewater irrigation conditionsHowever suspended solids inwastewater negatively affect thesoil porosity
Earthwormrsquos activities of a mechanical or metabolicnature allow transforming organic matter recycling nutri-ents and transferring matter and energy between differenthorizons Their importance in mixing soil horizons has beenunderlined bymany authors [10ndash13] Earthworms have a veryimportant role for soil fertility they essentially favor theformation of clay-humic complexes anecic worms togetherfeed on organic and mineral matter increase stability ofaggregates and make it possible to unpack compacted soils[14] Above all they create loose structure elements in soilpossessing high porosity which increases useful reservesand allows good aeration this structure is very favorable togermination and nodulation of clover and increases yield ofcertain crops [15] Roots use earthworm galleries to grow [14]Earthworms alsomodify themicrobial communities throughdigestion stimulation and dispersion in casts Consequentlychanges in activities of earthworm communities as a result ofsoil management practices can also be used as indicators ofsoil fertility and quality [16] Despite the importance of thisfauna and work done on these organisms it is not importantin Algeria [17] In Algeria work on biodiversity of earth-worms is still insufficient This very varied biogeographicspace in terms of climate soil and vegetation from the littoralto the desert could reveal a great diversity of earthwormswith certainly species very adapted to the drought Studieson this subject are difficult on one hand identification andclassification of these organisms remain difficult due to lackof qualified taxonomists [18] and on the other hand study ofearthworms is not obvious due to several constraints relatedto nature of soil and the complexity of these organisms [19]
In this complex set of contexts we have found it interest-ing to contribute to studying the interaction between physicaland physicochemical properties of soil and the propertiesof earthworm community in El Madher region where soilsare cultivated and irrigated by the partially treated watersof El Gourzi effluent and are in incessant extension Wehave chosen Ouled Si Slimane area as a control field whichis irrigated by water from natural sources El Madher andOuled Si Slimane areas are located in Batna departmentcharacterized by a semiarid climate with cold winters andCalcisol soils according to WRB in 1999
2 Materials and Methods
21 Presentation of El Madher Region El Madher town islocated in the northeast part of Batna department at a dis-tance of 23 km from Batna town (Figure 1) The geographical
coordinates of this region are as follows latitude 35∘3710158405210158401015840Longitude 6∘2210158400910158401015840 It is at an altitude of 1100 meters
The geomorphology of this region is related to brittletectonics where a collapse zone corresponds to a plain and ahigh zone corresponds to the mounts Dj Bou Arif (1744m)Koudiat Tfouda in Dj Tafraout (1080m) and Dj Sarif(1744m) The hydrographic network is mainly representedby Gourzi effluent or El Madher river which springs fromBatna watershed and empties into the Chott Gadine with amultitude of Chaabas and Talwegs
Precipitation is very low distributed over a period of 30years (1985ndash2015) with total annual average precipitationof 31928mmyear The average monthly temperature rangeis from 523∘C in January to 2566∘C in July The GaussenOmbrothermic diagram shows a relatively long dry periodspreading from May to October The study area is classifiedaccording to Embergerrsquos Climogram in semiarid bioclimaticzone with cool winter and hot summer
22 Presentation of Ouled Si Slimane Region Ouled Si Sli-mane town is located in the western part of Batna departmentat a distance of 90 km (Figure 1) The chief town of Daıra islimited by the following Lambert coordinates 35∘371015840N forlatitude North and 5∘381015840 for longitude East with an averagealtitude of 760m
Themain geological structure of Ouled Si Slimane regionis divided into three strata as follows
(i) The mountainous region consists mainly of calcare-ous rocks of the Cretaceous
(ii) The plains consist mainly of calcareousmarls of lowerMiocene
(iii) There are also slopes and Wadis (rivers or effluents)Those are alluviums regs and terraces of the Quater-nary constituted principally of clays silt and pebbles
Hydrography is represented by an effluents network all ori-ented from north to south and from north to east of theregion This network is practically seasonal dry in summerand torrential in winter It includes Wed Laıoune and WedKochbi effluents
Precipitation is very low distributed over a periodof 25 years with total annual average precipitation of31812mmyear The Gaussen Ombrothermic diagram showsa relatively long dry period spreading from May to OctoberThe study area is classified according to Embergerrsquos Climo-gram in semiarid bioclimatic zone with cold winter and hotsummer
23 Selection and Description of Sampling Sites We selectedin our first study area six different siteswith different peculiar-ities of topography (upstream and downstream) vegetationagricultural practice and irrigation by wastewaters fromEl Gourzi effluent for more than 10 years These sites aredistributed along the effluent upstream at an altitude of 924mto downstream at an altitude of 868m for a distance of about25 km El Gourzi effluent is the main collector of sewagenetwork of the city of Batna as well as rainwater It is anopen effluent that crosses this town with a flow that varies
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 3
N
N5 5 6 6 7
Coordinate system WGS 1984 UTM Zone 31N and 32NProjection Transverse MercatorDatum WGS 1984
S SitesP Sampling points
3943000
3944000
3945000
3946000
3947000
3948000
3949000
3950000
3943000
3944000
3945000
3946000
3947000
3948000
3949000
3950000
254000 256000 258000 260000 262000252000
254000 256000 258000 260000 262000252000
34
35
35
36
36
34
35
35
36
36
5 6 6 75
2 6 10minus6 minus2minus10
18
22
26
30
34
38
18
22
26
30
34
38
minus10 minus6 minus2 2 6 10
3942596
3942764
3942933
3943101
3943269
740556 740792 741028 741264 741500
3942596
3942764
3942933
3943101
3943269
741500741028 741264740792740556
N
N
0 2 4(km)
0 0175 035(km)
S9S8
S7
EffluentCultivated fields
S5S6
S4
S3
S1S2
Effluent
Figure 1 Maps of localisation of study area and sampling sites at edges of El Gourzi and El Kochbi effluents
4 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Table 1 Average values of physicochemical characteristics of El Gourzi effluent wastewaters in 5 different upstream to downstream points[15]
Sites T∘C pH EC (dSm) MES (mgl) BOD5 mg (drsquoO2l) COD mg (drsquoO2100ml)1 131 866 2200 48025 2644 39822 135 832 2750 53003 22428 35763 134 821 2700 55226 42674 59734 131 782 2390 52509 26418 50345 129 755 1880 44921 15778 2707EC electric conductivity MES suspended matter BOD5 5-day biological oxygen demand COD chemical oxygen demand
Table 2 Range of nitrogen phosphorus heavy metals (ETM) and pathogens contents from 7 upstream to downstreamwastewater samplingpoints in El Gourzi effluent according to Tamrabet et alrsquos [20] study
Parameter NO3minusmgl
NH4+mgl
PO43minus
mglFemgl
Mnmgl
Cumgl
Mnmgl
Znmgl
FCG100ml
FSG100ml
Range values 325ndash64 585ndash1707 14ndash1345 014ndash408 514ndash91 060ndash066 514ndash91 028ndash074063 times
104ndash275 times104
07 times104ndash11 times
104
NO3minus nitrates NH4+ ammonium PO43minus orthophosphates Fe iron Cu copper Zn zinc Mn manganese FC fecal coliforms FS fecal streptococci Ggermsseeds
according to seasons Before leaving the city it passes throughindustrial zone where it collects in addition to urban wasteall industrial waste [20] Only a part of these discharges(15000ndash2000m3 per day) are treated in treatment stationbefore joining the effluent [21]
Maalem et Ghanem [22] studied the water quality ofEl Gourzi effluent at 5 upstream to downstream points heshowed that these wastewaters are characterized by highervalues of pH EC MES BOD5 and COD upstream thandownstream (Table 1) This was also proven in the studyof Tamrabet et al [20] According to the same study [20](Table 2) this effluent is generally more charged upstreamthan downstream by nitrates ammonium orthophosphatesiron copper zinc manganese fecal coliforms and fecalStreptococcus The process of evolution from upstream todownstream direction acts by current force on water flowitself on suspended matter flow mineral and organic matterand that of living organisms [23] In conditions of our studyarea problems of phytotoxicity by Trace Element Metals donot arise for the moment because of their low content on oneside and physicochemical characteristics of soil on the otherside The soil of El Madher region is of clay loam natureaccording to Marschner [24] these conditions favor theprecipitation of TEM However Alouni [25] mentions thatthe epidemiological risks of pathogens such as Salmonellaand Vibrio cholerae are zero Only the risks related to fecalcoliforms and fecal streptococci are latent in wastewaters
Three other sites in second studied area are irrigated withhealthy potable and unpollutedwaters fromKochbi and differonly in conditions of vegetation and cultural practices ElKochbi is the effluent from natural water source of KochbiThese sites are distributed in two localities of Guerza andTeniet El Abed at an altitude oscillating between 780 and849m for a distance of about 20 km
The sites are all characterized by fine granulometric sizetextures (Table 3)The sites are characterized by their culturalpractices (cereal cultivation and arboriculture) and tillageirrigation takes place according to climatic demands of cropsThe input of fertilizers is made as basic fertilizer every twoyears generally with plowing in form of NPK The siteschosen as control are the borders of effluent under naturalvegetation and without any practice they are influencedby their proximity to effluents and are wet by capillaryascension We carried out 5 sampling points of soil andearthworms in each of the sites In total 45 points werestudied (Table 4) in 2014 2015 and 2016 in spring period ofMarch April and May This period is the most suitable forremoving earthworms because the soil is moist and springtemperatures favor worm activity
24 Methods Sampling The method used is manual sorting[10ndash12] It is a physical method of extracting earthwormsEach sampling point consists of a single sample using ashovel with a volume of soil of 30 times 30 times 30 cm Wormswere collected at the same time as soil and stored in vialswith 4 formalin Soil sampling was carried out after sortingthe earthworms and deposited in labeled and numberedpolyethylene bags and taken to the laboratory
25 Methods of Soil Physical Properties Analysis Determina-tion of different particle size soil fractions was performedafter organic matter destruction and particles dispersionthe clay the fine loam and the coarse silt content wereestimated by Robinson pipette fine sand and coarse sand bysieving
Soil moisture at time of earthwormsrsquo removal was deter-mined after passing in oven set at 105∘C of a soil moist weight
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 5
Table 3 Textural classification of soils from sampling sites in El Madher and Ouled Si Slimane areas
Sites S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 sand 1420 1996 4577 3263 2982 3293 4624 3058 2544 silt 3302 4228 1505 3512 3075 4211 3205 6573 6707 clay 5278 3776 3919 3225 3942 2496 2171 369 749Textural class Clay Clay loam Clay loam Clay loam Clay Loam Loam Silt loam Silt loam
Table 4 Cropping practices characteristics in the selected sites at El Madher and Ouled Si Slimane areas
Station Cropping practices Topography Mean altitude (m) Water irrigation quality Year of studyS1 El Gourzi effluent edges Downstream 8640 Wastewaters 2016S2 Arboriculture (olive tree) Downstream 8624 Wastewaters 2016S3 Cereal farming (barleycornwheat) Downstream 8538 Wastewaters 2016S4 El Gourzi effluent edges Upstream 8748 Wastewaters 2015S5 Cereal crops (wheatalfalfa) Upstream 9034 Wastewaters 2015S6 Market gardeningcereal farming Upstream 9234 Wastewaters 2015S7 El Kochbi effluent edges Downstream 8084 Natural waters 2014S8 Arboriculture (olive tree) Upstream 786 Natural waters 2014S9 Cereal farming (wheatbarley) Downstream 7794 Natural waters 2014
for 24 hours It is estimated by the following formula
119867 = 119882119898 minus119882119889119882119889times 100 (1)
119867 is the soil moisture at time of earthworms removal119882119898is soil moist weight119882119889 is soil dry weight
Soil moisture at maximum retention capacity (Cr) wasestimated by submersion of soil samples by water untilsaturation Steaming is at 105∘C
The method measuring soil bulk density (Da gcm3)consisted in using metal cylinders of known volume(12660 cm3) Porosity (P) was calculated by bulk densitymeasurements and soil real density of 265 gcm3
Heninrsquos structural instability index (IS) according toMussy and Soutter [26] is by definition proportional to soilsensitivity phenomena of bursting on one side and of swellingdispersion on the otherThree samples of 10 g of a soil sampleof 300 g are taken without the destruction of the organicmatter previously sieved to dryness at 2mm Two of themare respectively treated with 5 cm3 of alcohol at 95∘ and5 cm3 of benzene After 5 minutes of imbibition the threesamples are suddenly immersed in water and then after halfan hour of contact sieved to 02mm which makes it possibleto determine the terms AgA AgB and AgE IS was expressedby the following relation
IS = Fraction Oslash lt 002mm (max)(AgA + AgB + AgE) 3 minus 09Sg
(2)
whereAgAAgB andAgE are fractions determined byweightwhich are collected after sievingwith a tamis of 02mmThese
fractions remain after immersion in respectively alcoholbenzene and water Sg is a fraction of sand included in AgAAgB and AgE fractions
The filtration rate K (h) at saturation was estimated fromDarcyrsquos sense by the method of a soil maintained in apermanent water flow K (h) was carried out by open PVCcylindrical tube at both ends having a diameter of 9 cmand a height of 40 cm and is gently pressed into soil layerand carefully removed without being disturbed A piece oftulle is put on using an elastic ring at the bottom of thetube Water soil infiltrating in a beaker is collected every 5minutes in a test tube to determine volume This happensuntil reaching a constant volume during 1 hour K (h) sat(mmh) is determined for the water heights of 005 03 06and 1 kPa and calculated by (3) of Darcy law cited by Mussyand Soutter [26]
119870(cmsdothminus1) = 119864 sdot 119881119867 sdot 119878 (3)
where 119864 is height of soil column by cm119881 is percolated waterfor 1 hour of infiltration by cm3119867 is height of water columnby cm 119878 is internal section of tube by cm2
26 Methods of Soils Chemical Properties Analysis The pHand electrical conductivity (EC) were measured by directreading on a pH meter and conductivity meter in a suspen-sion with a soilwater ratio of 1 25 and 1 5 respectively [27]
Determination of organic matter content (OM) is per-formed using the Walkley and Black method which is basedon the oxidation of carbon with potassium dichromate instrongly acid media [28]
6 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Total CaCO3 is determined by volumetric method ofthe ldquoBernard Calcimeterrdquo while active CaCO3 is deter-mined by contact with a specific extraction reagent ldquoammo-nium oxalaterdquo at 02N
27 Methods Studying Earthworms The determination oftaxa concerns only adult worms In this study we tried touse much more external characters of worms collected usinginternal anatomical features for certain taxa to determinespecies in questionThe external and internal characters usedare those explained by Bouche and Bachelier [10 11] The keychosen for taxa determination is modified by Blakemore in2007 [29] For classification of ecological categories we usedthat of Bouche [10 30] which was used by Bazri [31] in hisstudy of the Northern Algerian earthworm population
Abundance is expressed as point abundance that is totalnumber of earthworms present in a sampling point and isexpressed as number of individuals per m2
Earthworm biomass is expressed as population biomasstaken and expressed by individual biomass (weight of eachworm) andwormpoint biomass (total weight of worms takenat a sampling point)
To estimate diversity of earthworm community for eachsite we used Shannon diversity index derived from a functionestablished by Shannon and Wiener which became theShannon diversity index
Value of Shannon diversity index 1198671015840 varies between 05and 45 bits and is given by the following formula [32 33]
1198671015840 = minussum Pi log2Pi (4)
where Pi (see (5)) is number of species 119894 individuals in relationto total number of individuals identified (119873)
Pi = ni119873 (5)
This index is independent of sample size and takes intoaccount distribution of individuals number per species [34]
3 Results and Discussion
31 Soil Compartment
311 Physical Properties of Soil The means of soil moisture(H) at moment of sampling of earthworm are in Table 5These close rates of soil moisture among the nine sites seemto be more favorable to the biological activity of earthwormsThese moisture levels are due to spring irrigation or precip-itation Average of highest water retention rate (Cr) wasrecorded at S1 S4 and S7 at border of effluents Overallmean water retention rates in study sites appear to be closelyrelated to fine particle contents of study fields especially at theedges of effluents downstream where they are deposited aftertraining by the flow of water Meanwhile Mojid andWyseure[35] determined enhanced water retention capacity values inthe wastewater irrigation conditions compared to fresh waterirrigation
Porosity is highest in S2 characterized by wastewatersdownstream and by cereal crops while it was lowest at
P
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1000
10002000300040005000600070008000
()
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 2 Total porosity average in study sites
S7 at edges of natural water Kochbi effluent (Figure 2)Effectively Gharaibeh et al [36] noted that irrigation treatedfor long periods with wastewaters resulted in slight decreasein bulk density compared to the control Many researchesobtained lower bulk density or higher porosity values underwastewater irrigation [35 37 38] Moreover elevation ofdissolved organic matter in treated wastewaters is reportedto causeincrease clay dispersion by reducing the differentialviscosity of clay suspensions and decreasing the attractionforces between clay particles [39] Wang et al [40] indicatedthat wastewater irrigation caused a slight increase in soilcompaction Particularly high-suspended solid concentra-tion in wastewater may increase the bulk density whilelower concentrationsmay not significantly affect it [41]Thesevalues reflect on one hand the plowing practices in the studysites and on the other hand a less favorable effect of theaccumulation of organicmatter in the fields located upstreamof the effluent
Structural stability is better in S6 characterized by irriga-tion with wastewaters upstream and alternations of vegetablecrops and cereal crops (Figure 3) It is low in S8with irrigationby natural waters and arboriculture Indeed Kirkham [42]notes that inputs of sludge in successive 4 years have raisedorganic matter content of soil of the first 15 cm from 12to 24 Input of organic matter and calcium ions play afavorable role in cements stability which causes improvementof soil particles This same author underlined an improve-ment of unfavorable structures for clayey soils followingapplication of sludge Also Gharaibeh et al [36] noticed thataggregate stability (AS) results revealed that irrigation withtreated wastewaters significantly increased the percentage ofstable soil aggregates compared to the control Miller andKemper [43] observed increases in water-stable aggregates atleast for one growing season following alfalfa incorporationafter which there was a decreaseThey attributed this increaseto the production of cementing substances throughmicrobialactivity by fungal and actinomycete mycelia which providessubstrates to stabilize soil aggregates However Vogeler [38]
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 7
Table5Re
sults
ofstatisticalanalyses
ofph
ysicochemicalcharacteris
ticsindifferent
sites
ofthes
tudy
Region
Varia
bles
Sites
Htimestimestimes
Istimestimestimes
Crtimestimestimes
Da
gcm3timestimestimes
Ptimestimestimes
K005
kpatimestimestimes
K03k
patimestimestimes
K06k
patimestimestimes
K1kpatimestimestimes
MOtimestimestimes
ECdS
mtimes
CaC
o 3
tottimestimestimes
CaC
o 3
acttimestimestimes
pHtimestimestimes
ElMadher
(sitesirrigated
bywastewaters
downstre
amof
ElGou
rzieffluent)
S1M
2506
039
3844
087
6513
981
453
278
129
273
071
2646
990
849
SD5294
0051
2527
0092
3475
0473
0839
0422
0134
1225
0611
2962
4129
0162
S2M
2262
046
2759
073
7049
2636
1089
606
310
174
060
4338
1265
844
SD2566
0072
5259
0031
1175
2231
1401
1091
0299
0830
0294
6118
4072
0134
S3M
2787
029
2873
100
6030
2491
1444
707
341
366
053
2353
1245
855
SD6137
0137
1818
0079
296
410
000610
0358
0172
0563
0175
240
70371
0049
S4M
2497
031
3606
084
6628
1589
667
383
191
643
028
3691
2492
768
SD5294
0125
0816
0039
1466
1649
1536
0477
0191
2065
0039
9423
5450
0216
S5M
2233
023
2851
092
6330
2585
946
420
243
512
020
3131
2032
796
SD2566
0094
3069
0015
0551
2346
264
20919
0274
0980
0081
3387
2803
0206
S6M
2497
019
3323
088
6494
2228
1183
518
390
628
036
2910
3560
793
SD6137
0056
2148
0024
0907
1822
1006
0917
0826
1492
0159
5266
5265
0335
Ouled
SiSlim
ane
(sitesirrigated
bynaturalw
ater
ofEl
Kochbieffl
uent)
S7M
4566
050
3059
108
5734
1080
589
346
157
249
026
5823
1180
783
SD6310
0122
7061
0113
4282
0489
0495
0200
0111
0493
0034
3984
4712
0055
S8M
2682
086
2786
093
6308
1918
1489
751
381
172
021
5369
1570
775
SD3191
006
64382
0032
1207
3878
1134
0593
0360
0433
0036
646
82683
0031
S9M
2463
078
2494
097
6155
1947
1306
724
319
212
059
5182
1800
792
SD3944
0089
344
60091
344
23274
0806
0501
0212
0461
0291
1505
4077
0073
Ranges
valuessite
Max
S7S8
S1S7
S2S2
S8S8
S6S4
S1S7
S6S3
Min
S5S6
S9S2
S7S1
S1S1
S1S2
S5S3
S1S8
ANOVA
results
EffectF
d8
88
88
88
88
88
88
8F
628
3086
654
1138
1117
3944
4153
3531
3802
1519
275
1607
2062
1968
P000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
00017
000
0000
0000
0timestimestimesHighlysig
nificanttimesSign
ificantN
Sno
tsignificantMm
ean
SDstand
arddifferenceF
Fischern
umberP
prob
abilitylevelFd
freedom
degree
8 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Is
000010020030040050060070080090100
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 3 Average of Heninrsquos structural stability index in study sites
K (h) saturated
K (005 kpa)K (03 kpa)K (06 kpa)K (1 kpa)
000
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
(mmmiddotB
minus1)
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
Figure 4 Saturated hydraulic conductivity average at differentwaterpotential in study sites
attributed higher AS value to the higher total carbon contentor to the composition of soil organic matter in areas irrigatedfor long periods with treated wastewaters compared with thecontrol block
The best rates of filtration at saturationKs (h) for 005 kPasuction were recorded in S2 and S3 sites characterized bywastewaters downstream of El Gourzi effluent (Figure 4)But globally for this pressure Ks is more important in theirrigated wastewaters For the other pressures differenceis less remarkable Rapid infiltration capacity of a soil isestimated by macroporosity Rabbi et al [44] mention thatpercentages of clay bulk density and porosity have a stronginfluence onKsThese results are in agreement with Bardhanet al [45] who reported a decrease in the infiltration rate dueto clogging of soil pores by suspendedmaterials present in thetreated wastewaters Previous studies with similar soil texture(clay) of the current study reached the same conclusion that
application of wastewater resulted in pore clogging whichleads to reduced soil porosity and subsequently a decrease inthe soil infiltrability [46]
Meanwhile Morel et al [47] showed that permeabil-ity of a soil increases significantly in plots enriched withsludge as organic matter richness of sludge improves waterbalance and increases reserve of useful water this favorsprocesses of stabilization of soil aggregates and in particulargives soil a better permeability in relation to a more stablestructure There is a close relationship between the poresize distribution and soil water content due to the factthat macropores control the aeration and drainage meso-pores control the water conductivity micropores controlthe water retention and the most available water for plants[48]
312 Chemical Soil Properties The pH (Table 5) in studyfields showsmoderate alkalinity in sites irrigated with naturalwaters as well as fields irrigated by wastewater upstreamThepH levels aremore alkaline in sites downstreamofwastewatereffluent than in the sites with upstreamwastewaters Standarddeviations between pHvalues of sampling points of sites oftenirrigated by upstream wastewater are much greater Schipperet al [15] indicate that soil pH increases as a result of along period of irrigation with wastewater They attribute thisincrease to chemical composition of cations effluent such asNa Ca and Mg The pH of soil irrigated with wastewaterdecreases following oxidation of organic compounds andnitrification of ammonium [49ndash51]
Electrical conductivity values are the lowest at samplingpoints of S5 characterized by irrigation by wastewaterupstream of El Gourzi effluent Standard deviation valuesare much higher at sampling points of S1 as previouslydescribed Contrary to the results mentioned in the work ofMaalem andGhanem [22] on the values of ElGourzi effluentrsquoswastewaters which are higher upstream than downstreamthe soil has higher CE values downstream than upstreamThis could be due to the organic matter which acts as abuffer In a general way according to standards presentedby DIAEADRHASEEN in El Oumlouki et al [52] ECof various treatments soils of our experimentation remainsweak
The organic matter is lowest at S8 with well waterirrigation and arboriculture (Figure 5) It is highest at S4upstream of El Gourzi effluent border Indeed Tamrabet etal [6] reported that a comparison of control soil averages andirrigated soils by wastewater shows that irrigation with thiswastewater has a very significant effect on OM improvementHowever many other studies showed increase in the OMwithin creased period of treated wastewaters irrigation [3853 54] This is the case in our study Moreover high claycontent of soil may physically protect the OM from thedecomposition
The average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is lowest atS3 downstream of El Gourzi effluent It is highest at Kochbinatural water effluent border These values are generallystrongly to very strongly calcareous according to gradingscale proposed by GEPPA in Baize [27] The limestone levelsappear to be related to soil pH
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9(
)
OM
000
200
400
600
800
1000
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 5 Organic matter rate percentage average in study sites
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 6 Earthwormsrsquo total abundance in different sites of study
32 EarthwormCompartment (Table 6) The total abundanceand biomass average of earthworms at different samplingpoints of study sites are the lowest in S9 with irrigation bynatural waters of El Kochbi effluent and cereal crop Theywere the highest in S5 with irrigation by El Gourzi wastewaterupstream and cereal growing (Figure 6) This abundance wasrepresented by 54 of adults and 46 of juvenile worms(Figure 7) Our results explain a negative effect of plowingon the abundance and biomass of earthworms Contrariwisethe irrigation with wastewaters improves significantly theirabundance and biomass In Bazri et alrsquos [17] study the densityof earthworm in eastern Algeria from the coast to the desertwas respectively 600 plusmn 141 to 2960 plusmn 1183 individualsm2and 028 plusmn 039 to 1313 plusmn 794 gm2 These results are almostsimilar to those of Omodeo andMartinucci [55] in NorthernAlgeria who found earthworm densities ranging from 110to 127 individualsm2 and biomass ranging from 125 to30 gm2 Edwards and Bohlen [56] explained that soils with
54Abd adult
46Abd juv
Individualm2
Figure 7 Total abundance percentage of earthworms in study sites
34Ap t
33Ap r
0Ap C
Am10
Oc2
E t3 20
P an
Individualm2
Figure 8 Earthwormsrsquo global specific abundance percentage
low organic matter contents usually do not support highdensities of earthwormsThe highest values are usually foundin fertilized pastures and the lowest ones are in acid or aridsoils [12 57]
Taxonomic study was carried out on a total of 594 adultworms The taxonomic key and nomenclature quoted byRougerie et al [18] allowed classification of 7 species of Lumb-ricidaeAporrectodea trapezoides (Duges 1828)Aporrectodearosea (Savigny 1826)Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny 1826)Allolobophora molleri (Rosa 1889) Octodrilus complana-tus (Duges 1828) Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedra (Savigny1826) and Proctodrilus antipai antipai (Michaelsen 1891)Percentage of overall specific abundance shows dominanceof Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrectodea rosea(Figure 8)
Ap trapezoides is present in greater quantity (134individualsm2) in S7 characterized by nonpractical plowingand natural vegetation at Kochbi edge where there is healthynatural water (Figure 9) However Ap rosea is present ingreater amounts (130 and 120 individualsm2) in S4 and S5at edges of effluent and irrigated by wastewaters upstreamPr antipai is the most dominant species in S6 characterizedby wastewater irrigation upstream of the effluent and arbori-culture On biomass Ap trapezoides is highest (1248 gm2)in S7 at edges of natural water effluent Ap rosea is presenton a biomass of 117 gm2 in S5 irrigated by wastewaters andcharacterized by cereal cultivation These results allow us todeduce that wastewaters have intense effect on developmentof earthwormrsquos biodiversity Species Ap rosea was the mostconcerned by this improvement
Bazri et al [17] noted in their study that it is curious andhard to explain that Ap trapezoides the most common and
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Table6Re
sults
ofstatisticalanalyses
ofearthw
ormsrsquocharacteris
ticsindifferent
sites
ofthes
tudy
Region
Varia
bles
Sites
Abt
Tottimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
adttimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
juvtimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
tottimestimestimes
Abd
endo
timestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
epigN
S
(Indm2)
Abd
anectimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
endo
timestimestimes
(gm2)
Biom
epigN
S
(gm2)
Biom
anectimestimestimes
(gm2)
IDS
ElMadher
(sitesirrigated
bywastewaters
downstre
amof
ElGou
rzieffluent)
S1M
1660
520
1140
508
300
040
180
184
016
080
1945
SD13939
3493
10455
3513
0707
0548
2490
0689
0230
1131
S2M
1940
1120
920
1035
460
000
660
207
000
651
1401
SD3647
2950
3899
1041
2074
000
02191
1324
000
02063
S3M
980
300
700
565
240
000
080
359
000
066
1425
SD16
4310
000707
1832
1140
000
0044
72086
000
00521
S4M
4380
3440
900
2004
2800
200
520
1056
137
752
2192
SD13755
1616
53536
5726
21319
346
45541
8248
2614
7712
S5M
4960
2680
2280
3756
1980
000
700
1886
000
938
1759
SD7162
6496
11167
6361
7014
000
03082
6887
000
03190
S6M
3860
2140
1720
1922
1540
080
540
640
012
633
1799
SD22041
9813
13498
8450
5320
1789
3507
1620
0264
3985
Ouled
SiSlim
ane
(sitesirrigated
bynaturalw
ater
ofEl
Kochbieffl
uent)
S7M
3440
1520
1840
2105
060
000
1460
017
000
1411
0636
SD6229
5586
9099
7948
0894
000
05639
0244
000
07175
S8M
700
120
580
289
060
000
060
052
000
047
0906
SD4416
1789
3962
2627
1342
000
00894
1167
000
00663
S9M
260
040
220
221
000
020
020
000
019
019
1SD
2793
0548
2683
2308
000
0044
7044
7000
00434
0420
Ranges
values
(site)
Max
S5S4
S5S5
S4S4
S7S5
S4S7
S4
Min
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S8S2S3
S5S7S8
S9S7
ANOVA
results
EffectF
d8
88
88
88
88
8
F1340
1461
366
2595
868
127
981
1400
124
755
P
000
00003
000
0000
0000
00287
000
0000
00301
000
0
timestimestimesHighlysig
nificantNSno
tsignificantMm
ean
SDstand
arddifferenceIndm2ind
ividualm2F
Fisc
hern
umberP
prob
abilitylevelFd
freedom
degree
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
Ap tAp rAp CAmOc
E tP an
0050
100150200250300
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alG
2)
Figure 9 Earthwormsrsquo specific abundance average in study sites
dominant species was not previously quoted by other authorsworking on Algerian lumbricoid fauna Possible explanationsinclude identification problems in this complex group ofspecies recent introduction and posterior expansion orolder introduction as suggested by the large geographicdistribution of the species In the semiarid regions the taxonA molleri is important it locates preferentially in wet points(notably at the edge of effluents) In mountains of semiaridregions the species O complanatus dominates As for Aprosea it is the only one observed in arid bioclimatic stage atpoints where there is sufficient water
Among the 7 species inventoried (Figure 10) the endo-geic species accounted for 62 (Ap rosea A molleri Pantipai and Ap caliginosa) epigeic species for 3 (E tetrae-dra) and anecic species for 22 (O complanatus and Aptrapezoides) the latter may be considered as anecic endogeicor endoanecic because it varies according to the strain
Bouche [10] separated earthworms into three categoriesbased on morphological and behavioral characteristicsEpigeic species are consumer litter living and feeding on orsurface soil Anecic earthworms live in permanent verticalburrows within the soil and may emerge to feed on surfacelayer endogeic species live in temporary horizontal burrowsand feed on the soil This species is geophagous since itgains its nutrients by eating the soil and the green morph ischaracterized by Bouche [10] as more epigeic
Endogeic abundance is much higher in S4 at edgesupstream of the El Gourzi effluent which is without culturalpractices (Figure 11) However S7 at edges of El Kochbi efflu-ent from natural waters without cultural practices is betterrepresented by an anecic population The epigeic populationis important only on S4 and S6 upstream of the wastewatereffluent Endogeic earthworms are a major component of soilfauna communities in most natural ecosystems of the humidtropics [58]
The Shannon diversity index of different study sites is thelowest at S7 corresponding to edges of Kochbi effluent It isthe highest at S4 characterized by wastewaters upstream of ElGourzi effluent and any cultural practices This result allows
62Abd endo
3Abd epig
35Abd anec
Individualsm2
Figure 10 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance average
Abd endoAbd epigAbd anec
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 11 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance in studiedsoil sites
us to deduce that wastewater loaded with organic matterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
33 ANOVA Statistical analysis with the Newman-Keulsmultiple comparison posttest at 119875 le 005 (Table 5) revealeda highly significant effect of different irrigation practices andcultural practices on soilrsquos physical parameters (Is Cr PK 005 K 03 K 06 and K 1) Water retention infiltrationand hydraulic conductivity are among the soilrsquos hydraulicproperties affected by soil porosity and pore size distribution[40 59] Spatial variability of soilrsquos physical properties withinor among agricultural fields is inherent in nature due togeologic and pedologic soil forming factors but some of thevariability may be induced by tillage and other managementpracticesThese factors interact with each other across spatialand temporal scales and are further modified locally byerosion and deposition processes [60] In the regions witha cool climate soils are exposed to freeze-thaw cyclesespecially in the spring period Aggregation and therefore soilstructure may be either positively or negatively affected byfreeze-thaw cycles [61] Therefore the impacts of wastewater
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S1S2
S3S4
S5
S6
S7
S8S9
IsCr
Da
PK (005)
K (03)
K (06)K (1)
MO
CE
Ctot
CactifPH
Abt tot
Abd adult
Abd juv
Abd Ap t
Abd Ap r
Abd Ap CAbd Am
Abd Oc
Abd E t
Abd P an
Bio tot
Abd endoAbd epig
Abd anec
IDS
Biplot (axes F1 and F2 6186)
minus5
minus4
minus3
minus2
minus1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
F2 (1
996
)
minus7 minus6 minus5 minus4 minus3 minus2 minus1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8minus8F1 (4190)
Figure 12 PCA graph of interaction between studied soil properties
irrigation on main soil properties in agricultural areas undercool climate conditions may be different
ANOVA reveals highlight at very highly significant effectof different irrigation practices and cultural practices onstudied chemical parameters of soil (MO CE CaCO3 totCaCO3 act and pH) Effectively the soilrsquos physical propertiesare associated with nutrient applied and environmental soilscience availability solute andpollutantmovementmicrobialactivity and soil organic matter stabilization [62]
On parameters of earthworm characteristics (Table 6)ANOVA revealed a significant effect of study sites differencesexcept for Ap caliginosa and E tetraedra tetraedra speciesrsquoabundance The significant effect of sites has been wellrevealed on endogeic and anecic abundance However thereis no significant effect of different irrigation and croppingpractices on epigeic abundance
34 PCA In order to study interaction between physico-chemical soil parameters and earthworm communities ofstudied sites Principal Component Analysis (PCA)was usedThis procedure makes it possible to group or distributethe sampling sites around principal axes in function of thephysicochemical and earthwormparameters thus facilitatingobservation of possible links between variables and placeswhere they are most represented (Figure 12)
Contribution of principal axes to total variation is 4190for axis 1 and 1996 for axis 2 which makes a total of6186 which is well acceptable On variables distributiongraph both axes 1 and 2 contrast two groups of variablesbiological parameters of earthworms (total biomass totalabundance and adult wormsrsquo abundance) and physical infil-tration parameters (infiltration at saturation K 005 kPa K03 kPa K 06 kPa and K 1 kPa) The first group of biologicalvariables is represented by S5 site characterized by irrigationswith wastewaters upstream of El Gourzi effluent and by cereal
crop (wheatalfalfa) The group of infiltration characteristicsis represented by S2 and S3 sites These sites are irrigatedwith downstream wastewaters and characterized by cerealand arboreal crops This group includes physicochemicalcharacteristics pH and EC Axis 1 is intensely correlatedwith structural stability index and water retention capacityIt divides the characteristics of earthworms studied into twosubgroups One of them is well represented by S4 and S6 withirrigation by wastewater at upstream This group includesOM and active CaCO3 as well as Shannon Biodiversity Index
Francis and Fraser [63] and Capowiez et al [64] reportedthat galleries excavated by terrestrial bioturbation activitycontributed to water transfers Also Bottinelli et al [65]and Peres et al [66] reported that earthworms contribute toimproving soil porosity Indeed the PCA groups the S4 S5and S6 sites with abundance and biomass of earthworms andsoil porosity For his part Supersperg [67] found that annualapplications of liquid sludge cause an increase in compactnessof a heavy soil by clogging and a decrease in pores volume
By this PCA it can be deduced that very high organiccharge of partially treated waters has negative repercus-sions on hydraulic conductivity if this load exceeds certaindoses because the PCA rallied the hydraulic conductivityat saturation by different pressures applied to S1 S2 and S3sites downstream of El Gourzi effluent as well as S8 andS9 sites irrigated with natural waters of El Kochbi effluentThis is contradictory to the results of Minhas and Samra[68] and Ababsa et al [69] who have worked on the effectof earthworms on hydraulic conductivity in soils irrigatedby wastewaters Meanwhile our findings concur with theworks of some authors Wang et al Viviani and Iovino andMolahoseini [40 46 70] who have to work on the same axisof research
This opposition of results can be explained bymore or lessrapid duration of organic matter evolution of wastewaters
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 13
This change in state of OM from pores plugging form tosoil stabilizing and structuring form is closely related to soilphysicochemical parameters (pH active CaCO3 and EC)Indeed Callot and Dupuis [71] assume the role of activeCaCO3 in protection and conservation of organic matterin carbonate soils Active CaCO3 thus acts as a protectoragainst biological degradation of organic matter of these soilsto make it a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition[72] All the soils being studied are carbonate soils theiractiveCaCO3should play an important role in humificationprocess by rapidly sequestering lignified organic compoundsas inherited or residual humus [28]
4 Conclusion
Our objective was to study interaction between earthwormcommunity characteristics and physicochemical propertiesof soils characterized by irrigation with wastewaters andwell waters in conditions of different topography (upstreamand downstream) and cropping practices (natural vegetationcereal cultivation and arboriculture) in two regions of Batnadepartment
The results show that the maximum water retentioncapacity is better explained by the fine texture of the soilat the effluent border The porosity and rates of infiltrationat saturation are higher in sites characterized by irrigationwith wastewaters downstream of effluent This was explainedby clogging of soil pores by suspended materials presentin the wastewaters However structural stability is better insite characterized by irrigation with wastewaters upstreamof El Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This is due on onehand to input of organic matter and calcium ions whichplay the role of cements and cause improvement of particlessoil aggregation according to Kirkham [42] On the otherhand at cereal crop that effect increases production ofcementing substances through microbial activity by fungaland actinomycete mycelia that provide substrates to stabilizesoil aggregates according to Miller and Kemper [43]
The pH levels are more alkaline in downstream sitesthan upstream sites of wastewater effluent The pH of soilsirrigated with wastewater decreases following oxidation oforganic compounds and nitrification of ammonium Electri-cal conductivity values are the lowest at sampling points ofsite characterized by irrigation with wastewater upstream ofEl Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This could probably bedue to the level of organic matter which acts as a buffer Theorganicmatter is highest at site upstreamof El Gourzi effluentborder characterized by natural vegetation which is certainlyexplained by an important load of organic matter from thewastewater upstream of the effluent and high clay content ofsoil may physically protect the OM from the decompositionThe average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is higher atKochbi natural water effluent border while it showed lowvalues at downstream sites However the active CaCO3rate is the lowest at downstream site of El Gourzi effluentborder But it presents the highest values at S6 site irrigatedby wastewaters upstream of effluentThis result appears to berelated to soil pH
The total abundance and biomass average of earthwormsat different sampling points of study sites are the lowestat site irrigated by natural waters of El Kochbi effluentwhich is cultivated by cereal On the contrary they are thehighest at upstream site irrigated by El Gourzi wastewaterand cereal growing This result explains that abundance andbiomass of earthworms are related to wastewaters irrigationEarthworms are muchmore present where irrigation water isheavily loaded with organic materials
Taxonomic study allowed classification of 7 species ofLumbricidae Percentage of overall specific abundance showsdominance of Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrec-todea rosea The result shows that wastewaters have intenseeffect on development of earthwormrsquos biodiversity SpeciesAp rosea was the most concerned by this improvementAmong the 7 species inventoried the endogeic earthwormsrepresent the majority Endogeic abundance is much higherin site at edges upstream of the El Gourzi effluent which iswithout cultural practices However site at edges of El Kochbieffluent from natural waters without cultural practices isbetter represented by an anecic population The Shannondiversity index of different study sites shows that wastewaterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
ANOVA revealed a highly significant effect of differentirrigation types as well as different cultivation practices onall physicochemical properties of soil and on endogeic andanecic population This was not the case for the epigeicpopulation
The PCA allowed characterizing two major groups Thefirst group is defined by sites that are explained by the hydro-dynamic infiltration These sites are irrigated by wastewaterthey are located downstream of effluent (lowest load oforganic matter) and characterized by cereal and arborealcrops This group includes other chemical characteristicspH and EC The second group formed by upstream sitesirrigated by wastewaters encompasses the characteristics ofearthworms explained by highest load of organic matter Itincludes chemical characteristics OM and active limestoneIt also includes the ShannonBiodiversity IndexWe explainedthis by active CaCO3 which acts as a protector againstbiological degradation of organicmatter of these soils tomakeit a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition
Overall the results of the PCA show us that the effectof wastewater is positive on improvement of abundance andbiomass and biodiversity of earthworms population On thecontrary the wastewaters are unfavorable for the infiltrationphysical parameters of water into soil This will surelyhave long-term repercussions on the physical and biologicalparameters of soil and will induce a new organization ofmacro- and mesoporosity due to improvement of biologicalparameters of earthworms
Finally we propose complementing these results in thefield and in the laboratory to see the evolution of infiltrationparameters of soil water in parallel with the dynamics ofearthworm community in soil irrigated by wastewaters Thebiodiversity of earthworms may induce an improvement ininfiltration and reduce the problems of clogging pores and
14 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
solve other problems that wastewaters can introduce intosoils
Abbreviations
Cr Water retention capacityIs Structural instability indexDa Bulk density119875 Porosity119870 (h) sat Saturated hydraulic conductivity at
potential differenceCE Electric conductivityMO Organic matterTEM Trace Element MetalsMES Suspended matterBOD5 5-Day biological oxygen demandCOD Chemical oxygen demandAbd AbundanceJuv JuvenileAdt AdultBiom BiomassEndo EndogeicEpig EpigeicAnec AnecicAp t Aporrectodea trapezoidesAp r Aporrectodea roseaAp c Aporrectodea caliginosaAm Allolobophora molleriP ant Proctodrilus antipai antipaiOc Octodrilus complanatusE t Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedraSDI Shannon Biodiversity IndexDj Djebel or mountainWed effluent
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interestregarding the publication of this paper
References
[1] E Corcoran C Nellemann E Baker R Bos D Osborn andHSavelli ick Water The central role of wastewater managementin sustainable development A rapid response assessment UnitedNations Environment Programme UN-HABITAT ArendalNorway 2010
[2] F Hiouani H Messadia A Masmoudi D Madani and C TirldquoInfluence des eaux residuaires de tannerie sur le poids de lamatiere secherdquo in Proceedings of the Revue des Regions Arides-Actes du 4eme Meeting International - Numero Special - n∘35(32014) pp 1023ndash1319 2013
[3] B Jimenez and T Asano ldquoWater reclamation and reuse aroundthe Worldrdquo inWater Reuse An International Survey of CurrentPractice Issues and Needs pp 3ndash26 IWA Publishing LondonUK 2008
[4] Z S Burak ldquoWater wetlands and climate change build-ings linkages for their integrated managementrdquo MediterraneanRegional Roundtable pp 10-11 2002
[5] H Bouzerzour L Tamrabet and M Kribaa ldquoReponse de deuxgraminees fourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee
et de boue residuairerdquo in Proceedings Seminaire InternationalBiologie et Environnement 71 Univ Mentouri ConstantineAlgeria 2002
[6] L Tamrabet H Bouzerzour M Kribaa et and D Golea ldquoLedevenir des eaux usees traitees Reponse de deux gramineesfourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee traiteerdquo inProceedings of the Actes du Colloque international Oasis Eau etPopulation Universite Khider Biskra Algerie 2003
[7] M B Pescod Wastewater Treatment and Use in AgricultureFAO Irrigation and Drainage Rome Italy 1992
[8] A Coppola A Santini P Botti S Vacca V Comegna andG Severino ldquoMethodological approach for evaluating the re-sponse of soil hydrological behavior to irrigation with treatedmunicipal wastewaterrdquo Journal of Hydrology vol 292 no 1-4pp 114ndash134 2004
[9] I Nadav J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoWater repellency inducedby organic matter (OM) in treated wastewater (TWW) infiltra-tion ponds and irrigationrdquo Functions of Natural Organic Matterin Changing Environment pp 883ndash887 2013
[10] M B Bouche Lombriciens de France Ecologie et SystematiqueINRA Publication 72-2 Institut national de la rechercheagronomique Paris France 1972
[11] G Bachelier ldquoLes vers annelesrdquo in La faune du sol IDT n∘38pp 127ndash183 ORSTOM Paris France 1978
[12] K E Lee EarthwormsTheir Ecology and Relationship with Soilsand Land Use Academic Press Sydney Australia 1985
[13] P Lavelle C Lattaud D Trigo and I Barois ldquoMutualism andbiodiversity in soilsrdquo Plant and Soil vol 170 no 1 pp 23ndash331995
[14] T Kautz C Stumm R Kosters andU Kopke ldquoEffects of peren-nial fodder crops on soil structure in agricultural headlandsrdquoJournal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science vol 173 no 4 pp490ndash501 2010
[15] L A Schipper J C Williamson H A Kettles and T W SpeirldquoImpact of land-applied tertiary-treated effluent on soil bio-chemical propertiesrdquo Journal of Environmental Quality vol 25no 5 pp 1073ndash1077 1996
[16] A Lemtiri G Colinet T Alabi et al ldquoImpacts of earthwormson soil components and dynamics A reviewrdquo BiotechnologyAgronomy and Society and Environment vol 18 no 1 pp 121ndash133 2014
[17] K Bazri G Ouahrani Z Gheribi-Aoulmi et D J and D CosinldquoLa diversite des lombriciens dans lrsquoest algerien depuis la cotejusqursquoau desertrdquo EcologiaMediterranea vol 39 no 2 p 17 2013
[18] R Rougerie T Decaens L Deharveng et al ldquoDNAbarcodes forsoil animal taxonomyrdquoPesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira vol 44no 8 pp 789ndash802 2009
[19] T Decaens ldquoMacroecological patterns in soil communitiesrdquoGlobal Ecology and Biogeography vol 19 no 3 pp 287ndash3022010
[20] L Tamrabet M Kribaa B Hamidi S Alalata W Berkani andA Hamdoudi ldquoEvaluation de lrsquoaptitude des effluents drsquoOued ElGourzi (Batna Nord Est drsquoAlgerie) a lrsquoirrigation et leur impactsur le sol et la qualite des cultures maraıcheres et fourrageresrdquoin Actes du congres international lsquoEau et Dechets UniversiteMohamed I Oujda Maroco 2007
[21] Office National de lrsquoAssainissement (ONA) Situation actuelledes stations de traitement drsquoeaux usees en Algerie MRE AlgerAlgerie 7 p 2006
[22] S Maalem and N Ghanem ldquoLa caracterisation physico-chim-iques des eaux usees de Oued El Gourzirdquo In Actes de ColloqueNational de Biologie de lrsquouniversite de Batna 2016
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 15
[23] M Bournaud and C Amoros ldquoDes indicateurs biologiques auxdescripteurs de fonctionnement Quelques exemples dans lesysteme fluvialrdquo Bull Ecol vol 15 no 1 pp 57ndash66 1984
[24] H Marschner Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants vol 78Academic press New York NY USA 2nd edition 1995
[25] Z Alouni ldquoFlux de la charge parasitaire dans cinq stationsdrsquoepuration en Tunisierdquo Revue des sciences de lrsquoeau vol 6 no 4pp 453ndash462 1993
[26] A Mussy et and M Soutter Physique du sol ISBN 1st edition1991
[27] D BaizeGuide des analyses courantes en pedologie INRR 1988[28] P Duchaufour Pedologie I Pedogenese et classificationMasson
Paris France 1977[29] B Blakemore Cosmopolitan Earthworms An Eco-Taxonomic
Guide to the Peregrine Species of the World 2nd Ed 656 p2007
[30] M B Bouche ldquoStrategies Lombriciennes Soil organism ascomponents of ecosystemsrdquo in Proceedings of the 6th Int CollSoil Zool Ecol Bull U Lohm and T Persson Eds pp 122ndash132Stockholm Sweden 1977
[31] K Bazri ldquoEtude de la biodiversite des lombriciens et leursrelations avec les proprietes du sol dans differents etagesbioclimatiques dans lrsquoEst Algerienrdquo in These doctorat p 188Constantine University 2015
[32] J BlondelBiogeographie et ecologieMasson Paris France 1979[33] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 505 Dunod Paris France 1985[34] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 434 Dunod Paris France 1975[35] M A Mojid and G C L Wyseure ldquoImplications of municipal
wastewater irrigation on soil health froma study inBangladeshrdquoSoil Use and Management vol 29 no 3 pp 384ndash396 2013
[36] M A Gharaibeh T A Ghezzehei A A Albalasmeh andM ZAlghzawi ldquoAlteration of physical and chemical characteristicsof clayey soils by irrigationwith treatedwaste waterrdquoGeodermavol 276 pp 33ndash40 2016
[37] A Mojiri ldquoEffects of municipal wastewater on physical andchemical properties of saline soilrdquo Journal of Biodiversity andEnvironmental Sciences vol 5 pp 71ndash76 2011
[38] I Vogeler ldquoEffect of long-term wastewater application onphysical soil propertiesrdquoWater Air and Soil Pollution vol 196no 1-4 pp 385ndash392 2009
[39] J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoRheology of sodium-montmoril-lonite suspensions Effects of humic substances and pHrdquo SoilScience Society of America Journal vol 66 no 2 pp 406ndash4122002
[40] Z Wang A C Chang L Wu and D Crowley ldquoAssessingthe soil quality of long-term reclaimed wastewater-irrigatedcroplandrdquo Geoderma vol 114 no 3-4 pp 261ndash278 2003
[41] A Kunhikrishnan N S Bolan K Muller S Laurenson RNaidu and W-I Kim ldquoThe influence of wastewater irrigationon the transformation and bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)sin soilrdquo Advances in Agronomy vol 115 pp 215ndash297 2012
[42] B Kirkham Isposal of sludge on land Effects on soils plants andground water compost Sc pp 6-10 1974
[43] D E Miller andW D Kemper ldquoWater stability of aggregates oftwo soils as in fluenced by incorporation of alfalfardquoAgron J vol54 no 6 pp 494ndash496 1962
[44] S M F Rabbi B R Roy M M Miah M S Amin and TKhandakar ldquoSpatial variability of physical soil quality index ofan agricultural fieldrdquo Applied and Environmental Soil Sciencevol 2014 Article ID 379012 10 pages 2014
[45] G Bardhan D Russo D Goldstein and G J Levy ldquoChanges inthe hydraulic properties of a clay soil under long-term irrigationwith treated wastewaterrdquo Geoderma vol 264 pp 1ndash9 2016
[46] G Viviani and M Iovino ldquoWastewater reuse effects on soilhydraulic conductivityrdquo Journal of Irrigation and DrainageEngineering vol 130 no 6 pp 476ndash484 2004
[47] J L Morel A Guikart and H Sedgo ldquoEffet de lrsquoepandage desboues urbaines sur lrsquoetat physique des sols communsrdquo in XIcongres de lrsquoAISS Ed lA I S S XI congrΦs de Ed pp 12ndash19 Canada Mouton Canada 1978
[48] U Sahin O Anapali and S Ercisli ldquoPhysico-chemical andphysical properties of some substrates used in horticulturerdquoGartenbau wissen schaft 67 pp 55ndash60 2002
[49] M J Mohammad and N Mazahreh ldquoChanges in soil fertilityparameters in response to irrigation of forage crops withsecondary treated wastewaterrdquo Communications in Soil Scienceand Plant Analysis vol 34 no 9-10 pp 1281ndash1294 2003
[50] OVazquez-Montiel N JHoran andDDMara ldquoManagementof domestic wastewater for reuse in irrigationrdquo Water Scienceand Technology vol 33 no 10-11 pp 355ndash362 1996
[51] A R Hayes C F Mancino and I L Pepper ldquoIrrigation ofTurfgrass with Secondary Sewage Effluent I Soil and LeachateWater Qualityrdquo Agronomy Journal vol 82 no 5 p 939 1990
[52] K El Oumlouki R Moussadek A Zouahri H Dakak MChati and M El Amrani ldquoStudy of physic-chemical quality ofwater and soil in the region SoussMassa (Case perimeter Issen)Moroccordquo Journal of Materials and Environmental Science vol5 pp 2365ndash2374 2014
[53] M Galavi A Jalali M Ramroodi S R Mousavi andH GalavildquoEffects of Treated Municipal Wastewater on Soil ChemicalProperties and Heavy Metal Uptake by Sorghum (sorghumbicolor L)rdquo Journal of Agricultural Science vol 2 no 3 2010
[54] M A Gharaibeh N I Eltaif and B Al-Abdullah ldquoImpact offield application of treated wastewater on hydraulic propertiesof vertisolsrdquo Water Air and Soil Pollution vol 184 no 1-4 pp347ndash353 2007
[55] P Omodeo and G Martinucci Earthworms of MaghrebSelected Symposya andMonographsUZI 2MucchiModenapp 235-250 1987
[56] A Edwards and P J Bohlen Biology et Ecology of earthwormsvol 3 Springer Science amp Business Media 1996
[57] P Lavelle and A V Spain Soil Ecology Springer Science ampBusiness Media 2001
[58] P Lavelle GMelendez B Pashanasi andR Schaefer ldquoNitrogenmineralization and reorganization in casts of the geophagoustropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscoleci-dae)rdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 14 no 1 pp 49ndash53 1992
[59] R A Goncalves T V Gloaguen M V Folegatti P L Libardi YLucas andC RMontes ldquoPore size distribution in soils irrigatedwith sodic water and wastewaterrdquo Revista Brasileira de Cienciado Solo vol 34 no 3 pp 701ndash707 2010
[60] J Iqbal J A Thomasson J N Jenkins P R Owens and F DWhisler ldquoSpatial variability analysis of soil physical propertiesof alluvial soilsrdquo Soil Science Society of America Journal vol 69no 4 pp 1338ndash1350 2005
[61] U Sahin I Angin and F M Kiziloglu ldquoEffect of freezing andthawing processes on some physical properties of saline-sodicsoils mixed with sewage sludge or fly ashrdquo Soil and TillageResearch vol 99 no 2 pp 254ndash260 2008
[62] R Lal and M K Shukla Principles of Soil Physics MarcelDekker New York NY USA 2004
16 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[63] G S Francis and P M Fraser ldquoThe effects of three earthwormspecies on soil macroporosity and hydraulic conductivityrdquoApplied Soil Ecology vol 10 no 1-2 pp 11ndash19 1998
[64] Y Capowiez S Cadoux P Bouchant et al ldquoThe effect oftillage type and cropping system on earthworm communitiesmacroporosity and water infiltrationrdquo Soil and Tillage Researchvol 105 no 2 pp 209ndash216 2009
[65] N Bottinelli T Henry-des-Tureaux V Hallaire et al ldquoEarth-worms accelerate soil porosity turnover under watering condi-tionsrdquo Geoderma vol 156 no 1-2 pp 43ndash47 2010
[66] G Peres D Cluzeau P Curmi and V Hallaire ldquoEarthwormactivity and soil structure changes due to organic enrichmentsin vineyard systemsrdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 27 no 4pp 417ndash424 1998
[67] H Supersperg tilisation de la boue a lrsquoetat liquide sur les solslourds BERICHETE Der ATV 28p1977
[68] P S Minhas and J S Samra Wastewater use in peri-urbanagriculture impacts and opportunities Central Soil salinityResearch Institute Karnal 132001 India Tech Bull N562 p2004
[69] N Ababsa M Kribaa D Addad L Tamrabet and M BahaldquoDoes earthworms density really modify soilrsquos hydrodynamicproperties in irrigated systems with recycled waterrdquo Journal ofFundamental and Applied Sciences vol 8 no 2 p 627 2016
[70] H Molahoseini ldquoLong-term effects of municipal wastewaterirrigation on some properties of a semiarid region soil of IranrdquoInternational Journal of Science Engineering and Technologyvol 3 no 4 pp 444ndash449 2014
[71] G Callot and M Dupuis ldquoLe calcaire actif des sols et sa signifi-cationrdquo Science du sol vol 1 pp 17ndash27 1980
[72] H Ben Hassine T Aloui T Gallali T Bouzid S El amri andR Ben Hassen ldquoValuation quantitative et roles de la matiereorganique dans les sols cultives en zones subhumides et semi-arides mediterraneennes de la Tunisierdquo Agro-Solutions vol 17no 2 pp 4ndash17 2008
Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom
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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
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EcosystemsJournal of
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MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
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Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 201
International Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
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The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 3
N
N5 5 6 6 7
Coordinate system WGS 1984 UTM Zone 31N and 32NProjection Transverse MercatorDatum WGS 1984
S SitesP Sampling points
3943000
3944000
3945000
3946000
3947000
3948000
3949000
3950000
3943000
3944000
3945000
3946000
3947000
3948000
3949000
3950000
254000 256000 258000 260000 262000252000
254000 256000 258000 260000 262000252000
34
35
35
36
36
34
35
35
36
36
5 6 6 75
2 6 10minus6 minus2minus10
18
22
26
30
34
38
18
22
26
30
34
38
minus10 minus6 minus2 2 6 10
3942596
3942764
3942933
3943101
3943269
740556 740792 741028 741264 741500
3942596
3942764
3942933
3943101
3943269
741500741028 741264740792740556
N
N
0 2 4(km)
0 0175 035(km)
S9S8
S7
EffluentCultivated fields
S5S6
S4
S3
S1S2
Effluent
Figure 1 Maps of localisation of study area and sampling sites at edges of El Gourzi and El Kochbi effluents
4 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Table 1 Average values of physicochemical characteristics of El Gourzi effluent wastewaters in 5 different upstream to downstream points[15]
Sites T∘C pH EC (dSm) MES (mgl) BOD5 mg (drsquoO2l) COD mg (drsquoO2100ml)1 131 866 2200 48025 2644 39822 135 832 2750 53003 22428 35763 134 821 2700 55226 42674 59734 131 782 2390 52509 26418 50345 129 755 1880 44921 15778 2707EC electric conductivity MES suspended matter BOD5 5-day biological oxygen demand COD chemical oxygen demand
Table 2 Range of nitrogen phosphorus heavy metals (ETM) and pathogens contents from 7 upstream to downstreamwastewater samplingpoints in El Gourzi effluent according to Tamrabet et alrsquos [20] study
Parameter NO3minusmgl
NH4+mgl
PO43minus
mglFemgl
Mnmgl
Cumgl
Mnmgl
Znmgl
FCG100ml
FSG100ml
Range values 325ndash64 585ndash1707 14ndash1345 014ndash408 514ndash91 060ndash066 514ndash91 028ndash074063 times
104ndash275 times104
07 times104ndash11 times
104
NO3minus nitrates NH4+ ammonium PO43minus orthophosphates Fe iron Cu copper Zn zinc Mn manganese FC fecal coliforms FS fecal streptococci Ggermsseeds
according to seasons Before leaving the city it passes throughindustrial zone where it collects in addition to urban wasteall industrial waste [20] Only a part of these discharges(15000ndash2000m3 per day) are treated in treatment stationbefore joining the effluent [21]
Maalem et Ghanem [22] studied the water quality ofEl Gourzi effluent at 5 upstream to downstream points heshowed that these wastewaters are characterized by highervalues of pH EC MES BOD5 and COD upstream thandownstream (Table 1) This was also proven in the studyof Tamrabet et al [20] According to the same study [20](Table 2) this effluent is generally more charged upstreamthan downstream by nitrates ammonium orthophosphatesiron copper zinc manganese fecal coliforms and fecalStreptococcus The process of evolution from upstream todownstream direction acts by current force on water flowitself on suspended matter flow mineral and organic matterand that of living organisms [23] In conditions of our studyarea problems of phytotoxicity by Trace Element Metals donot arise for the moment because of their low content on oneside and physicochemical characteristics of soil on the otherside The soil of El Madher region is of clay loam natureaccording to Marschner [24] these conditions favor theprecipitation of TEM However Alouni [25] mentions thatthe epidemiological risks of pathogens such as Salmonellaand Vibrio cholerae are zero Only the risks related to fecalcoliforms and fecal streptococci are latent in wastewaters
Three other sites in second studied area are irrigated withhealthy potable and unpollutedwaters fromKochbi and differonly in conditions of vegetation and cultural practices ElKochbi is the effluent from natural water source of KochbiThese sites are distributed in two localities of Guerza andTeniet El Abed at an altitude oscillating between 780 and849m for a distance of about 20 km
The sites are all characterized by fine granulometric sizetextures (Table 3)The sites are characterized by their culturalpractices (cereal cultivation and arboriculture) and tillageirrigation takes place according to climatic demands of cropsThe input of fertilizers is made as basic fertilizer every twoyears generally with plowing in form of NPK The siteschosen as control are the borders of effluent under naturalvegetation and without any practice they are influencedby their proximity to effluents and are wet by capillaryascension We carried out 5 sampling points of soil andearthworms in each of the sites In total 45 points werestudied (Table 4) in 2014 2015 and 2016 in spring period ofMarch April and May This period is the most suitable forremoving earthworms because the soil is moist and springtemperatures favor worm activity
24 Methods Sampling The method used is manual sorting[10ndash12] It is a physical method of extracting earthwormsEach sampling point consists of a single sample using ashovel with a volume of soil of 30 times 30 times 30 cm Wormswere collected at the same time as soil and stored in vialswith 4 formalin Soil sampling was carried out after sortingthe earthworms and deposited in labeled and numberedpolyethylene bags and taken to the laboratory
25 Methods of Soil Physical Properties Analysis Determina-tion of different particle size soil fractions was performedafter organic matter destruction and particles dispersionthe clay the fine loam and the coarse silt content wereestimated by Robinson pipette fine sand and coarse sand bysieving
Soil moisture at time of earthwormsrsquo removal was deter-mined after passing in oven set at 105∘C of a soil moist weight
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 5
Table 3 Textural classification of soils from sampling sites in El Madher and Ouled Si Slimane areas
Sites S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 sand 1420 1996 4577 3263 2982 3293 4624 3058 2544 silt 3302 4228 1505 3512 3075 4211 3205 6573 6707 clay 5278 3776 3919 3225 3942 2496 2171 369 749Textural class Clay Clay loam Clay loam Clay loam Clay Loam Loam Silt loam Silt loam
Table 4 Cropping practices characteristics in the selected sites at El Madher and Ouled Si Slimane areas
Station Cropping practices Topography Mean altitude (m) Water irrigation quality Year of studyS1 El Gourzi effluent edges Downstream 8640 Wastewaters 2016S2 Arboriculture (olive tree) Downstream 8624 Wastewaters 2016S3 Cereal farming (barleycornwheat) Downstream 8538 Wastewaters 2016S4 El Gourzi effluent edges Upstream 8748 Wastewaters 2015S5 Cereal crops (wheatalfalfa) Upstream 9034 Wastewaters 2015S6 Market gardeningcereal farming Upstream 9234 Wastewaters 2015S7 El Kochbi effluent edges Downstream 8084 Natural waters 2014S8 Arboriculture (olive tree) Upstream 786 Natural waters 2014S9 Cereal farming (wheatbarley) Downstream 7794 Natural waters 2014
for 24 hours It is estimated by the following formula
119867 = 119882119898 minus119882119889119882119889times 100 (1)
119867 is the soil moisture at time of earthworms removal119882119898is soil moist weight119882119889 is soil dry weight
Soil moisture at maximum retention capacity (Cr) wasestimated by submersion of soil samples by water untilsaturation Steaming is at 105∘C
The method measuring soil bulk density (Da gcm3)consisted in using metal cylinders of known volume(12660 cm3) Porosity (P) was calculated by bulk densitymeasurements and soil real density of 265 gcm3
Heninrsquos structural instability index (IS) according toMussy and Soutter [26] is by definition proportional to soilsensitivity phenomena of bursting on one side and of swellingdispersion on the otherThree samples of 10 g of a soil sampleof 300 g are taken without the destruction of the organicmatter previously sieved to dryness at 2mm Two of themare respectively treated with 5 cm3 of alcohol at 95∘ and5 cm3 of benzene After 5 minutes of imbibition the threesamples are suddenly immersed in water and then after halfan hour of contact sieved to 02mm which makes it possibleto determine the terms AgA AgB and AgE IS was expressedby the following relation
IS = Fraction Oslash lt 002mm (max)(AgA + AgB + AgE) 3 minus 09Sg
(2)
whereAgAAgB andAgE are fractions determined byweightwhich are collected after sievingwith a tamis of 02mmThese
fractions remain after immersion in respectively alcoholbenzene and water Sg is a fraction of sand included in AgAAgB and AgE fractions
The filtration rate K (h) at saturation was estimated fromDarcyrsquos sense by the method of a soil maintained in apermanent water flow K (h) was carried out by open PVCcylindrical tube at both ends having a diameter of 9 cmand a height of 40 cm and is gently pressed into soil layerand carefully removed without being disturbed A piece oftulle is put on using an elastic ring at the bottom of thetube Water soil infiltrating in a beaker is collected every 5minutes in a test tube to determine volume This happensuntil reaching a constant volume during 1 hour K (h) sat(mmh) is determined for the water heights of 005 03 06and 1 kPa and calculated by (3) of Darcy law cited by Mussyand Soutter [26]
119870(cmsdothminus1) = 119864 sdot 119881119867 sdot 119878 (3)
where 119864 is height of soil column by cm119881 is percolated waterfor 1 hour of infiltration by cm3119867 is height of water columnby cm 119878 is internal section of tube by cm2
26 Methods of Soils Chemical Properties Analysis The pHand electrical conductivity (EC) were measured by directreading on a pH meter and conductivity meter in a suspen-sion with a soilwater ratio of 1 25 and 1 5 respectively [27]
Determination of organic matter content (OM) is per-formed using the Walkley and Black method which is basedon the oxidation of carbon with potassium dichromate instrongly acid media [28]
6 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Total CaCO3 is determined by volumetric method ofthe ldquoBernard Calcimeterrdquo while active CaCO3 is deter-mined by contact with a specific extraction reagent ldquoammo-nium oxalaterdquo at 02N
27 Methods Studying Earthworms The determination oftaxa concerns only adult worms In this study we tried touse much more external characters of worms collected usinginternal anatomical features for certain taxa to determinespecies in questionThe external and internal characters usedare those explained by Bouche and Bachelier [10 11] The keychosen for taxa determination is modified by Blakemore in2007 [29] For classification of ecological categories we usedthat of Bouche [10 30] which was used by Bazri [31] in hisstudy of the Northern Algerian earthworm population
Abundance is expressed as point abundance that is totalnumber of earthworms present in a sampling point and isexpressed as number of individuals per m2
Earthworm biomass is expressed as population biomasstaken and expressed by individual biomass (weight of eachworm) andwormpoint biomass (total weight of worms takenat a sampling point)
To estimate diversity of earthworm community for eachsite we used Shannon diversity index derived from a functionestablished by Shannon and Wiener which became theShannon diversity index
Value of Shannon diversity index 1198671015840 varies between 05and 45 bits and is given by the following formula [32 33]
1198671015840 = minussum Pi log2Pi (4)
where Pi (see (5)) is number of species 119894 individuals in relationto total number of individuals identified (119873)
Pi = ni119873 (5)
This index is independent of sample size and takes intoaccount distribution of individuals number per species [34]
3 Results and Discussion
31 Soil Compartment
311 Physical Properties of Soil The means of soil moisture(H) at moment of sampling of earthworm are in Table 5These close rates of soil moisture among the nine sites seemto be more favorable to the biological activity of earthwormsThese moisture levels are due to spring irrigation or precip-itation Average of highest water retention rate (Cr) wasrecorded at S1 S4 and S7 at border of effluents Overallmean water retention rates in study sites appear to be closelyrelated to fine particle contents of study fields especially at theedges of effluents downstream where they are deposited aftertraining by the flow of water Meanwhile Mojid andWyseure[35] determined enhanced water retention capacity values inthe wastewater irrigation conditions compared to fresh waterirrigation
Porosity is highest in S2 characterized by wastewatersdownstream and by cereal crops while it was lowest at
P
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1000
10002000300040005000600070008000
()
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 2 Total porosity average in study sites
S7 at edges of natural water Kochbi effluent (Figure 2)Effectively Gharaibeh et al [36] noted that irrigation treatedfor long periods with wastewaters resulted in slight decreasein bulk density compared to the control Many researchesobtained lower bulk density or higher porosity values underwastewater irrigation [35 37 38] Moreover elevation ofdissolved organic matter in treated wastewaters is reportedto causeincrease clay dispersion by reducing the differentialviscosity of clay suspensions and decreasing the attractionforces between clay particles [39] Wang et al [40] indicatedthat wastewater irrigation caused a slight increase in soilcompaction Particularly high-suspended solid concentra-tion in wastewater may increase the bulk density whilelower concentrationsmay not significantly affect it [41]Thesevalues reflect on one hand the plowing practices in the studysites and on the other hand a less favorable effect of theaccumulation of organicmatter in the fields located upstreamof the effluent
Structural stability is better in S6 characterized by irriga-tion with wastewaters upstream and alternations of vegetablecrops and cereal crops (Figure 3) It is low in S8with irrigationby natural waters and arboriculture Indeed Kirkham [42]notes that inputs of sludge in successive 4 years have raisedorganic matter content of soil of the first 15 cm from 12to 24 Input of organic matter and calcium ions play afavorable role in cements stability which causes improvementof soil particles This same author underlined an improve-ment of unfavorable structures for clayey soils followingapplication of sludge Also Gharaibeh et al [36] noticed thataggregate stability (AS) results revealed that irrigation withtreated wastewaters significantly increased the percentage ofstable soil aggregates compared to the control Miller andKemper [43] observed increases in water-stable aggregates atleast for one growing season following alfalfa incorporationafter which there was a decreaseThey attributed this increaseto the production of cementing substances throughmicrobialactivity by fungal and actinomycete mycelia which providessubstrates to stabilize soil aggregates However Vogeler [38]
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 7
Table5Re
sults
ofstatisticalanalyses
ofph
ysicochemicalcharacteris
ticsindifferent
sites
ofthes
tudy
Region
Varia
bles
Sites
Htimestimestimes
Istimestimestimes
Crtimestimestimes
Da
gcm3timestimestimes
Ptimestimestimes
K005
kpatimestimestimes
K03k
patimestimestimes
K06k
patimestimestimes
K1kpatimestimestimes
MOtimestimestimes
ECdS
mtimes
CaC
o 3
tottimestimestimes
CaC
o 3
acttimestimestimes
pHtimestimestimes
ElMadher
(sitesirrigated
bywastewaters
downstre
amof
ElGou
rzieffluent)
S1M
2506
039
3844
087
6513
981
453
278
129
273
071
2646
990
849
SD5294
0051
2527
0092
3475
0473
0839
0422
0134
1225
0611
2962
4129
0162
S2M
2262
046
2759
073
7049
2636
1089
606
310
174
060
4338
1265
844
SD2566
0072
5259
0031
1175
2231
1401
1091
0299
0830
0294
6118
4072
0134
S3M
2787
029
2873
100
6030
2491
1444
707
341
366
053
2353
1245
855
SD6137
0137
1818
0079
296
410
000610
0358
0172
0563
0175
240
70371
0049
S4M
2497
031
3606
084
6628
1589
667
383
191
643
028
3691
2492
768
SD5294
0125
0816
0039
1466
1649
1536
0477
0191
2065
0039
9423
5450
0216
S5M
2233
023
2851
092
6330
2585
946
420
243
512
020
3131
2032
796
SD2566
0094
3069
0015
0551
2346
264
20919
0274
0980
0081
3387
2803
0206
S6M
2497
019
3323
088
6494
2228
1183
518
390
628
036
2910
3560
793
SD6137
0056
2148
0024
0907
1822
1006
0917
0826
1492
0159
5266
5265
0335
Ouled
SiSlim
ane
(sitesirrigated
bynaturalw
ater
ofEl
Kochbieffl
uent)
S7M
4566
050
3059
108
5734
1080
589
346
157
249
026
5823
1180
783
SD6310
0122
7061
0113
4282
0489
0495
0200
0111
0493
0034
3984
4712
0055
S8M
2682
086
2786
093
6308
1918
1489
751
381
172
021
5369
1570
775
SD3191
006
64382
0032
1207
3878
1134
0593
0360
0433
0036
646
82683
0031
S9M
2463
078
2494
097
6155
1947
1306
724
319
212
059
5182
1800
792
SD3944
0089
344
60091
344
23274
0806
0501
0212
0461
0291
1505
4077
0073
Ranges
valuessite
Max
S7S8
S1S7
S2S2
S8S8
S6S4
S1S7
S6S3
Min
S5S6
S9S2
S7S1
S1S1
S1S2
S5S3
S1S8
ANOVA
results
EffectF
d8
88
88
88
88
88
88
8F
628
3086
654
1138
1117
3944
4153
3531
3802
1519
275
1607
2062
1968
P000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
00017
000
0000
0000
0timestimestimesHighlysig
nificanttimesSign
ificantN
Sno
tsignificantMm
ean
SDstand
arddifferenceF
Fischern
umberP
prob
abilitylevelFd
freedom
degree
8 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Is
000010020030040050060070080090100
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 3 Average of Heninrsquos structural stability index in study sites
K (h) saturated
K (005 kpa)K (03 kpa)K (06 kpa)K (1 kpa)
000
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
(mmmiddotB
minus1)
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
Figure 4 Saturated hydraulic conductivity average at differentwaterpotential in study sites
attributed higher AS value to the higher total carbon contentor to the composition of soil organic matter in areas irrigatedfor long periods with treated wastewaters compared with thecontrol block
The best rates of filtration at saturationKs (h) for 005 kPasuction were recorded in S2 and S3 sites characterized bywastewaters downstream of El Gourzi effluent (Figure 4)But globally for this pressure Ks is more important in theirrigated wastewaters For the other pressures differenceis less remarkable Rapid infiltration capacity of a soil isestimated by macroporosity Rabbi et al [44] mention thatpercentages of clay bulk density and porosity have a stronginfluence onKsThese results are in agreement with Bardhanet al [45] who reported a decrease in the infiltration rate dueto clogging of soil pores by suspendedmaterials present in thetreated wastewaters Previous studies with similar soil texture(clay) of the current study reached the same conclusion that
application of wastewater resulted in pore clogging whichleads to reduced soil porosity and subsequently a decrease inthe soil infiltrability [46]
Meanwhile Morel et al [47] showed that permeabil-ity of a soil increases significantly in plots enriched withsludge as organic matter richness of sludge improves waterbalance and increases reserve of useful water this favorsprocesses of stabilization of soil aggregates and in particulargives soil a better permeability in relation to a more stablestructure There is a close relationship between the poresize distribution and soil water content due to the factthat macropores control the aeration and drainage meso-pores control the water conductivity micropores controlthe water retention and the most available water for plants[48]
312 Chemical Soil Properties The pH (Table 5) in studyfields showsmoderate alkalinity in sites irrigated with naturalwaters as well as fields irrigated by wastewater upstreamThepH levels aremore alkaline in sites downstreamofwastewatereffluent than in the sites with upstreamwastewaters Standarddeviations between pHvalues of sampling points of sites oftenirrigated by upstream wastewater are much greater Schipperet al [15] indicate that soil pH increases as a result of along period of irrigation with wastewater They attribute thisincrease to chemical composition of cations effluent such asNa Ca and Mg The pH of soil irrigated with wastewaterdecreases following oxidation of organic compounds andnitrification of ammonium [49ndash51]
Electrical conductivity values are the lowest at samplingpoints of S5 characterized by irrigation by wastewaterupstream of El Gourzi effluent Standard deviation valuesare much higher at sampling points of S1 as previouslydescribed Contrary to the results mentioned in the work ofMaalem andGhanem [22] on the values of ElGourzi effluentrsquoswastewaters which are higher upstream than downstreamthe soil has higher CE values downstream than upstreamThis could be due to the organic matter which acts as abuffer In a general way according to standards presentedby DIAEADRHASEEN in El Oumlouki et al [52] ECof various treatments soils of our experimentation remainsweak
The organic matter is lowest at S8 with well waterirrigation and arboriculture (Figure 5) It is highest at S4upstream of El Gourzi effluent border Indeed Tamrabet etal [6] reported that a comparison of control soil averages andirrigated soils by wastewater shows that irrigation with thiswastewater has a very significant effect on OM improvementHowever many other studies showed increase in the OMwithin creased period of treated wastewaters irrigation [3853 54] This is the case in our study Moreover high claycontent of soil may physically protect the OM from thedecomposition
The average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is lowest atS3 downstream of El Gourzi effluent It is highest at Kochbinatural water effluent border These values are generallystrongly to very strongly calcareous according to gradingscale proposed by GEPPA in Baize [27] The limestone levelsappear to be related to soil pH
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9(
)
OM
000
200
400
600
800
1000
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 5 Organic matter rate percentage average in study sites
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 6 Earthwormsrsquo total abundance in different sites of study
32 EarthwormCompartment (Table 6) The total abundanceand biomass average of earthworms at different samplingpoints of study sites are the lowest in S9 with irrigation bynatural waters of El Kochbi effluent and cereal crop Theywere the highest in S5 with irrigation by El Gourzi wastewaterupstream and cereal growing (Figure 6) This abundance wasrepresented by 54 of adults and 46 of juvenile worms(Figure 7) Our results explain a negative effect of plowingon the abundance and biomass of earthworms Contrariwisethe irrigation with wastewaters improves significantly theirabundance and biomass In Bazri et alrsquos [17] study the densityof earthworm in eastern Algeria from the coast to the desertwas respectively 600 plusmn 141 to 2960 plusmn 1183 individualsm2and 028 plusmn 039 to 1313 plusmn 794 gm2 These results are almostsimilar to those of Omodeo andMartinucci [55] in NorthernAlgeria who found earthworm densities ranging from 110to 127 individualsm2 and biomass ranging from 125 to30 gm2 Edwards and Bohlen [56] explained that soils with
54Abd adult
46Abd juv
Individualm2
Figure 7 Total abundance percentage of earthworms in study sites
34Ap t
33Ap r
0Ap C
Am10
Oc2
E t3 20
P an
Individualm2
Figure 8 Earthwormsrsquo global specific abundance percentage
low organic matter contents usually do not support highdensities of earthwormsThe highest values are usually foundin fertilized pastures and the lowest ones are in acid or aridsoils [12 57]
Taxonomic study was carried out on a total of 594 adultworms The taxonomic key and nomenclature quoted byRougerie et al [18] allowed classification of 7 species of Lumb-ricidaeAporrectodea trapezoides (Duges 1828)Aporrectodearosea (Savigny 1826)Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny 1826)Allolobophora molleri (Rosa 1889) Octodrilus complana-tus (Duges 1828) Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedra (Savigny1826) and Proctodrilus antipai antipai (Michaelsen 1891)Percentage of overall specific abundance shows dominanceof Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrectodea rosea(Figure 8)
Ap trapezoides is present in greater quantity (134individualsm2) in S7 characterized by nonpractical plowingand natural vegetation at Kochbi edge where there is healthynatural water (Figure 9) However Ap rosea is present ingreater amounts (130 and 120 individualsm2) in S4 and S5at edges of effluent and irrigated by wastewaters upstreamPr antipai is the most dominant species in S6 characterizedby wastewater irrigation upstream of the effluent and arbori-culture On biomass Ap trapezoides is highest (1248 gm2)in S7 at edges of natural water effluent Ap rosea is presenton a biomass of 117 gm2 in S5 irrigated by wastewaters andcharacterized by cereal cultivation These results allow us todeduce that wastewaters have intense effect on developmentof earthwormrsquos biodiversity Species Ap rosea was the mostconcerned by this improvement
Bazri et al [17] noted in their study that it is curious andhard to explain that Ap trapezoides the most common and
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Table6Re
sults
ofstatisticalanalyses
ofearthw
ormsrsquocharacteris
ticsindifferent
sites
ofthes
tudy
Region
Varia
bles
Sites
Abt
Tottimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
adttimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
juvtimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
tottimestimestimes
Abd
endo
timestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
epigN
S
(Indm2)
Abd
anectimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
endo
timestimestimes
(gm2)
Biom
epigN
S
(gm2)
Biom
anectimestimestimes
(gm2)
IDS
ElMadher
(sitesirrigated
bywastewaters
downstre
amof
ElGou
rzieffluent)
S1M
1660
520
1140
508
300
040
180
184
016
080
1945
SD13939
3493
10455
3513
0707
0548
2490
0689
0230
1131
S2M
1940
1120
920
1035
460
000
660
207
000
651
1401
SD3647
2950
3899
1041
2074
000
02191
1324
000
02063
S3M
980
300
700
565
240
000
080
359
000
066
1425
SD16
4310
000707
1832
1140
000
0044
72086
000
00521
S4M
4380
3440
900
2004
2800
200
520
1056
137
752
2192
SD13755
1616
53536
5726
21319
346
45541
8248
2614
7712
S5M
4960
2680
2280
3756
1980
000
700
1886
000
938
1759
SD7162
6496
11167
6361
7014
000
03082
6887
000
03190
S6M
3860
2140
1720
1922
1540
080
540
640
012
633
1799
SD22041
9813
13498
8450
5320
1789
3507
1620
0264
3985
Ouled
SiSlim
ane
(sitesirrigated
bynaturalw
ater
ofEl
Kochbieffl
uent)
S7M
3440
1520
1840
2105
060
000
1460
017
000
1411
0636
SD6229
5586
9099
7948
0894
000
05639
0244
000
07175
S8M
700
120
580
289
060
000
060
052
000
047
0906
SD4416
1789
3962
2627
1342
000
00894
1167
000
00663
S9M
260
040
220
221
000
020
020
000
019
019
1SD
2793
0548
2683
2308
000
0044
7044
7000
00434
0420
Ranges
values
(site)
Max
S5S4
S5S5
S4S4
S7S5
S4S7
S4
Min
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S8S2S3
S5S7S8
S9S7
ANOVA
results
EffectF
d8
88
88
88
88
8
F1340
1461
366
2595
868
127
981
1400
124
755
P
000
00003
000
0000
0000
00287
000
0000
00301
000
0
timestimestimesHighlysig
nificantNSno
tsignificantMm
ean
SDstand
arddifferenceIndm2ind
ividualm2F
Fisc
hern
umberP
prob
abilitylevelFd
freedom
degree
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
Ap tAp rAp CAmOc
E tP an
0050
100150200250300
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alG
2)
Figure 9 Earthwormsrsquo specific abundance average in study sites
dominant species was not previously quoted by other authorsworking on Algerian lumbricoid fauna Possible explanationsinclude identification problems in this complex group ofspecies recent introduction and posterior expansion orolder introduction as suggested by the large geographicdistribution of the species In the semiarid regions the taxonA molleri is important it locates preferentially in wet points(notably at the edge of effluents) In mountains of semiaridregions the species O complanatus dominates As for Aprosea it is the only one observed in arid bioclimatic stage atpoints where there is sufficient water
Among the 7 species inventoried (Figure 10) the endo-geic species accounted for 62 (Ap rosea A molleri Pantipai and Ap caliginosa) epigeic species for 3 (E tetrae-dra) and anecic species for 22 (O complanatus and Aptrapezoides) the latter may be considered as anecic endogeicor endoanecic because it varies according to the strain
Bouche [10] separated earthworms into three categoriesbased on morphological and behavioral characteristicsEpigeic species are consumer litter living and feeding on orsurface soil Anecic earthworms live in permanent verticalburrows within the soil and may emerge to feed on surfacelayer endogeic species live in temporary horizontal burrowsand feed on the soil This species is geophagous since itgains its nutrients by eating the soil and the green morph ischaracterized by Bouche [10] as more epigeic
Endogeic abundance is much higher in S4 at edgesupstream of the El Gourzi effluent which is without culturalpractices (Figure 11) However S7 at edges of El Kochbi efflu-ent from natural waters without cultural practices is betterrepresented by an anecic population The epigeic populationis important only on S4 and S6 upstream of the wastewatereffluent Endogeic earthworms are a major component of soilfauna communities in most natural ecosystems of the humidtropics [58]
The Shannon diversity index of different study sites is thelowest at S7 corresponding to edges of Kochbi effluent It isthe highest at S4 characterized by wastewaters upstream of ElGourzi effluent and any cultural practices This result allows
62Abd endo
3Abd epig
35Abd anec
Individualsm2
Figure 10 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance average
Abd endoAbd epigAbd anec
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 11 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance in studiedsoil sites
us to deduce that wastewater loaded with organic matterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
33 ANOVA Statistical analysis with the Newman-Keulsmultiple comparison posttest at 119875 le 005 (Table 5) revealeda highly significant effect of different irrigation practices andcultural practices on soilrsquos physical parameters (Is Cr PK 005 K 03 K 06 and K 1) Water retention infiltrationand hydraulic conductivity are among the soilrsquos hydraulicproperties affected by soil porosity and pore size distribution[40 59] Spatial variability of soilrsquos physical properties withinor among agricultural fields is inherent in nature due togeologic and pedologic soil forming factors but some of thevariability may be induced by tillage and other managementpracticesThese factors interact with each other across spatialand temporal scales and are further modified locally byerosion and deposition processes [60] In the regions witha cool climate soils are exposed to freeze-thaw cyclesespecially in the spring period Aggregation and therefore soilstructure may be either positively or negatively affected byfreeze-thaw cycles [61] Therefore the impacts of wastewater
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S1S2
S3S4
S5
S6
S7
S8S9
IsCr
Da
PK (005)
K (03)
K (06)K (1)
MO
CE
Ctot
CactifPH
Abt tot
Abd adult
Abd juv
Abd Ap t
Abd Ap r
Abd Ap CAbd Am
Abd Oc
Abd E t
Abd P an
Bio tot
Abd endoAbd epig
Abd anec
IDS
Biplot (axes F1 and F2 6186)
minus5
minus4
minus3
minus2
minus1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
F2 (1
996
)
minus7 minus6 minus5 minus4 minus3 minus2 minus1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8minus8F1 (4190)
Figure 12 PCA graph of interaction between studied soil properties
irrigation on main soil properties in agricultural areas undercool climate conditions may be different
ANOVA reveals highlight at very highly significant effectof different irrigation practices and cultural practices onstudied chemical parameters of soil (MO CE CaCO3 totCaCO3 act and pH) Effectively the soilrsquos physical propertiesare associated with nutrient applied and environmental soilscience availability solute andpollutantmovementmicrobialactivity and soil organic matter stabilization [62]
On parameters of earthworm characteristics (Table 6)ANOVA revealed a significant effect of study sites differencesexcept for Ap caliginosa and E tetraedra tetraedra speciesrsquoabundance The significant effect of sites has been wellrevealed on endogeic and anecic abundance However thereis no significant effect of different irrigation and croppingpractices on epigeic abundance
34 PCA In order to study interaction between physico-chemical soil parameters and earthworm communities ofstudied sites Principal Component Analysis (PCA)was usedThis procedure makes it possible to group or distributethe sampling sites around principal axes in function of thephysicochemical and earthwormparameters thus facilitatingobservation of possible links between variables and placeswhere they are most represented (Figure 12)
Contribution of principal axes to total variation is 4190for axis 1 and 1996 for axis 2 which makes a total of6186 which is well acceptable On variables distributiongraph both axes 1 and 2 contrast two groups of variablesbiological parameters of earthworms (total biomass totalabundance and adult wormsrsquo abundance) and physical infil-tration parameters (infiltration at saturation K 005 kPa K03 kPa K 06 kPa and K 1 kPa) The first group of biologicalvariables is represented by S5 site characterized by irrigationswith wastewaters upstream of El Gourzi effluent and by cereal
crop (wheatalfalfa) The group of infiltration characteristicsis represented by S2 and S3 sites These sites are irrigatedwith downstream wastewaters and characterized by cerealand arboreal crops This group includes physicochemicalcharacteristics pH and EC Axis 1 is intensely correlatedwith structural stability index and water retention capacityIt divides the characteristics of earthworms studied into twosubgroups One of them is well represented by S4 and S6 withirrigation by wastewater at upstream This group includesOM and active CaCO3 as well as Shannon Biodiversity Index
Francis and Fraser [63] and Capowiez et al [64] reportedthat galleries excavated by terrestrial bioturbation activitycontributed to water transfers Also Bottinelli et al [65]and Peres et al [66] reported that earthworms contribute toimproving soil porosity Indeed the PCA groups the S4 S5and S6 sites with abundance and biomass of earthworms andsoil porosity For his part Supersperg [67] found that annualapplications of liquid sludge cause an increase in compactnessof a heavy soil by clogging and a decrease in pores volume
By this PCA it can be deduced that very high organiccharge of partially treated waters has negative repercus-sions on hydraulic conductivity if this load exceeds certaindoses because the PCA rallied the hydraulic conductivityat saturation by different pressures applied to S1 S2 and S3sites downstream of El Gourzi effluent as well as S8 andS9 sites irrigated with natural waters of El Kochbi effluentThis is contradictory to the results of Minhas and Samra[68] and Ababsa et al [69] who have worked on the effectof earthworms on hydraulic conductivity in soils irrigatedby wastewaters Meanwhile our findings concur with theworks of some authors Wang et al Viviani and Iovino andMolahoseini [40 46 70] who have to work on the same axisof research
This opposition of results can be explained bymore or lessrapid duration of organic matter evolution of wastewaters
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 13
This change in state of OM from pores plugging form tosoil stabilizing and structuring form is closely related to soilphysicochemical parameters (pH active CaCO3 and EC)Indeed Callot and Dupuis [71] assume the role of activeCaCO3 in protection and conservation of organic matterin carbonate soils Active CaCO3 thus acts as a protectoragainst biological degradation of organic matter of these soilsto make it a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition[72] All the soils being studied are carbonate soils theiractiveCaCO3should play an important role in humificationprocess by rapidly sequestering lignified organic compoundsas inherited or residual humus [28]
4 Conclusion
Our objective was to study interaction between earthwormcommunity characteristics and physicochemical propertiesof soils characterized by irrigation with wastewaters andwell waters in conditions of different topography (upstreamand downstream) and cropping practices (natural vegetationcereal cultivation and arboriculture) in two regions of Batnadepartment
The results show that the maximum water retentioncapacity is better explained by the fine texture of the soilat the effluent border The porosity and rates of infiltrationat saturation are higher in sites characterized by irrigationwith wastewaters downstream of effluent This was explainedby clogging of soil pores by suspended materials presentin the wastewaters However structural stability is better insite characterized by irrigation with wastewaters upstreamof El Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This is due on onehand to input of organic matter and calcium ions whichplay the role of cements and cause improvement of particlessoil aggregation according to Kirkham [42] On the otherhand at cereal crop that effect increases production ofcementing substances through microbial activity by fungaland actinomycete mycelia that provide substrates to stabilizesoil aggregates according to Miller and Kemper [43]
The pH levels are more alkaline in downstream sitesthan upstream sites of wastewater effluent The pH of soilsirrigated with wastewater decreases following oxidation oforganic compounds and nitrification of ammonium Electri-cal conductivity values are the lowest at sampling points ofsite characterized by irrigation with wastewater upstream ofEl Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This could probably bedue to the level of organic matter which acts as a buffer Theorganicmatter is highest at site upstreamof El Gourzi effluentborder characterized by natural vegetation which is certainlyexplained by an important load of organic matter from thewastewater upstream of the effluent and high clay content ofsoil may physically protect the OM from the decompositionThe average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is higher atKochbi natural water effluent border while it showed lowvalues at downstream sites However the active CaCO3rate is the lowest at downstream site of El Gourzi effluentborder But it presents the highest values at S6 site irrigatedby wastewaters upstream of effluentThis result appears to berelated to soil pH
The total abundance and biomass average of earthwormsat different sampling points of study sites are the lowestat site irrigated by natural waters of El Kochbi effluentwhich is cultivated by cereal On the contrary they are thehighest at upstream site irrigated by El Gourzi wastewaterand cereal growing This result explains that abundance andbiomass of earthworms are related to wastewaters irrigationEarthworms are muchmore present where irrigation water isheavily loaded with organic materials
Taxonomic study allowed classification of 7 species ofLumbricidae Percentage of overall specific abundance showsdominance of Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrec-todea rosea The result shows that wastewaters have intenseeffect on development of earthwormrsquos biodiversity SpeciesAp rosea was the most concerned by this improvementAmong the 7 species inventoried the endogeic earthwormsrepresent the majority Endogeic abundance is much higherin site at edges upstream of the El Gourzi effluent which iswithout cultural practices However site at edges of El Kochbieffluent from natural waters without cultural practices isbetter represented by an anecic population The Shannondiversity index of different study sites shows that wastewaterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
ANOVA revealed a highly significant effect of differentirrigation types as well as different cultivation practices onall physicochemical properties of soil and on endogeic andanecic population This was not the case for the epigeicpopulation
The PCA allowed characterizing two major groups Thefirst group is defined by sites that are explained by the hydro-dynamic infiltration These sites are irrigated by wastewaterthey are located downstream of effluent (lowest load oforganic matter) and characterized by cereal and arborealcrops This group includes other chemical characteristicspH and EC The second group formed by upstream sitesirrigated by wastewaters encompasses the characteristics ofearthworms explained by highest load of organic matter Itincludes chemical characteristics OM and active limestoneIt also includes the ShannonBiodiversity IndexWe explainedthis by active CaCO3 which acts as a protector againstbiological degradation of organicmatter of these soils tomakeit a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition
Overall the results of the PCA show us that the effectof wastewater is positive on improvement of abundance andbiomass and biodiversity of earthworms population On thecontrary the wastewaters are unfavorable for the infiltrationphysical parameters of water into soil This will surelyhave long-term repercussions on the physical and biologicalparameters of soil and will induce a new organization ofmacro- and mesoporosity due to improvement of biologicalparameters of earthworms
Finally we propose complementing these results in thefield and in the laboratory to see the evolution of infiltrationparameters of soil water in parallel with the dynamics ofearthworm community in soil irrigated by wastewaters Thebiodiversity of earthworms may induce an improvement ininfiltration and reduce the problems of clogging pores and
14 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
solve other problems that wastewaters can introduce intosoils
Abbreviations
Cr Water retention capacityIs Structural instability indexDa Bulk density119875 Porosity119870 (h) sat Saturated hydraulic conductivity at
potential differenceCE Electric conductivityMO Organic matterTEM Trace Element MetalsMES Suspended matterBOD5 5-Day biological oxygen demandCOD Chemical oxygen demandAbd AbundanceJuv JuvenileAdt AdultBiom BiomassEndo EndogeicEpig EpigeicAnec AnecicAp t Aporrectodea trapezoidesAp r Aporrectodea roseaAp c Aporrectodea caliginosaAm Allolobophora molleriP ant Proctodrilus antipai antipaiOc Octodrilus complanatusE t Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedraSDI Shannon Biodiversity IndexDj Djebel or mountainWed effluent
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interestregarding the publication of this paper
References
[1] E Corcoran C Nellemann E Baker R Bos D Osborn andHSavelli ick Water The central role of wastewater managementin sustainable development A rapid response assessment UnitedNations Environment Programme UN-HABITAT ArendalNorway 2010
[2] F Hiouani H Messadia A Masmoudi D Madani and C TirldquoInfluence des eaux residuaires de tannerie sur le poids de lamatiere secherdquo in Proceedings of the Revue des Regions Arides-Actes du 4eme Meeting International - Numero Special - n∘35(32014) pp 1023ndash1319 2013
[3] B Jimenez and T Asano ldquoWater reclamation and reuse aroundthe Worldrdquo inWater Reuse An International Survey of CurrentPractice Issues and Needs pp 3ndash26 IWA Publishing LondonUK 2008
[4] Z S Burak ldquoWater wetlands and climate change build-ings linkages for their integrated managementrdquo MediterraneanRegional Roundtable pp 10-11 2002
[5] H Bouzerzour L Tamrabet and M Kribaa ldquoReponse de deuxgraminees fourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee
et de boue residuairerdquo in Proceedings Seminaire InternationalBiologie et Environnement 71 Univ Mentouri ConstantineAlgeria 2002
[6] L Tamrabet H Bouzerzour M Kribaa et and D Golea ldquoLedevenir des eaux usees traitees Reponse de deux gramineesfourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee traiteerdquo inProceedings of the Actes du Colloque international Oasis Eau etPopulation Universite Khider Biskra Algerie 2003
[7] M B Pescod Wastewater Treatment and Use in AgricultureFAO Irrigation and Drainage Rome Italy 1992
[8] A Coppola A Santini P Botti S Vacca V Comegna andG Severino ldquoMethodological approach for evaluating the re-sponse of soil hydrological behavior to irrigation with treatedmunicipal wastewaterrdquo Journal of Hydrology vol 292 no 1-4pp 114ndash134 2004
[9] I Nadav J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoWater repellency inducedby organic matter (OM) in treated wastewater (TWW) infiltra-tion ponds and irrigationrdquo Functions of Natural Organic Matterin Changing Environment pp 883ndash887 2013
[10] M B Bouche Lombriciens de France Ecologie et SystematiqueINRA Publication 72-2 Institut national de la rechercheagronomique Paris France 1972
[11] G Bachelier ldquoLes vers annelesrdquo in La faune du sol IDT n∘38pp 127ndash183 ORSTOM Paris France 1978
[12] K E Lee EarthwormsTheir Ecology and Relationship with Soilsand Land Use Academic Press Sydney Australia 1985
[13] P Lavelle C Lattaud D Trigo and I Barois ldquoMutualism andbiodiversity in soilsrdquo Plant and Soil vol 170 no 1 pp 23ndash331995
[14] T Kautz C Stumm R Kosters andU Kopke ldquoEffects of peren-nial fodder crops on soil structure in agricultural headlandsrdquoJournal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science vol 173 no 4 pp490ndash501 2010
[15] L A Schipper J C Williamson H A Kettles and T W SpeirldquoImpact of land-applied tertiary-treated effluent on soil bio-chemical propertiesrdquo Journal of Environmental Quality vol 25no 5 pp 1073ndash1077 1996
[16] A Lemtiri G Colinet T Alabi et al ldquoImpacts of earthwormson soil components and dynamics A reviewrdquo BiotechnologyAgronomy and Society and Environment vol 18 no 1 pp 121ndash133 2014
[17] K Bazri G Ouahrani Z Gheribi-Aoulmi et D J and D CosinldquoLa diversite des lombriciens dans lrsquoest algerien depuis la cotejusqursquoau desertrdquo EcologiaMediterranea vol 39 no 2 p 17 2013
[18] R Rougerie T Decaens L Deharveng et al ldquoDNAbarcodes forsoil animal taxonomyrdquoPesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira vol 44no 8 pp 789ndash802 2009
[19] T Decaens ldquoMacroecological patterns in soil communitiesrdquoGlobal Ecology and Biogeography vol 19 no 3 pp 287ndash3022010
[20] L Tamrabet M Kribaa B Hamidi S Alalata W Berkani andA Hamdoudi ldquoEvaluation de lrsquoaptitude des effluents drsquoOued ElGourzi (Batna Nord Est drsquoAlgerie) a lrsquoirrigation et leur impactsur le sol et la qualite des cultures maraıcheres et fourrageresrdquoin Actes du congres international lsquoEau et Dechets UniversiteMohamed I Oujda Maroco 2007
[21] Office National de lrsquoAssainissement (ONA) Situation actuelledes stations de traitement drsquoeaux usees en Algerie MRE AlgerAlgerie 7 p 2006
[22] S Maalem and N Ghanem ldquoLa caracterisation physico-chim-iques des eaux usees de Oued El Gourzirdquo In Actes de ColloqueNational de Biologie de lrsquouniversite de Batna 2016
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 15
[23] M Bournaud and C Amoros ldquoDes indicateurs biologiques auxdescripteurs de fonctionnement Quelques exemples dans lesysteme fluvialrdquo Bull Ecol vol 15 no 1 pp 57ndash66 1984
[24] H Marschner Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants vol 78Academic press New York NY USA 2nd edition 1995
[25] Z Alouni ldquoFlux de la charge parasitaire dans cinq stationsdrsquoepuration en Tunisierdquo Revue des sciences de lrsquoeau vol 6 no 4pp 453ndash462 1993
[26] A Mussy et and M Soutter Physique du sol ISBN 1st edition1991
[27] D BaizeGuide des analyses courantes en pedologie INRR 1988[28] P Duchaufour Pedologie I Pedogenese et classificationMasson
Paris France 1977[29] B Blakemore Cosmopolitan Earthworms An Eco-Taxonomic
Guide to the Peregrine Species of the World 2nd Ed 656 p2007
[30] M B Bouche ldquoStrategies Lombriciennes Soil organism ascomponents of ecosystemsrdquo in Proceedings of the 6th Int CollSoil Zool Ecol Bull U Lohm and T Persson Eds pp 122ndash132Stockholm Sweden 1977
[31] K Bazri ldquoEtude de la biodiversite des lombriciens et leursrelations avec les proprietes du sol dans differents etagesbioclimatiques dans lrsquoEst Algerienrdquo in These doctorat p 188Constantine University 2015
[32] J BlondelBiogeographie et ecologieMasson Paris France 1979[33] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 505 Dunod Paris France 1985[34] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 434 Dunod Paris France 1975[35] M A Mojid and G C L Wyseure ldquoImplications of municipal
wastewater irrigation on soil health froma study inBangladeshrdquoSoil Use and Management vol 29 no 3 pp 384ndash396 2013
[36] M A Gharaibeh T A Ghezzehei A A Albalasmeh andM ZAlghzawi ldquoAlteration of physical and chemical characteristicsof clayey soils by irrigationwith treatedwaste waterrdquoGeodermavol 276 pp 33ndash40 2016
[37] A Mojiri ldquoEffects of municipal wastewater on physical andchemical properties of saline soilrdquo Journal of Biodiversity andEnvironmental Sciences vol 5 pp 71ndash76 2011
[38] I Vogeler ldquoEffect of long-term wastewater application onphysical soil propertiesrdquoWater Air and Soil Pollution vol 196no 1-4 pp 385ndash392 2009
[39] J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoRheology of sodium-montmoril-lonite suspensions Effects of humic substances and pHrdquo SoilScience Society of America Journal vol 66 no 2 pp 406ndash4122002
[40] Z Wang A C Chang L Wu and D Crowley ldquoAssessingthe soil quality of long-term reclaimed wastewater-irrigatedcroplandrdquo Geoderma vol 114 no 3-4 pp 261ndash278 2003
[41] A Kunhikrishnan N S Bolan K Muller S Laurenson RNaidu and W-I Kim ldquoThe influence of wastewater irrigationon the transformation and bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)sin soilrdquo Advances in Agronomy vol 115 pp 215ndash297 2012
[42] B Kirkham Isposal of sludge on land Effects on soils plants andground water compost Sc pp 6-10 1974
[43] D E Miller andW D Kemper ldquoWater stability of aggregates oftwo soils as in fluenced by incorporation of alfalfardquoAgron J vol54 no 6 pp 494ndash496 1962
[44] S M F Rabbi B R Roy M M Miah M S Amin and TKhandakar ldquoSpatial variability of physical soil quality index ofan agricultural fieldrdquo Applied and Environmental Soil Sciencevol 2014 Article ID 379012 10 pages 2014
[45] G Bardhan D Russo D Goldstein and G J Levy ldquoChanges inthe hydraulic properties of a clay soil under long-term irrigationwith treated wastewaterrdquo Geoderma vol 264 pp 1ndash9 2016
[46] G Viviani and M Iovino ldquoWastewater reuse effects on soilhydraulic conductivityrdquo Journal of Irrigation and DrainageEngineering vol 130 no 6 pp 476ndash484 2004
[47] J L Morel A Guikart and H Sedgo ldquoEffet de lrsquoepandage desboues urbaines sur lrsquoetat physique des sols communsrdquo in XIcongres de lrsquoAISS Ed lA I S S XI congrΦs de Ed pp 12ndash19 Canada Mouton Canada 1978
[48] U Sahin O Anapali and S Ercisli ldquoPhysico-chemical andphysical properties of some substrates used in horticulturerdquoGartenbau wissen schaft 67 pp 55ndash60 2002
[49] M J Mohammad and N Mazahreh ldquoChanges in soil fertilityparameters in response to irrigation of forage crops withsecondary treated wastewaterrdquo Communications in Soil Scienceand Plant Analysis vol 34 no 9-10 pp 1281ndash1294 2003
[50] OVazquez-Montiel N JHoran andDDMara ldquoManagementof domestic wastewater for reuse in irrigationrdquo Water Scienceand Technology vol 33 no 10-11 pp 355ndash362 1996
[51] A R Hayes C F Mancino and I L Pepper ldquoIrrigation ofTurfgrass with Secondary Sewage Effluent I Soil and LeachateWater Qualityrdquo Agronomy Journal vol 82 no 5 p 939 1990
[52] K El Oumlouki R Moussadek A Zouahri H Dakak MChati and M El Amrani ldquoStudy of physic-chemical quality ofwater and soil in the region SoussMassa (Case perimeter Issen)Moroccordquo Journal of Materials and Environmental Science vol5 pp 2365ndash2374 2014
[53] M Galavi A Jalali M Ramroodi S R Mousavi andH GalavildquoEffects of Treated Municipal Wastewater on Soil ChemicalProperties and Heavy Metal Uptake by Sorghum (sorghumbicolor L)rdquo Journal of Agricultural Science vol 2 no 3 2010
[54] M A Gharaibeh N I Eltaif and B Al-Abdullah ldquoImpact offield application of treated wastewater on hydraulic propertiesof vertisolsrdquo Water Air and Soil Pollution vol 184 no 1-4 pp347ndash353 2007
[55] P Omodeo and G Martinucci Earthworms of MaghrebSelected Symposya andMonographsUZI 2MucchiModenapp 235-250 1987
[56] A Edwards and P J Bohlen Biology et Ecology of earthwormsvol 3 Springer Science amp Business Media 1996
[57] P Lavelle and A V Spain Soil Ecology Springer Science ampBusiness Media 2001
[58] P Lavelle GMelendez B Pashanasi andR Schaefer ldquoNitrogenmineralization and reorganization in casts of the geophagoustropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscoleci-dae)rdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 14 no 1 pp 49ndash53 1992
[59] R A Goncalves T V Gloaguen M V Folegatti P L Libardi YLucas andC RMontes ldquoPore size distribution in soils irrigatedwith sodic water and wastewaterrdquo Revista Brasileira de Cienciado Solo vol 34 no 3 pp 701ndash707 2010
[60] J Iqbal J A Thomasson J N Jenkins P R Owens and F DWhisler ldquoSpatial variability analysis of soil physical propertiesof alluvial soilsrdquo Soil Science Society of America Journal vol 69no 4 pp 1338ndash1350 2005
[61] U Sahin I Angin and F M Kiziloglu ldquoEffect of freezing andthawing processes on some physical properties of saline-sodicsoils mixed with sewage sludge or fly ashrdquo Soil and TillageResearch vol 99 no 2 pp 254ndash260 2008
[62] R Lal and M K Shukla Principles of Soil Physics MarcelDekker New York NY USA 2004
16 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[63] G S Francis and P M Fraser ldquoThe effects of three earthwormspecies on soil macroporosity and hydraulic conductivityrdquoApplied Soil Ecology vol 10 no 1-2 pp 11ndash19 1998
[64] Y Capowiez S Cadoux P Bouchant et al ldquoThe effect oftillage type and cropping system on earthworm communitiesmacroporosity and water infiltrationrdquo Soil and Tillage Researchvol 105 no 2 pp 209ndash216 2009
[65] N Bottinelli T Henry-des-Tureaux V Hallaire et al ldquoEarth-worms accelerate soil porosity turnover under watering condi-tionsrdquo Geoderma vol 156 no 1-2 pp 43ndash47 2010
[66] G Peres D Cluzeau P Curmi and V Hallaire ldquoEarthwormactivity and soil structure changes due to organic enrichmentsin vineyard systemsrdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 27 no 4pp 417ndash424 1998
[67] H Supersperg tilisation de la boue a lrsquoetat liquide sur les solslourds BERICHETE Der ATV 28p1977
[68] P S Minhas and J S Samra Wastewater use in peri-urbanagriculture impacts and opportunities Central Soil salinityResearch Institute Karnal 132001 India Tech Bull N562 p2004
[69] N Ababsa M Kribaa D Addad L Tamrabet and M BahaldquoDoes earthworms density really modify soilrsquos hydrodynamicproperties in irrigated systems with recycled waterrdquo Journal ofFundamental and Applied Sciences vol 8 no 2 p 627 2016
[70] H Molahoseini ldquoLong-term effects of municipal wastewaterirrigation on some properties of a semiarid region soil of IranrdquoInternational Journal of Science Engineering and Technologyvol 3 no 4 pp 444ndash449 2014
[71] G Callot and M Dupuis ldquoLe calcaire actif des sols et sa signifi-cationrdquo Science du sol vol 1 pp 17ndash27 1980
[72] H Ben Hassine T Aloui T Gallali T Bouzid S El amri andR Ben Hassen ldquoValuation quantitative et roles de la matiereorganique dans les sols cultives en zones subhumides et semi-arides mediterraneennes de la Tunisierdquo Agro-Solutions vol 17no 2 pp 4ndash17 2008
Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom
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EcosystemsJournal of
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MeteorologyAdvances in
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Marine BiologyJournal of
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Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
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International Journal of
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Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
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ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
4 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Table 1 Average values of physicochemical characteristics of El Gourzi effluent wastewaters in 5 different upstream to downstream points[15]
Sites T∘C pH EC (dSm) MES (mgl) BOD5 mg (drsquoO2l) COD mg (drsquoO2100ml)1 131 866 2200 48025 2644 39822 135 832 2750 53003 22428 35763 134 821 2700 55226 42674 59734 131 782 2390 52509 26418 50345 129 755 1880 44921 15778 2707EC electric conductivity MES suspended matter BOD5 5-day biological oxygen demand COD chemical oxygen demand
Table 2 Range of nitrogen phosphorus heavy metals (ETM) and pathogens contents from 7 upstream to downstreamwastewater samplingpoints in El Gourzi effluent according to Tamrabet et alrsquos [20] study
Parameter NO3minusmgl
NH4+mgl
PO43minus
mglFemgl
Mnmgl
Cumgl
Mnmgl
Znmgl
FCG100ml
FSG100ml
Range values 325ndash64 585ndash1707 14ndash1345 014ndash408 514ndash91 060ndash066 514ndash91 028ndash074063 times
104ndash275 times104
07 times104ndash11 times
104
NO3minus nitrates NH4+ ammonium PO43minus orthophosphates Fe iron Cu copper Zn zinc Mn manganese FC fecal coliforms FS fecal streptococci Ggermsseeds
according to seasons Before leaving the city it passes throughindustrial zone where it collects in addition to urban wasteall industrial waste [20] Only a part of these discharges(15000ndash2000m3 per day) are treated in treatment stationbefore joining the effluent [21]
Maalem et Ghanem [22] studied the water quality ofEl Gourzi effluent at 5 upstream to downstream points heshowed that these wastewaters are characterized by highervalues of pH EC MES BOD5 and COD upstream thandownstream (Table 1) This was also proven in the studyof Tamrabet et al [20] According to the same study [20](Table 2) this effluent is generally more charged upstreamthan downstream by nitrates ammonium orthophosphatesiron copper zinc manganese fecal coliforms and fecalStreptococcus The process of evolution from upstream todownstream direction acts by current force on water flowitself on suspended matter flow mineral and organic matterand that of living organisms [23] In conditions of our studyarea problems of phytotoxicity by Trace Element Metals donot arise for the moment because of their low content on oneside and physicochemical characteristics of soil on the otherside The soil of El Madher region is of clay loam natureaccording to Marschner [24] these conditions favor theprecipitation of TEM However Alouni [25] mentions thatthe epidemiological risks of pathogens such as Salmonellaand Vibrio cholerae are zero Only the risks related to fecalcoliforms and fecal streptococci are latent in wastewaters
Three other sites in second studied area are irrigated withhealthy potable and unpollutedwaters fromKochbi and differonly in conditions of vegetation and cultural practices ElKochbi is the effluent from natural water source of KochbiThese sites are distributed in two localities of Guerza andTeniet El Abed at an altitude oscillating between 780 and849m for a distance of about 20 km
The sites are all characterized by fine granulometric sizetextures (Table 3)The sites are characterized by their culturalpractices (cereal cultivation and arboriculture) and tillageirrigation takes place according to climatic demands of cropsThe input of fertilizers is made as basic fertilizer every twoyears generally with plowing in form of NPK The siteschosen as control are the borders of effluent under naturalvegetation and without any practice they are influencedby their proximity to effluents and are wet by capillaryascension We carried out 5 sampling points of soil andearthworms in each of the sites In total 45 points werestudied (Table 4) in 2014 2015 and 2016 in spring period ofMarch April and May This period is the most suitable forremoving earthworms because the soil is moist and springtemperatures favor worm activity
24 Methods Sampling The method used is manual sorting[10ndash12] It is a physical method of extracting earthwormsEach sampling point consists of a single sample using ashovel with a volume of soil of 30 times 30 times 30 cm Wormswere collected at the same time as soil and stored in vialswith 4 formalin Soil sampling was carried out after sortingthe earthworms and deposited in labeled and numberedpolyethylene bags and taken to the laboratory
25 Methods of Soil Physical Properties Analysis Determina-tion of different particle size soil fractions was performedafter organic matter destruction and particles dispersionthe clay the fine loam and the coarse silt content wereestimated by Robinson pipette fine sand and coarse sand bysieving
Soil moisture at time of earthwormsrsquo removal was deter-mined after passing in oven set at 105∘C of a soil moist weight
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 5
Table 3 Textural classification of soils from sampling sites in El Madher and Ouled Si Slimane areas
Sites S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 sand 1420 1996 4577 3263 2982 3293 4624 3058 2544 silt 3302 4228 1505 3512 3075 4211 3205 6573 6707 clay 5278 3776 3919 3225 3942 2496 2171 369 749Textural class Clay Clay loam Clay loam Clay loam Clay Loam Loam Silt loam Silt loam
Table 4 Cropping practices characteristics in the selected sites at El Madher and Ouled Si Slimane areas
Station Cropping practices Topography Mean altitude (m) Water irrigation quality Year of studyS1 El Gourzi effluent edges Downstream 8640 Wastewaters 2016S2 Arboriculture (olive tree) Downstream 8624 Wastewaters 2016S3 Cereal farming (barleycornwheat) Downstream 8538 Wastewaters 2016S4 El Gourzi effluent edges Upstream 8748 Wastewaters 2015S5 Cereal crops (wheatalfalfa) Upstream 9034 Wastewaters 2015S6 Market gardeningcereal farming Upstream 9234 Wastewaters 2015S7 El Kochbi effluent edges Downstream 8084 Natural waters 2014S8 Arboriculture (olive tree) Upstream 786 Natural waters 2014S9 Cereal farming (wheatbarley) Downstream 7794 Natural waters 2014
for 24 hours It is estimated by the following formula
119867 = 119882119898 minus119882119889119882119889times 100 (1)
119867 is the soil moisture at time of earthworms removal119882119898is soil moist weight119882119889 is soil dry weight
Soil moisture at maximum retention capacity (Cr) wasestimated by submersion of soil samples by water untilsaturation Steaming is at 105∘C
The method measuring soil bulk density (Da gcm3)consisted in using metal cylinders of known volume(12660 cm3) Porosity (P) was calculated by bulk densitymeasurements and soil real density of 265 gcm3
Heninrsquos structural instability index (IS) according toMussy and Soutter [26] is by definition proportional to soilsensitivity phenomena of bursting on one side and of swellingdispersion on the otherThree samples of 10 g of a soil sampleof 300 g are taken without the destruction of the organicmatter previously sieved to dryness at 2mm Two of themare respectively treated with 5 cm3 of alcohol at 95∘ and5 cm3 of benzene After 5 minutes of imbibition the threesamples are suddenly immersed in water and then after halfan hour of contact sieved to 02mm which makes it possibleto determine the terms AgA AgB and AgE IS was expressedby the following relation
IS = Fraction Oslash lt 002mm (max)(AgA + AgB + AgE) 3 minus 09Sg
(2)
whereAgAAgB andAgE are fractions determined byweightwhich are collected after sievingwith a tamis of 02mmThese
fractions remain after immersion in respectively alcoholbenzene and water Sg is a fraction of sand included in AgAAgB and AgE fractions
The filtration rate K (h) at saturation was estimated fromDarcyrsquos sense by the method of a soil maintained in apermanent water flow K (h) was carried out by open PVCcylindrical tube at both ends having a diameter of 9 cmand a height of 40 cm and is gently pressed into soil layerand carefully removed without being disturbed A piece oftulle is put on using an elastic ring at the bottom of thetube Water soil infiltrating in a beaker is collected every 5minutes in a test tube to determine volume This happensuntil reaching a constant volume during 1 hour K (h) sat(mmh) is determined for the water heights of 005 03 06and 1 kPa and calculated by (3) of Darcy law cited by Mussyand Soutter [26]
119870(cmsdothminus1) = 119864 sdot 119881119867 sdot 119878 (3)
where 119864 is height of soil column by cm119881 is percolated waterfor 1 hour of infiltration by cm3119867 is height of water columnby cm 119878 is internal section of tube by cm2
26 Methods of Soils Chemical Properties Analysis The pHand electrical conductivity (EC) were measured by directreading on a pH meter and conductivity meter in a suspen-sion with a soilwater ratio of 1 25 and 1 5 respectively [27]
Determination of organic matter content (OM) is per-formed using the Walkley and Black method which is basedon the oxidation of carbon with potassium dichromate instrongly acid media [28]
6 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Total CaCO3 is determined by volumetric method ofthe ldquoBernard Calcimeterrdquo while active CaCO3 is deter-mined by contact with a specific extraction reagent ldquoammo-nium oxalaterdquo at 02N
27 Methods Studying Earthworms The determination oftaxa concerns only adult worms In this study we tried touse much more external characters of worms collected usinginternal anatomical features for certain taxa to determinespecies in questionThe external and internal characters usedare those explained by Bouche and Bachelier [10 11] The keychosen for taxa determination is modified by Blakemore in2007 [29] For classification of ecological categories we usedthat of Bouche [10 30] which was used by Bazri [31] in hisstudy of the Northern Algerian earthworm population
Abundance is expressed as point abundance that is totalnumber of earthworms present in a sampling point and isexpressed as number of individuals per m2
Earthworm biomass is expressed as population biomasstaken and expressed by individual biomass (weight of eachworm) andwormpoint biomass (total weight of worms takenat a sampling point)
To estimate diversity of earthworm community for eachsite we used Shannon diversity index derived from a functionestablished by Shannon and Wiener which became theShannon diversity index
Value of Shannon diversity index 1198671015840 varies between 05and 45 bits and is given by the following formula [32 33]
1198671015840 = minussum Pi log2Pi (4)
where Pi (see (5)) is number of species 119894 individuals in relationto total number of individuals identified (119873)
Pi = ni119873 (5)
This index is independent of sample size and takes intoaccount distribution of individuals number per species [34]
3 Results and Discussion
31 Soil Compartment
311 Physical Properties of Soil The means of soil moisture(H) at moment of sampling of earthworm are in Table 5These close rates of soil moisture among the nine sites seemto be more favorable to the biological activity of earthwormsThese moisture levels are due to spring irrigation or precip-itation Average of highest water retention rate (Cr) wasrecorded at S1 S4 and S7 at border of effluents Overallmean water retention rates in study sites appear to be closelyrelated to fine particle contents of study fields especially at theedges of effluents downstream where they are deposited aftertraining by the flow of water Meanwhile Mojid andWyseure[35] determined enhanced water retention capacity values inthe wastewater irrigation conditions compared to fresh waterirrigation
Porosity is highest in S2 characterized by wastewatersdownstream and by cereal crops while it was lowest at
P
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1000
10002000300040005000600070008000
()
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 2 Total porosity average in study sites
S7 at edges of natural water Kochbi effluent (Figure 2)Effectively Gharaibeh et al [36] noted that irrigation treatedfor long periods with wastewaters resulted in slight decreasein bulk density compared to the control Many researchesobtained lower bulk density or higher porosity values underwastewater irrigation [35 37 38] Moreover elevation ofdissolved organic matter in treated wastewaters is reportedto causeincrease clay dispersion by reducing the differentialviscosity of clay suspensions and decreasing the attractionforces between clay particles [39] Wang et al [40] indicatedthat wastewater irrigation caused a slight increase in soilcompaction Particularly high-suspended solid concentra-tion in wastewater may increase the bulk density whilelower concentrationsmay not significantly affect it [41]Thesevalues reflect on one hand the plowing practices in the studysites and on the other hand a less favorable effect of theaccumulation of organicmatter in the fields located upstreamof the effluent
Structural stability is better in S6 characterized by irriga-tion with wastewaters upstream and alternations of vegetablecrops and cereal crops (Figure 3) It is low in S8with irrigationby natural waters and arboriculture Indeed Kirkham [42]notes that inputs of sludge in successive 4 years have raisedorganic matter content of soil of the first 15 cm from 12to 24 Input of organic matter and calcium ions play afavorable role in cements stability which causes improvementof soil particles This same author underlined an improve-ment of unfavorable structures for clayey soils followingapplication of sludge Also Gharaibeh et al [36] noticed thataggregate stability (AS) results revealed that irrigation withtreated wastewaters significantly increased the percentage ofstable soil aggregates compared to the control Miller andKemper [43] observed increases in water-stable aggregates atleast for one growing season following alfalfa incorporationafter which there was a decreaseThey attributed this increaseto the production of cementing substances throughmicrobialactivity by fungal and actinomycete mycelia which providessubstrates to stabilize soil aggregates However Vogeler [38]
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 7
Table5Re
sults
ofstatisticalanalyses
ofph
ysicochemicalcharacteris
ticsindifferent
sites
ofthes
tudy
Region
Varia
bles
Sites
Htimestimestimes
Istimestimestimes
Crtimestimestimes
Da
gcm3timestimestimes
Ptimestimestimes
K005
kpatimestimestimes
K03k
patimestimestimes
K06k
patimestimestimes
K1kpatimestimestimes
MOtimestimestimes
ECdS
mtimes
CaC
o 3
tottimestimestimes
CaC
o 3
acttimestimestimes
pHtimestimestimes
ElMadher
(sitesirrigated
bywastewaters
downstre
amof
ElGou
rzieffluent)
S1M
2506
039
3844
087
6513
981
453
278
129
273
071
2646
990
849
SD5294
0051
2527
0092
3475
0473
0839
0422
0134
1225
0611
2962
4129
0162
S2M
2262
046
2759
073
7049
2636
1089
606
310
174
060
4338
1265
844
SD2566
0072
5259
0031
1175
2231
1401
1091
0299
0830
0294
6118
4072
0134
S3M
2787
029
2873
100
6030
2491
1444
707
341
366
053
2353
1245
855
SD6137
0137
1818
0079
296
410
000610
0358
0172
0563
0175
240
70371
0049
S4M
2497
031
3606
084
6628
1589
667
383
191
643
028
3691
2492
768
SD5294
0125
0816
0039
1466
1649
1536
0477
0191
2065
0039
9423
5450
0216
S5M
2233
023
2851
092
6330
2585
946
420
243
512
020
3131
2032
796
SD2566
0094
3069
0015
0551
2346
264
20919
0274
0980
0081
3387
2803
0206
S6M
2497
019
3323
088
6494
2228
1183
518
390
628
036
2910
3560
793
SD6137
0056
2148
0024
0907
1822
1006
0917
0826
1492
0159
5266
5265
0335
Ouled
SiSlim
ane
(sitesirrigated
bynaturalw
ater
ofEl
Kochbieffl
uent)
S7M
4566
050
3059
108
5734
1080
589
346
157
249
026
5823
1180
783
SD6310
0122
7061
0113
4282
0489
0495
0200
0111
0493
0034
3984
4712
0055
S8M
2682
086
2786
093
6308
1918
1489
751
381
172
021
5369
1570
775
SD3191
006
64382
0032
1207
3878
1134
0593
0360
0433
0036
646
82683
0031
S9M
2463
078
2494
097
6155
1947
1306
724
319
212
059
5182
1800
792
SD3944
0089
344
60091
344
23274
0806
0501
0212
0461
0291
1505
4077
0073
Ranges
valuessite
Max
S7S8
S1S7
S2S2
S8S8
S6S4
S1S7
S6S3
Min
S5S6
S9S2
S7S1
S1S1
S1S2
S5S3
S1S8
ANOVA
results
EffectF
d8
88
88
88
88
88
88
8F
628
3086
654
1138
1117
3944
4153
3531
3802
1519
275
1607
2062
1968
P000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
00017
000
0000
0000
0timestimestimesHighlysig
nificanttimesSign
ificantN
Sno
tsignificantMm
ean
SDstand
arddifferenceF
Fischern
umberP
prob
abilitylevelFd
freedom
degree
8 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Is
000010020030040050060070080090100
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 3 Average of Heninrsquos structural stability index in study sites
K (h) saturated
K (005 kpa)K (03 kpa)K (06 kpa)K (1 kpa)
000
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
(mmmiddotB
minus1)
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
Figure 4 Saturated hydraulic conductivity average at differentwaterpotential in study sites
attributed higher AS value to the higher total carbon contentor to the composition of soil organic matter in areas irrigatedfor long periods with treated wastewaters compared with thecontrol block
The best rates of filtration at saturationKs (h) for 005 kPasuction were recorded in S2 and S3 sites characterized bywastewaters downstream of El Gourzi effluent (Figure 4)But globally for this pressure Ks is more important in theirrigated wastewaters For the other pressures differenceis less remarkable Rapid infiltration capacity of a soil isestimated by macroporosity Rabbi et al [44] mention thatpercentages of clay bulk density and porosity have a stronginfluence onKsThese results are in agreement with Bardhanet al [45] who reported a decrease in the infiltration rate dueto clogging of soil pores by suspendedmaterials present in thetreated wastewaters Previous studies with similar soil texture(clay) of the current study reached the same conclusion that
application of wastewater resulted in pore clogging whichleads to reduced soil porosity and subsequently a decrease inthe soil infiltrability [46]
Meanwhile Morel et al [47] showed that permeabil-ity of a soil increases significantly in plots enriched withsludge as organic matter richness of sludge improves waterbalance and increases reserve of useful water this favorsprocesses of stabilization of soil aggregates and in particulargives soil a better permeability in relation to a more stablestructure There is a close relationship between the poresize distribution and soil water content due to the factthat macropores control the aeration and drainage meso-pores control the water conductivity micropores controlthe water retention and the most available water for plants[48]
312 Chemical Soil Properties The pH (Table 5) in studyfields showsmoderate alkalinity in sites irrigated with naturalwaters as well as fields irrigated by wastewater upstreamThepH levels aremore alkaline in sites downstreamofwastewatereffluent than in the sites with upstreamwastewaters Standarddeviations between pHvalues of sampling points of sites oftenirrigated by upstream wastewater are much greater Schipperet al [15] indicate that soil pH increases as a result of along period of irrigation with wastewater They attribute thisincrease to chemical composition of cations effluent such asNa Ca and Mg The pH of soil irrigated with wastewaterdecreases following oxidation of organic compounds andnitrification of ammonium [49ndash51]
Electrical conductivity values are the lowest at samplingpoints of S5 characterized by irrigation by wastewaterupstream of El Gourzi effluent Standard deviation valuesare much higher at sampling points of S1 as previouslydescribed Contrary to the results mentioned in the work ofMaalem andGhanem [22] on the values of ElGourzi effluentrsquoswastewaters which are higher upstream than downstreamthe soil has higher CE values downstream than upstreamThis could be due to the organic matter which acts as abuffer In a general way according to standards presentedby DIAEADRHASEEN in El Oumlouki et al [52] ECof various treatments soils of our experimentation remainsweak
The organic matter is lowest at S8 with well waterirrigation and arboriculture (Figure 5) It is highest at S4upstream of El Gourzi effluent border Indeed Tamrabet etal [6] reported that a comparison of control soil averages andirrigated soils by wastewater shows that irrigation with thiswastewater has a very significant effect on OM improvementHowever many other studies showed increase in the OMwithin creased period of treated wastewaters irrigation [3853 54] This is the case in our study Moreover high claycontent of soil may physically protect the OM from thedecomposition
The average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is lowest atS3 downstream of El Gourzi effluent It is highest at Kochbinatural water effluent border These values are generallystrongly to very strongly calcareous according to gradingscale proposed by GEPPA in Baize [27] The limestone levelsappear to be related to soil pH
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9(
)
OM
000
200
400
600
800
1000
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 5 Organic matter rate percentage average in study sites
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 6 Earthwormsrsquo total abundance in different sites of study
32 EarthwormCompartment (Table 6) The total abundanceand biomass average of earthworms at different samplingpoints of study sites are the lowest in S9 with irrigation bynatural waters of El Kochbi effluent and cereal crop Theywere the highest in S5 with irrigation by El Gourzi wastewaterupstream and cereal growing (Figure 6) This abundance wasrepresented by 54 of adults and 46 of juvenile worms(Figure 7) Our results explain a negative effect of plowingon the abundance and biomass of earthworms Contrariwisethe irrigation with wastewaters improves significantly theirabundance and biomass In Bazri et alrsquos [17] study the densityof earthworm in eastern Algeria from the coast to the desertwas respectively 600 plusmn 141 to 2960 plusmn 1183 individualsm2and 028 plusmn 039 to 1313 plusmn 794 gm2 These results are almostsimilar to those of Omodeo andMartinucci [55] in NorthernAlgeria who found earthworm densities ranging from 110to 127 individualsm2 and biomass ranging from 125 to30 gm2 Edwards and Bohlen [56] explained that soils with
54Abd adult
46Abd juv
Individualm2
Figure 7 Total abundance percentage of earthworms in study sites
34Ap t
33Ap r
0Ap C
Am10
Oc2
E t3 20
P an
Individualm2
Figure 8 Earthwormsrsquo global specific abundance percentage
low organic matter contents usually do not support highdensities of earthwormsThe highest values are usually foundin fertilized pastures and the lowest ones are in acid or aridsoils [12 57]
Taxonomic study was carried out on a total of 594 adultworms The taxonomic key and nomenclature quoted byRougerie et al [18] allowed classification of 7 species of Lumb-ricidaeAporrectodea trapezoides (Duges 1828)Aporrectodearosea (Savigny 1826)Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny 1826)Allolobophora molleri (Rosa 1889) Octodrilus complana-tus (Duges 1828) Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedra (Savigny1826) and Proctodrilus antipai antipai (Michaelsen 1891)Percentage of overall specific abundance shows dominanceof Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrectodea rosea(Figure 8)
Ap trapezoides is present in greater quantity (134individualsm2) in S7 characterized by nonpractical plowingand natural vegetation at Kochbi edge where there is healthynatural water (Figure 9) However Ap rosea is present ingreater amounts (130 and 120 individualsm2) in S4 and S5at edges of effluent and irrigated by wastewaters upstreamPr antipai is the most dominant species in S6 characterizedby wastewater irrigation upstream of the effluent and arbori-culture On biomass Ap trapezoides is highest (1248 gm2)in S7 at edges of natural water effluent Ap rosea is presenton a biomass of 117 gm2 in S5 irrigated by wastewaters andcharacterized by cereal cultivation These results allow us todeduce that wastewaters have intense effect on developmentof earthwormrsquos biodiversity Species Ap rosea was the mostconcerned by this improvement
Bazri et al [17] noted in their study that it is curious andhard to explain that Ap trapezoides the most common and
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Table6Re
sults
ofstatisticalanalyses
ofearthw
ormsrsquocharacteris
ticsindifferent
sites
ofthes
tudy
Region
Varia
bles
Sites
Abt
Tottimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
adttimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
juvtimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
tottimestimestimes
Abd
endo
timestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
epigN
S
(Indm2)
Abd
anectimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
endo
timestimestimes
(gm2)
Biom
epigN
S
(gm2)
Biom
anectimestimestimes
(gm2)
IDS
ElMadher
(sitesirrigated
bywastewaters
downstre
amof
ElGou
rzieffluent)
S1M
1660
520
1140
508
300
040
180
184
016
080
1945
SD13939
3493
10455
3513
0707
0548
2490
0689
0230
1131
S2M
1940
1120
920
1035
460
000
660
207
000
651
1401
SD3647
2950
3899
1041
2074
000
02191
1324
000
02063
S3M
980
300
700
565
240
000
080
359
000
066
1425
SD16
4310
000707
1832
1140
000
0044
72086
000
00521
S4M
4380
3440
900
2004
2800
200
520
1056
137
752
2192
SD13755
1616
53536
5726
21319
346
45541
8248
2614
7712
S5M
4960
2680
2280
3756
1980
000
700
1886
000
938
1759
SD7162
6496
11167
6361
7014
000
03082
6887
000
03190
S6M
3860
2140
1720
1922
1540
080
540
640
012
633
1799
SD22041
9813
13498
8450
5320
1789
3507
1620
0264
3985
Ouled
SiSlim
ane
(sitesirrigated
bynaturalw
ater
ofEl
Kochbieffl
uent)
S7M
3440
1520
1840
2105
060
000
1460
017
000
1411
0636
SD6229
5586
9099
7948
0894
000
05639
0244
000
07175
S8M
700
120
580
289
060
000
060
052
000
047
0906
SD4416
1789
3962
2627
1342
000
00894
1167
000
00663
S9M
260
040
220
221
000
020
020
000
019
019
1SD
2793
0548
2683
2308
000
0044
7044
7000
00434
0420
Ranges
values
(site)
Max
S5S4
S5S5
S4S4
S7S5
S4S7
S4
Min
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S8S2S3
S5S7S8
S9S7
ANOVA
results
EffectF
d8
88
88
88
88
8
F1340
1461
366
2595
868
127
981
1400
124
755
P
000
00003
000
0000
0000
00287
000
0000
00301
000
0
timestimestimesHighlysig
nificantNSno
tsignificantMm
ean
SDstand
arddifferenceIndm2ind
ividualm2F
Fisc
hern
umberP
prob
abilitylevelFd
freedom
degree
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
Ap tAp rAp CAmOc
E tP an
0050
100150200250300
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alG
2)
Figure 9 Earthwormsrsquo specific abundance average in study sites
dominant species was not previously quoted by other authorsworking on Algerian lumbricoid fauna Possible explanationsinclude identification problems in this complex group ofspecies recent introduction and posterior expansion orolder introduction as suggested by the large geographicdistribution of the species In the semiarid regions the taxonA molleri is important it locates preferentially in wet points(notably at the edge of effluents) In mountains of semiaridregions the species O complanatus dominates As for Aprosea it is the only one observed in arid bioclimatic stage atpoints where there is sufficient water
Among the 7 species inventoried (Figure 10) the endo-geic species accounted for 62 (Ap rosea A molleri Pantipai and Ap caliginosa) epigeic species for 3 (E tetrae-dra) and anecic species for 22 (O complanatus and Aptrapezoides) the latter may be considered as anecic endogeicor endoanecic because it varies according to the strain
Bouche [10] separated earthworms into three categoriesbased on morphological and behavioral characteristicsEpigeic species are consumer litter living and feeding on orsurface soil Anecic earthworms live in permanent verticalburrows within the soil and may emerge to feed on surfacelayer endogeic species live in temporary horizontal burrowsand feed on the soil This species is geophagous since itgains its nutrients by eating the soil and the green morph ischaracterized by Bouche [10] as more epigeic
Endogeic abundance is much higher in S4 at edgesupstream of the El Gourzi effluent which is without culturalpractices (Figure 11) However S7 at edges of El Kochbi efflu-ent from natural waters without cultural practices is betterrepresented by an anecic population The epigeic populationis important only on S4 and S6 upstream of the wastewatereffluent Endogeic earthworms are a major component of soilfauna communities in most natural ecosystems of the humidtropics [58]
The Shannon diversity index of different study sites is thelowest at S7 corresponding to edges of Kochbi effluent It isthe highest at S4 characterized by wastewaters upstream of ElGourzi effluent and any cultural practices This result allows
62Abd endo
3Abd epig
35Abd anec
Individualsm2
Figure 10 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance average
Abd endoAbd epigAbd anec
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 11 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance in studiedsoil sites
us to deduce that wastewater loaded with organic matterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
33 ANOVA Statistical analysis with the Newman-Keulsmultiple comparison posttest at 119875 le 005 (Table 5) revealeda highly significant effect of different irrigation practices andcultural practices on soilrsquos physical parameters (Is Cr PK 005 K 03 K 06 and K 1) Water retention infiltrationand hydraulic conductivity are among the soilrsquos hydraulicproperties affected by soil porosity and pore size distribution[40 59] Spatial variability of soilrsquos physical properties withinor among agricultural fields is inherent in nature due togeologic and pedologic soil forming factors but some of thevariability may be induced by tillage and other managementpracticesThese factors interact with each other across spatialand temporal scales and are further modified locally byerosion and deposition processes [60] In the regions witha cool climate soils are exposed to freeze-thaw cyclesespecially in the spring period Aggregation and therefore soilstructure may be either positively or negatively affected byfreeze-thaw cycles [61] Therefore the impacts of wastewater
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S1S2
S3S4
S5
S6
S7
S8S9
IsCr
Da
PK (005)
K (03)
K (06)K (1)
MO
CE
Ctot
CactifPH
Abt tot
Abd adult
Abd juv
Abd Ap t
Abd Ap r
Abd Ap CAbd Am
Abd Oc
Abd E t
Abd P an
Bio tot
Abd endoAbd epig
Abd anec
IDS
Biplot (axes F1 and F2 6186)
minus5
minus4
minus3
minus2
minus1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
F2 (1
996
)
minus7 minus6 minus5 minus4 minus3 minus2 minus1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8minus8F1 (4190)
Figure 12 PCA graph of interaction between studied soil properties
irrigation on main soil properties in agricultural areas undercool climate conditions may be different
ANOVA reveals highlight at very highly significant effectof different irrigation practices and cultural practices onstudied chemical parameters of soil (MO CE CaCO3 totCaCO3 act and pH) Effectively the soilrsquos physical propertiesare associated with nutrient applied and environmental soilscience availability solute andpollutantmovementmicrobialactivity and soil organic matter stabilization [62]
On parameters of earthworm characteristics (Table 6)ANOVA revealed a significant effect of study sites differencesexcept for Ap caliginosa and E tetraedra tetraedra speciesrsquoabundance The significant effect of sites has been wellrevealed on endogeic and anecic abundance However thereis no significant effect of different irrigation and croppingpractices on epigeic abundance
34 PCA In order to study interaction between physico-chemical soil parameters and earthworm communities ofstudied sites Principal Component Analysis (PCA)was usedThis procedure makes it possible to group or distributethe sampling sites around principal axes in function of thephysicochemical and earthwormparameters thus facilitatingobservation of possible links between variables and placeswhere they are most represented (Figure 12)
Contribution of principal axes to total variation is 4190for axis 1 and 1996 for axis 2 which makes a total of6186 which is well acceptable On variables distributiongraph both axes 1 and 2 contrast two groups of variablesbiological parameters of earthworms (total biomass totalabundance and adult wormsrsquo abundance) and physical infil-tration parameters (infiltration at saturation K 005 kPa K03 kPa K 06 kPa and K 1 kPa) The first group of biologicalvariables is represented by S5 site characterized by irrigationswith wastewaters upstream of El Gourzi effluent and by cereal
crop (wheatalfalfa) The group of infiltration characteristicsis represented by S2 and S3 sites These sites are irrigatedwith downstream wastewaters and characterized by cerealand arboreal crops This group includes physicochemicalcharacteristics pH and EC Axis 1 is intensely correlatedwith structural stability index and water retention capacityIt divides the characteristics of earthworms studied into twosubgroups One of them is well represented by S4 and S6 withirrigation by wastewater at upstream This group includesOM and active CaCO3 as well as Shannon Biodiversity Index
Francis and Fraser [63] and Capowiez et al [64] reportedthat galleries excavated by terrestrial bioturbation activitycontributed to water transfers Also Bottinelli et al [65]and Peres et al [66] reported that earthworms contribute toimproving soil porosity Indeed the PCA groups the S4 S5and S6 sites with abundance and biomass of earthworms andsoil porosity For his part Supersperg [67] found that annualapplications of liquid sludge cause an increase in compactnessof a heavy soil by clogging and a decrease in pores volume
By this PCA it can be deduced that very high organiccharge of partially treated waters has negative repercus-sions on hydraulic conductivity if this load exceeds certaindoses because the PCA rallied the hydraulic conductivityat saturation by different pressures applied to S1 S2 and S3sites downstream of El Gourzi effluent as well as S8 andS9 sites irrigated with natural waters of El Kochbi effluentThis is contradictory to the results of Minhas and Samra[68] and Ababsa et al [69] who have worked on the effectof earthworms on hydraulic conductivity in soils irrigatedby wastewaters Meanwhile our findings concur with theworks of some authors Wang et al Viviani and Iovino andMolahoseini [40 46 70] who have to work on the same axisof research
This opposition of results can be explained bymore or lessrapid duration of organic matter evolution of wastewaters
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 13
This change in state of OM from pores plugging form tosoil stabilizing and structuring form is closely related to soilphysicochemical parameters (pH active CaCO3 and EC)Indeed Callot and Dupuis [71] assume the role of activeCaCO3 in protection and conservation of organic matterin carbonate soils Active CaCO3 thus acts as a protectoragainst biological degradation of organic matter of these soilsto make it a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition[72] All the soils being studied are carbonate soils theiractiveCaCO3should play an important role in humificationprocess by rapidly sequestering lignified organic compoundsas inherited or residual humus [28]
4 Conclusion
Our objective was to study interaction between earthwormcommunity characteristics and physicochemical propertiesof soils characterized by irrigation with wastewaters andwell waters in conditions of different topography (upstreamand downstream) and cropping practices (natural vegetationcereal cultivation and arboriculture) in two regions of Batnadepartment
The results show that the maximum water retentioncapacity is better explained by the fine texture of the soilat the effluent border The porosity and rates of infiltrationat saturation are higher in sites characterized by irrigationwith wastewaters downstream of effluent This was explainedby clogging of soil pores by suspended materials presentin the wastewaters However structural stability is better insite characterized by irrigation with wastewaters upstreamof El Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This is due on onehand to input of organic matter and calcium ions whichplay the role of cements and cause improvement of particlessoil aggregation according to Kirkham [42] On the otherhand at cereal crop that effect increases production ofcementing substances through microbial activity by fungaland actinomycete mycelia that provide substrates to stabilizesoil aggregates according to Miller and Kemper [43]
The pH levels are more alkaline in downstream sitesthan upstream sites of wastewater effluent The pH of soilsirrigated with wastewater decreases following oxidation oforganic compounds and nitrification of ammonium Electri-cal conductivity values are the lowest at sampling points ofsite characterized by irrigation with wastewater upstream ofEl Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This could probably bedue to the level of organic matter which acts as a buffer Theorganicmatter is highest at site upstreamof El Gourzi effluentborder characterized by natural vegetation which is certainlyexplained by an important load of organic matter from thewastewater upstream of the effluent and high clay content ofsoil may physically protect the OM from the decompositionThe average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is higher atKochbi natural water effluent border while it showed lowvalues at downstream sites However the active CaCO3rate is the lowest at downstream site of El Gourzi effluentborder But it presents the highest values at S6 site irrigatedby wastewaters upstream of effluentThis result appears to berelated to soil pH
The total abundance and biomass average of earthwormsat different sampling points of study sites are the lowestat site irrigated by natural waters of El Kochbi effluentwhich is cultivated by cereal On the contrary they are thehighest at upstream site irrigated by El Gourzi wastewaterand cereal growing This result explains that abundance andbiomass of earthworms are related to wastewaters irrigationEarthworms are muchmore present where irrigation water isheavily loaded with organic materials
Taxonomic study allowed classification of 7 species ofLumbricidae Percentage of overall specific abundance showsdominance of Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrec-todea rosea The result shows that wastewaters have intenseeffect on development of earthwormrsquos biodiversity SpeciesAp rosea was the most concerned by this improvementAmong the 7 species inventoried the endogeic earthwormsrepresent the majority Endogeic abundance is much higherin site at edges upstream of the El Gourzi effluent which iswithout cultural practices However site at edges of El Kochbieffluent from natural waters without cultural practices isbetter represented by an anecic population The Shannondiversity index of different study sites shows that wastewaterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
ANOVA revealed a highly significant effect of differentirrigation types as well as different cultivation practices onall physicochemical properties of soil and on endogeic andanecic population This was not the case for the epigeicpopulation
The PCA allowed characterizing two major groups Thefirst group is defined by sites that are explained by the hydro-dynamic infiltration These sites are irrigated by wastewaterthey are located downstream of effluent (lowest load oforganic matter) and characterized by cereal and arborealcrops This group includes other chemical characteristicspH and EC The second group formed by upstream sitesirrigated by wastewaters encompasses the characteristics ofearthworms explained by highest load of organic matter Itincludes chemical characteristics OM and active limestoneIt also includes the ShannonBiodiversity IndexWe explainedthis by active CaCO3 which acts as a protector againstbiological degradation of organicmatter of these soils tomakeit a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition
Overall the results of the PCA show us that the effectof wastewater is positive on improvement of abundance andbiomass and biodiversity of earthworms population On thecontrary the wastewaters are unfavorable for the infiltrationphysical parameters of water into soil This will surelyhave long-term repercussions on the physical and biologicalparameters of soil and will induce a new organization ofmacro- and mesoporosity due to improvement of biologicalparameters of earthworms
Finally we propose complementing these results in thefield and in the laboratory to see the evolution of infiltrationparameters of soil water in parallel with the dynamics ofearthworm community in soil irrigated by wastewaters Thebiodiversity of earthworms may induce an improvement ininfiltration and reduce the problems of clogging pores and
14 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
solve other problems that wastewaters can introduce intosoils
Abbreviations
Cr Water retention capacityIs Structural instability indexDa Bulk density119875 Porosity119870 (h) sat Saturated hydraulic conductivity at
potential differenceCE Electric conductivityMO Organic matterTEM Trace Element MetalsMES Suspended matterBOD5 5-Day biological oxygen demandCOD Chemical oxygen demandAbd AbundanceJuv JuvenileAdt AdultBiom BiomassEndo EndogeicEpig EpigeicAnec AnecicAp t Aporrectodea trapezoidesAp r Aporrectodea roseaAp c Aporrectodea caliginosaAm Allolobophora molleriP ant Proctodrilus antipai antipaiOc Octodrilus complanatusE t Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedraSDI Shannon Biodiversity IndexDj Djebel or mountainWed effluent
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interestregarding the publication of this paper
References
[1] E Corcoran C Nellemann E Baker R Bos D Osborn andHSavelli ick Water The central role of wastewater managementin sustainable development A rapid response assessment UnitedNations Environment Programme UN-HABITAT ArendalNorway 2010
[2] F Hiouani H Messadia A Masmoudi D Madani and C TirldquoInfluence des eaux residuaires de tannerie sur le poids de lamatiere secherdquo in Proceedings of the Revue des Regions Arides-Actes du 4eme Meeting International - Numero Special - n∘35(32014) pp 1023ndash1319 2013
[3] B Jimenez and T Asano ldquoWater reclamation and reuse aroundthe Worldrdquo inWater Reuse An International Survey of CurrentPractice Issues and Needs pp 3ndash26 IWA Publishing LondonUK 2008
[4] Z S Burak ldquoWater wetlands and climate change build-ings linkages for their integrated managementrdquo MediterraneanRegional Roundtable pp 10-11 2002
[5] H Bouzerzour L Tamrabet and M Kribaa ldquoReponse de deuxgraminees fourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee
et de boue residuairerdquo in Proceedings Seminaire InternationalBiologie et Environnement 71 Univ Mentouri ConstantineAlgeria 2002
[6] L Tamrabet H Bouzerzour M Kribaa et and D Golea ldquoLedevenir des eaux usees traitees Reponse de deux gramineesfourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee traiteerdquo inProceedings of the Actes du Colloque international Oasis Eau etPopulation Universite Khider Biskra Algerie 2003
[7] M B Pescod Wastewater Treatment and Use in AgricultureFAO Irrigation and Drainage Rome Italy 1992
[8] A Coppola A Santini P Botti S Vacca V Comegna andG Severino ldquoMethodological approach for evaluating the re-sponse of soil hydrological behavior to irrigation with treatedmunicipal wastewaterrdquo Journal of Hydrology vol 292 no 1-4pp 114ndash134 2004
[9] I Nadav J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoWater repellency inducedby organic matter (OM) in treated wastewater (TWW) infiltra-tion ponds and irrigationrdquo Functions of Natural Organic Matterin Changing Environment pp 883ndash887 2013
[10] M B Bouche Lombriciens de France Ecologie et SystematiqueINRA Publication 72-2 Institut national de la rechercheagronomique Paris France 1972
[11] G Bachelier ldquoLes vers annelesrdquo in La faune du sol IDT n∘38pp 127ndash183 ORSTOM Paris France 1978
[12] K E Lee EarthwormsTheir Ecology and Relationship with Soilsand Land Use Academic Press Sydney Australia 1985
[13] P Lavelle C Lattaud D Trigo and I Barois ldquoMutualism andbiodiversity in soilsrdquo Plant and Soil vol 170 no 1 pp 23ndash331995
[14] T Kautz C Stumm R Kosters andU Kopke ldquoEffects of peren-nial fodder crops on soil structure in agricultural headlandsrdquoJournal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science vol 173 no 4 pp490ndash501 2010
[15] L A Schipper J C Williamson H A Kettles and T W SpeirldquoImpact of land-applied tertiary-treated effluent on soil bio-chemical propertiesrdquo Journal of Environmental Quality vol 25no 5 pp 1073ndash1077 1996
[16] A Lemtiri G Colinet T Alabi et al ldquoImpacts of earthwormson soil components and dynamics A reviewrdquo BiotechnologyAgronomy and Society and Environment vol 18 no 1 pp 121ndash133 2014
[17] K Bazri G Ouahrani Z Gheribi-Aoulmi et D J and D CosinldquoLa diversite des lombriciens dans lrsquoest algerien depuis la cotejusqursquoau desertrdquo EcologiaMediterranea vol 39 no 2 p 17 2013
[18] R Rougerie T Decaens L Deharveng et al ldquoDNAbarcodes forsoil animal taxonomyrdquoPesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira vol 44no 8 pp 789ndash802 2009
[19] T Decaens ldquoMacroecological patterns in soil communitiesrdquoGlobal Ecology and Biogeography vol 19 no 3 pp 287ndash3022010
[20] L Tamrabet M Kribaa B Hamidi S Alalata W Berkani andA Hamdoudi ldquoEvaluation de lrsquoaptitude des effluents drsquoOued ElGourzi (Batna Nord Est drsquoAlgerie) a lrsquoirrigation et leur impactsur le sol et la qualite des cultures maraıcheres et fourrageresrdquoin Actes du congres international lsquoEau et Dechets UniversiteMohamed I Oujda Maroco 2007
[21] Office National de lrsquoAssainissement (ONA) Situation actuelledes stations de traitement drsquoeaux usees en Algerie MRE AlgerAlgerie 7 p 2006
[22] S Maalem and N Ghanem ldquoLa caracterisation physico-chim-iques des eaux usees de Oued El Gourzirdquo In Actes de ColloqueNational de Biologie de lrsquouniversite de Batna 2016
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 15
[23] M Bournaud and C Amoros ldquoDes indicateurs biologiques auxdescripteurs de fonctionnement Quelques exemples dans lesysteme fluvialrdquo Bull Ecol vol 15 no 1 pp 57ndash66 1984
[24] H Marschner Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants vol 78Academic press New York NY USA 2nd edition 1995
[25] Z Alouni ldquoFlux de la charge parasitaire dans cinq stationsdrsquoepuration en Tunisierdquo Revue des sciences de lrsquoeau vol 6 no 4pp 453ndash462 1993
[26] A Mussy et and M Soutter Physique du sol ISBN 1st edition1991
[27] D BaizeGuide des analyses courantes en pedologie INRR 1988[28] P Duchaufour Pedologie I Pedogenese et classificationMasson
Paris France 1977[29] B Blakemore Cosmopolitan Earthworms An Eco-Taxonomic
Guide to the Peregrine Species of the World 2nd Ed 656 p2007
[30] M B Bouche ldquoStrategies Lombriciennes Soil organism ascomponents of ecosystemsrdquo in Proceedings of the 6th Int CollSoil Zool Ecol Bull U Lohm and T Persson Eds pp 122ndash132Stockholm Sweden 1977
[31] K Bazri ldquoEtude de la biodiversite des lombriciens et leursrelations avec les proprietes du sol dans differents etagesbioclimatiques dans lrsquoEst Algerienrdquo in These doctorat p 188Constantine University 2015
[32] J BlondelBiogeographie et ecologieMasson Paris France 1979[33] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 505 Dunod Paris France 1985[34] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 434 Dunod Paris France 1975[35] M A Mojid and G C L Wyseure ldquoImplications of municipal
wastewater irrigation on soil health froma study inBangladeshrdquoSoil Use and Management vol 29 no 3 pp 384ndash396 2013
[36] M A Gharaibeh T A Ghezzehei A A Albalasmeh andM ZAlghzawi ldquoAlteration of physical and chemical characteristicsof clayey soils by irrigationwith treatedwaste waterrdquoGeodermavol 276 pp 33ndash40 2016
[37] A Mojiri ldquoEffects of municipal wastewater on physical andchemical properties of saline soilrdquo Journal of Biodiversity andEnvironmental Sciences vol 5 pp 71ndash76 2011
[38] I Vogeler ldquoEffect of long-term wastewater application onphysical soil propertiesrdquoWater Air and Soil Pollution vol 196no 1-4 pp 385ndash392 2009
[39] J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoRheology of sodium-montmoril-lonite suspensions Effects of humic substances and pHrdquo SoilScience Society of America Journal vol 66 no 2 pp 406ndash4122002
[40] Z Wang A C Chang L Wu and D Crowley ldquoAssessingthe soil quality of long-term reclaimed wastewater-irrigatedcroplandrdquo Geoderma vol 114 no 3-4 pp 261ndash278 2003
[41] A Kunhikrishnan N S Bolan K Muller S Laurenson RNaidu and W-I Kim ldquoThe influence of wastewater irrigationon the transformation and bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)sin soilrdquo Advances in Agronomy vol 115 pp 215ndash297 2012
[42] B Kirkham Isposal of sludge on land Effects on soils plants andground water compost Sc pp 6-10 1974
[43] D E Miller andW D Kemper ldquoWater stability of aggregates oftwo soils as in fluenced by incorporation of alfalfardquoAgron J vol54 no 6 pp 494ndash496 1962
[44] S M F Rabbi B R Roy M M Miah M S Amin and TKhandakar ldquoSpatial variability of physical soil quality index ofan agricultural fieldrdquo Applied and Environmental Soil Sciencevol 2014 Article ID 379012 10 pages 2014
[45] G Bardhan D Russo D Goldstein and G J Levy ldquoChanges inthe hydraulic properties of a clay soil under long-term irrigationwith treated wastewaterrdquo Geoderma vol 264 pp 1ndash9 2016
[46] G Viviani and M Iovino ldquoWastewater reuse effects on soilhydraulic conductivityrdquo Journal of Irrigation and DrainageEngineering vol 130 no 6 pp 476ndash484 2004
[47] J L Morel A Guikart and H Sedgo ldquoEffet de lrsquoepandage desboues urbaines sur lrsquoetat physique des sols communsrdquo in XIcongres de lrsquoAISS Ed lA I S S XI congrΦs de Ed pp 12ndash19 Canada Mouton Canada 1978
[48] U Sahin O Anapali and S Ercisli ldquoPhysico-chemical andphysical properties of some substrates used in horticulturerdquoGartenbau wissen schaft 67 pp 55ndash60 2002
[49] M J Mohammad and N Mazahreh ldquoChanges in soil fertilityparameters in response to irrigation of forage crops withsecondary treated wastewaterrdquo Communications in Soil Scienceand Plant Analysis vol 34 no 9-10 pp 1281ndash1294 2003
[50] OVazquez-Montiel N JHoran andDDMara ldquoManagementof domestic wastewater for reuse in irrigationrdquo Water Scienceand Technology vol 33 no 10-11 pp 355ndash362 1996
[51] A R Hayes C F Mancino and I L Pepper ldquoIrrigation ofTurfgrass with Secondary Sewage Effluent I Soil and LeachateWater Qualityrdquo Agronomy Journal vol 82 no 5 p 939 1990
[52] K El Oumlouki R Moussadek A Zouahri H Dakak MChati and M El Amrani ldquoStudy of physic-chemical quality ofwater and soil in the region SoussMassa (Case perimeter Issen)Moroccordquo Journal of Materials and Environmental Science vol5 pp 2365ndash2374 2014
[53] M Galavi A Jalali M Ramroodi S R Mousavi andH GalavildquoEffects of Treated Municipal Wastewater on Soil ChemicalProperties and Heavy Metal Uptake by Sorghum (sorghumbicolor L)rdquo Journal of Agricultural Science vol 2 no 3 2010
[54] M A Gharaibeh N I Eltaif and B Al-Abdullah ldquoImpact offield application of treated wastewater on hydraulic propertiesof vertisolsrdquo Water Air and Soil Pollution vol 184 no 1-4 pp347ndash353 2007
[55] P Omodeo and G Martinucci Earthworms of MaghrebSelected Symposya andMonographsUZI 2MucchiModenapp 235-250 1987
[56] A Edwards and P J Bohlen Biology et Ecology of earthwormsvol 3 Springer Science amp Business Media 1996
[57] P Lavelle and A V Spain Soil Ecology Springer Science ampBusiness Media 2001
[58] P Lavelle GMelendez B Pashanasi andR Schaefer ldquoNitrogenmineralization and reorganization in casts of the geophagoustropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscoleci-dae)rdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 14 no 1 pp 49ndash53 1992
[59] R A Goncalves T V Gloaguen M V Folegatti P L Libardi YLucas andC RMontes ldquoPore size distribution in soils irrigatedwith sodic water and wastewaterrdquo Revista Brasileira de Cienciado Solo vol 34 no 3 pp 701ndash707 2010
[60] J Iqbal J A Thomasson J N Jenkins P R Owens and F DWhisler ldquoSpatial variability analysis of soil physical propertiesof alluvial soilsrdquo Soil Science Society of America Journal vol 69no 4 pp 1338ndash1350 2005
[61] U Sahin I Angin and F M Kiziloglu ldquoEffect of freezing andthawing processes on some physical properties of saline-sodicsoils mixed with sewage sludge or fly ashrdquo Soil and TillageResearch vol 99 no 2 pp 254ndash260 2008
[62] R Lal and M K Shukla Principles of Soil Physics MarcelDekker New York NY USA 2004
16 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[63] G S Francis and P M Fraser ldquoThe effects of three earthwormspecies on soil macroporosity and hydraulic conductivityrdquoApplied Soil Ecology vol 10 no 1-2 pp 11ndash19 1998
[64] Y Capowiez S Cadoux P Bouchant et al ldquoThe effect oftillage type and cropping system on earthworm communitiesmacroporosity and water infiltrationrdquo Soil and Tillage Researchvol 105 no 2 pp 209ndash216 2009
[65] N Bottinelli T Henry-des-Tureaux V Hallaire et al ldquoEarth-worms accelerate soil porosity turnover under watering condi-tionsrdquo Geoderma vol 156 no 1-2 pp 43ndash47 2010
[66] G Peres D Cluzeau P Curmi and V Hallaire ldquoEarthwormactivity and soil structure changes due to organic enrichmentsin vineyard systemsrdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 27 no 4pp 417ndash424 1998
[67] H Supersperg tilisation de la boue a lrsquoetat liquide sur les solslourds BERICHETE Der ATV 28p1977
[68] P S Minhas and J S Samra Wastewater use in peri-urbanagriculture impacts and opportunities Central Soil salinityResearch Institute Karnal 132001 India Tech Bull N562 p2004
[69] N Ababsa M Kribaa D Addad L Tamrabet and M BahaldquoDoes earthworms density really modify soilrsquos hydrodynamicproperties in irrigated systems with recycled waterrdquo Journal ofFundamental and Applied Sciences vol 8 no 2 p 627 2016
[70] H Molahoseini ldquoLong-term effects of municipal wastewaterirrigation on some properties of a semiarid region soil of IranrdquoInternational Journal of Science Engineering and Technologyvol 3 no 4 pp 444ndash449 2014
[71] G Callot and M Dupuis ldquoLe calcaire actif des sols et sa signifi-cationrdquo Science du sol vol 1 pp 17ndash27 1980
[72] H Ben Hassine T Aloui T Gallali T Bouzid S El amri andR Ben Hassen ldquoValuation quantitative et roles de la matiereorganique dans les sols cultives en zones subhumides et semi-arides mediterraneennes de la Tunisierdquo Agro-Solutions vol 17no 2 pp 4ndash17 2008
Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
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EcosystemsJournal of
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MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
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Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 201
International Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
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ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
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The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 5
Table 3 Textural classification of soils from sampling sites in El Madher and Ouled Si Slimane areas
Sites S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 sand 1420 1996 4577 3263 2982 3293 4624 3058 2544 silt 3302 4228 1505 3512 3075 4211 3205 6573 6707 clay 5278 3776 3919 3225 3942 2496 2171 369 749Textural class Clay Clay loam Clay loam Clay loam Clay Loam Loam Silt loam Silt loam
Table 4 Cropping practices characteristics in the selected sites at El Madher and Ouled Si Slimane areas
Station Cropping practices Topography Mean altitude (m) Water irrigation quality Year of studyS1 El Gourzi effluent edges Downstream 8640 Wastewaters 2016S2 Arboriculture (olive tree) Downstream 8624 Wastewaters 2016S3 Cereal farming (barleycornwheat) Downstream 8538 Wastewaters 2016S4 El Gourzi effluent edges Upstream 8748 Wastewaters 2015S5 Cereal crops (wheatalfalfa) Upstream 9034 Wastewaters 2015S6 Market gardeningcereal farming Upstream 9234 Wastewaters 2015S7 El Kochbi effluent edges Downstream 8084 Natural waters 2014S8 Arboriculture (olive tree) Upstream 786 Natural waters 2014S9 Cereal farming (wheatbarley) Downstream 7794 Natural waters 2014
for 24 hours It is estimated by the following formula
119867 = 119882119898 minus119882119889119882119889times 100 (1)
119867 is the soil moisture at time of earthworms removal119882119898is soil moist weight119882119889 is soil dry weight
Soil moisture at maximum retention capacity (Cr) wasestimated by submersion of soil samples by water untilsaturation Steaming is at 105∘C
The method measuring soil bulk density (Da gcm3)consisted in using metal cylinders of known volume(12660 cm3) Porosity (P) was calculated by bulk densitymeasurements and soil real density of 265 gcm3
Heninrsquos structural instability index (IS) according toMussy and Soutter [26] is by definition proportional to soilsensitivity phenomena of bursting on one side and of swellingdispersion on the otherThree samples of 10 g of a soil sampleof 300 g are taken without the destruction of the organicmatter previously sieved to dryness at 2mm Two of themare respectively treated with 5 cm3 of alcohol at 95∘ and5 cm3 of benzene After 5 minutes of imbibition the threesamples are suddenly immersed in water and then after halfan hour of contact sieved to 02mm which makes it possibleto determine the terms AgA AgB and AgE IS was expressedby the following relation
IS = Fraction Oslash lt 002mm (max)(AgA + AgB + AgE) 3 minus 09Sg
(2)
whereAgAAgB andAgE are fractions determined byweightwhich are collected after sievingwith a tamis of 02mmThese
fractions remain after immersion in respectively alcoholbenzene and water Sg is a fraction of sand included in AgAAgB and AgE fractions
The filtration rate K (h) at saturation was estimated fromDarcyrsquos sense by the method of a soil maintained in apermanent water flow K (h) was carried out by open PVCcylindrical tube at both ends having a diameter of 9 cmand a height of 40 cm and is gently pressed into soil layerand carefully removed without being disturbed A piece oftulle is put on using an elastic ring at the bottom of thetube Water soil infiltrating in a beaker is collected every 5minutes in a test tube to determine volume This happensuntil reaching a constant volume during 1 hour K (h) sat(mmh) is determined for the water heights of 005 03 06and 1 kPa and calculated by (3) of Darcy law cited by Mussyand Soutter [26]
119870(cmsdothminus1) = 119864 sdot 119881119867 sdot 119878 (3)
where 119864 is height of soil column by cm119881 is percolated waterfor 1 hour of infiltration by cm3119867 is height of water columnby cm 119878 is internal section of tube by cm2
26 Methods of Soils Chemical Properties Analysis The pHand electrical conductivity (EC) were measured by directreading on a pH meter and conductivity meter in a suspen-sion with a soilwater ratio of 1 25 and 1 5 respectively [27]
Determination of organic matter content (OM) is per-formed using the Walkley and Black method which is basedon the oxidation of carbon with potassium dichromate instrongly acid media [28]
6 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Total CaCO3 is determined by volumetric method ofthe ldquoBernard Calcimeterrdquo while active CaCO3 is deter-mined by contact with a specific extraction reagent ldquoammo-nium oxalaterdquo at 02N
27 Methods Studying Earthworms The determination oftaxa concerns only adult worms In this study we tried touse much more external characters of worms collected usinginternal anatomical features for certain taxa to determinespecies in questionThe external and internal characters usedare those explained by Bouche and Bachelier [10 11] The keychosen for taxa determination is modified by Blakemore in2007 [29] For classification of ecological categories we usedthat of Bouche [10 30] which was used by Bazri [31] in hisstudy of the Northern Algerian earthworm population
Abundance is expressed as point abundance that is totalnumber of earthworms present in a sampling point and isexpressed as number of individuals per m2
Earthworm biomass is expressed as population biomasstaken and expressed by individual biomass (weight of eachworm) andwormpoint biomass (total weight of worms takenat a sampling point)
To estimate diversity of earthworm community for eachsite we used Shannon diversity index derived from a functionestablished by Shannon and Wiener which became theShannon diversity index
Value of Shannon diversity index 1198671015840 varies between 05and 45 bits and is given by the following formula [32 33]
1198671015840 = minussum Pi log2Pi (4)
where Pi (see (5)) is number of species 119894 individuals in relationto total number of individuals identified (119873)
Pi = ni119873 (5)
This index is independent of sample size and takes intoaccount distribution of individuals number per species [34]
3 Results and Discussion
31 Soil Compartment
311 Physical Properties of Soil The means of soil moisture(H) at moment of sampling of earthworm are in Table 5These close rates of soil moisture among the nine sites seemto be more favorable to the biological activity of earthwormsThese moisture levels are due to spring irrigation or precip-itation Average of highest water retention rate (Cr) wasrecorded at S1 S4 and S7 at border of effluents Overallmean water retention rates in study sites appear to be closelyrelated to fine particle contents of study fields especially at theedges of effluents downstream where they are deposited aftertraining by the flow of water Meanwhile Mojid andWyseure[35] determined enhanced water retention capacity values inthe wastewater irrigation conditions compared to fresh waterirrigation
Porosity is highest in S2 characterized by wastewatersdownstream and by cereal crops while it was lowest at
P
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1000
10002000300040005000600070008000
()
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 2 Total porosity average in study sites
S7 at edges of natural water Kochbi effluent (Figure 2)Effectively Gharaibeh et al [36] noted that irrigation treatedfor long periods with wastewaters resulted in slight decreasein bulk density compared to the control Many researchesobtained lower bulk density or higher porosity values underwastewater irrigation [35 37 38] Moreover elevation ofdissolved organic matter in treated wastewaters is reportedto causeincrease clay dispersion by reducing the differentialviscosity of clay suspensions and decreasing the attractionforces between clay particles [39] Wang et al [40] indicatedthat wastewater irrigation caused a slight increase in soilcompaction Particularly high-suspended solid concentra-tion in wastewater may increase the bulk density whilelower concentrationsmay not significantly affect it [41]Thesevalues reflect on one hand the plowing practices in the studysites and on the other hand a less favorable effect of theaccumulation of organicmatter in the fields located upstreamof the effluent
Structural stability is better in S6 characterized by irriga-tion with wastewaters upstream and alternations of vegetablecrops and cereal crops (Figure 3) It is low in S8with irrigationby natural waters and arboriculture Indeed Kirkham [42]notes that inputs of sludge in successive 4 years have raisedorganic matter content of soil of the first 15 cm from 12to 24 Input of organic matter and calcium ions play afavorable role in cements stability which causes improvementof soil particles This same author underlined an improve-ment of unfavorable structures for clayey soils followingapplication of sludge Also Gharaibeh et al [36] noticed thataggregate stability (AS) results revealed that irrigation withtreated wastewaters significantly increased the percentage ofstable soil aggregates compared to the control Miller andKemper [43] observed increases in water-stable aggregates atleast for one growing season following alfalfa incorporationafter which there was a decreaseThey attributed this increaseto the production of cementing substances throughmicrobialactivity by fungal and actinomycete mycelia which providessubstrates to stabilize soil aggregates However Vogeler [38]
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 7
Table5Re
sults
ofstatisticalanalyses
ofph
ysicochemicalcharacteris
ticsindifferent
sites
ofthes
tudy
Region
Varia
bles
Sites
Htimestimestimes
Istimestimestimes
Crtimestimestimes
Da
gcm3timestimestimes
Ptimestimestimes
K005
kpatimestimestimes
K03k
patimestimestimes
K06k
patimestimestimes
K1kpatimestimestimes
MOtimestimestimes
ECdS
mtimes
CaC
o 3
tottimestimestimes
CaC
o 3
acttimestimestimes
pHtimestimestimes
ElMadher
(sitesirrigated
bywastewaters
downstre
amof
ElGou
rzieffluent)
S1M
2506
039
3844
087
6513
981
453
278
129
273
071
2646
990
849
SD5294
0051
2527
0092
3475
0473
0839
0422
0134
1225
0611
2962
4129
0162
S2M
2262
046
2759
073
7049
2636
1089
606
310
174
060
4338
1265
844
SD2566
0072
5259
0031
1175
2231
1401
1091
0299
0830
0294
6118
4072
0134
S3M
2787
029
2873
100
6030
2491
1444
707
341
366
053
2353
1245
855
SD6137
0137
1818
0079
296
410
000610
0358
0172
0563
0175
240
70371
0049
S4M
2497
031
3606
084
6628
1589
667
383
191
643
028
3691
2492
768
SD5294
0125
0816
0039
1466
1649
1536
0477
0191
2065
0039
9423
5450
0216
S5M
2233
023
2851
092
6330
2585
946
420
243
512
020
3131
2032
796
SD2566
0094
3069
0015
0551
2346
264
20919
0274
0980
0081
3387
2803
0206
S6M
2497
019
3323
088
6494
2228
1183
518
390
628
036
2910
3560
793
SD6137
0056
2148
0024
0907
1822
1006
0917
0826
1492
0159
5266
5265
0335
Ouled
SiSlim
ane
(sitesirrigated
bynaturalw
ater
ofEl
Kochbieffl
uent)
S7M
4566
050
3059
108
5734
1080
589
346
157
249
026
5823
1180
783
SD6310
0122
7061
0113
4282
0489
0495
0200
0111
0493
0034
3984
4712
0055
S8M
2682
086
2786
093
6308
1918
1489
751
381
172
021
5369
1570
775
SD3191
006
64382
0032
1207
3878
1134
0593
0360
0433
0036
646
82683
0031
S9M
2463
078
2494
097
6155
1947
1306
724
319
212
059
5182
1800
792
SD3944
0089
344
60091
344
23274
0806
0501
0212
0461
0291
1505
4077
0073
Ranges
valuessite
Max
S7S8
S1S7
S2S2
S8S8
S6S4
S1S7
S6S3
Min
S5S6
S9S2
S7S1
S1S1
S1S2
S5S3
S1S8
ANOVA
results
EffectF
d8
88
88
88
88
88
88
8F
628
3086
654
1138
1117
3944
4153
3531
3802
1519
275
1607
2062
1968
P000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
00017
000
0000
0000
0timestimestimesHighlysig
nificanttimesSign
ificantN
Sno
tsignificantMm
ean
SDstand
arddifferenceF
Fischern
umberP
prob
abilitylevelFd
freedom
degree
8 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Is
000010020030040050060070080090100
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 3 Average of Heninrsquos structural stability index in study sites
K (h) saturated
K (005 kpa)K (03 kpa)K (06 kpa)K (1 kpa)
000
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
(mmmiddotB
minus1)
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
Figure 4 Saturated hydraulic conductivity average at differentwaterpotential in study sites
attributed higher AS value to the higher total carbon contentor to the composition of soil organic matter in areas irrigatedfor long periods with treated wastewaters compared with thecontrol block
The best rates of filtration at saturationKs (h) for 005 kPasuction were recorded in S2 and S3 sites characterized bywastewaters downstream of El Gourzi effluent (Figure 4)But globally for this pressure Ks is more important in theirrigated wastewaters For the other pressures differenceis less remarkable Rapid infiltration capacity of a soil isestimated by macroporosity Rabbi et al [44] mention thatpercentages of clay bulk density and porosity have a stronginfluence onKsThese results are in agreement with Bardhanet al [45] who reported a decrease in the infiltration rate dueto clogging of soil pores by suspendedmaterials present in thetreated wastewaters Previous studies with similar soil texture(clay) of the current study reached the same conclusion that
application of wastewater resulted in pore clogging whichleads to reduced soil porosity and subsequently a decrease inthe soil infiltrability [46]
Meanwhile Morel et al [47] showed that permeabil-ity of a soil increases significantly in plots enriched withsludge as organic matter richness of sludge improves waterbalance and increases reserve of useful water this favorsprocesses of stabilization of soil aggregates and in particulargives soil a better permeability in relation to a more stablestructure There is a close relationship between the poresize distribution and soil water content due to the factthat macropores control the aeration and drainage meso-pores control the water conductivity micropores controlthe water retention and the most available water for plants[48]
312 Chemical Soil Properties The pH (Table 5) in studyfields showsmoderate alkalinity in sites irrigated with naturalwaters as well as fields irrigated by wastewater upstreamThepH levels aremore alkaline in sites downstreamofwastewatereffluent than in the sites with upstreamwastewaters Standarddeviations between pHvalues of sampling points of sites oftenirrigated by upstream wastewater are much greater Schipperet al [15] indicate that soil pH increases as a result of along period of irrigation with wastewater They attribute thisincrease to chemical composition of cations effluent such asNa Ca and Mg The pH of soil irrigated with wastewaterdecreases following oxidation of organic compounds andnitrification of ammonium [49ndash51]
Electrical conductivity values are the lowest at samplingpoints of S5 characterized by irrigation by wastewaterupstream of El Gourzi effluent Standard deviation valuesare much higher at sampling points of S1 as previouslydescribed Contrary to the results mentioned in the work ofMaalem andGhanem [22] on the values of ElGourzi effluentrsquoswastewaters which are higher upstream than downstreamthe soil has higher CE values downstream than upstreamThis could be due to the organic matter which acts as abuffer In a general way according to standards presentedby DIAEADRHASEEN in El Oumlouki et al [52] ECof various treatments soils of our experimentation remainsweak
The organic matter is lowest at S8 with well waterirrigation and arboriculture (Figure 5) It is highest at S4upstream of El Gourzi effluent border Indeed Tamrabet etal [6] reported that a comparison of control soil averages andirrigated soils by wastewater shows that irrigation with thiswastewater has a very significant effect on OM improvementHowever many other studies showed increase in the OMwithin creased period of treated wastewaters irrigation [3853 54] This is the case in our study Moreover high claycontent of soil may physically protect the OM from thedecomposition
The average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is lowest atS3 downstream of El Gourzi effluent It is highest at Kochbinatural water effluent border These values are generallystrongly to very strongly calcareous according to gradingscale proposed by GEPPA in Baize [27] The limestone levelsappear to be related to soil pH
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9(
)
OM
000
200
400
600
800
1000
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 5 Organic matter rate percentage average in study sites
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 6 Earthwormsrsquo total abundance in different sites of study
32 EarthwormCompartment (Table 6) The total abundanceand biomass average of earthworms at different samplingpoints of study sites are the lowest in S9 with irrigation bynatural waters of El Kochbi effluent and cereal crop Theywere the highest in S5 with irrigation by El Gourzi wastewaterupstream and cereal growing (Figure 6) This abundance wasrepresented by 54 of adults and 46 of juvenile worms(Figure 7) Our results explain a negative effect of plowingon the abundance and biomass of earthworms Contrariwisethe irrigation with wastewaters improves significantly theirabundance and biomass In Bazri et alrsquos [17] study the densityof earthworm in eastern Algeria from the coast to the desertwas respectively 600 plusmn 141 to 2960 plusmn 1183 individualsm2and 028 plusmn 039 to 1313 plusmn 794 gm2 These results are almostsimilar to those of Omodeo andMartinucci [55] in NorthernAlgeria who found earthworm densities ranging from 110to 127 individualsm2 and biomass ranging from 125 to30 gm2 Edwards and Bohlen [56] explained that soils with
54Abd adult
46Abd juv
Individualm2
Figure 7 Total abundance percentage of earthworms in study sites
34Ap t
33Ap r
0Ap C
Am10
Oc2
E t3 20
P an
Individualm2
Figure 8 Earthwormsrsquo global specific abundance percentage
low organic matter contents usually do not support highdensities of earthwormsThe highest values are usually foundin fertilized pastures and the lowest ones are in acid or aridsoils [12 57]
Taxonomic study was carried out on a total of 594 adultworms The taxonomic key and nomenclature quoted byRougerie et al [18] allowed classification of 7 species of Lumb-ricidaeAporrectodea trapezoides (Duges 1828)Aporrectodearosea (Savigny 1826)Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny 1826)Allolobophora molleri (Rosa 1889) Octodrilus complana-tus (Duges 1828) Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedra (Savigny1826) and Proctodrilus antipai antipai (Michaelsen 1891)Percentage of overall specific abundance shows dominanceof Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrectodea rosea(Figure 8)
Ap trapezoides is present in greater quantity (134individualsm2) in S7 characterized by nonpractical plowingand natural vegetation at Kochbi edge where there is healthynatural water (Figure 9) However Ap rosea is present ingreater amounts (130 and 120 individualsm2) in S4 and S5at edges of effluent and irrigated by wastewaters upstreamPr antipai is the most dominant species in S6 characterizedby wastewater irrigation upstream of the effluent and arbori-culture On biomass Ap trapezoides is highest (1248 gm2)in S7 at edges of natural water effluent Ap rosea is presenton a biomass of 117 gm2 in S5 irrigated by wastewaters andcharacterized by cereal cultivation These results allow us todeduce that wastewaters have intense effect on developmentof earthwormrsquos biodiversity Species Ap rosea was the mostconcerned by this improvement
Bazri et al [17] noted in their study that it is curious andhard to explain that Ap trapezoides the most common and
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Table6Re
sults
ofstatisticalanalyses
ofearthw
ormsrsquocharacteris
ticsindifferent
sites
ofthes
tudy
Region
Varia
bles
Sites
Abt
Tottimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
adttimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
juvtimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
tottimestimestimes
Abd
endo
timestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
epigN
S
(Indm2)
Abd
anectimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
endo
timestimestimes
(gm2)
Biom
epigN
S
(gm2)
Biom
anectimestimestimes
(gm2)
IDS
ElMadher
(sitesirrigated
bywastewaters
downstre
amof
ElGou
rzieffluent)
S1M
1660
520
1140
508
300
040
180
184
016
080
1945
SD13939
3493
10455
3513
0707
0548
2490
0689
0230
1131
S2M
1940
1120
920
1035
460
000
660
207
000
651
1401
SD3647
2950
3899
1041
2074
000
02191
1324
000
02063
S3M
980
300
700
565
240
000
080
359
000
066
1425
SD16
4310
000707
1832
1140
000
0044
72086
000
00521
S4M
4380
3440
900
2004
2800
200
520
1056
137
752
2192
SD13755
1616
53536
5726
21319
346
45541
8248
2614
7712
S5M
4960
2680
2280
3756
1980
000
700
1886
000
938
1759
SD7162
6496
11167
6361
7014
000
03082
6887
000
03190
S6M
3860
2140
1720
1922
1540
080
540
640
012
633
1799
SD22041
9813
13498
8450
5320
1789
3507
1620
0264
3985
Ouled
SiSlim
ane
(sitesirrigated
bynaturalw
ater
ofEl
Kochbieffl
uent)
S7M
3440
1520
1840
2105
060
000
1460
017
000
1411
0636
SD6229
5586
9099
7948
0894
000
05639
0244
000
07175
S8M
700
120
580
289
060
000
060
052
000
047
0906
SD4416
1789
3962
2627
1342
000
00894
1167
000
00663
S9M
260
040
220
221
000
020
020
000
019
019
1SD
2793
0548
2683
2308
000
0044
7044
7000
00434
0420
Ranges
values
(site)
Max
S5S4
S5S5
S4S4
S7S5
S4S7
S4
Min
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S8S2S3
S5S7S8
S9S7
ANOVA
results
EffectF
d8
88
88
88
88
8
F1340
1461
366
2595
868
127
981
1400
124
755
P
000
00003
000
0000
0000
00287
000
0000
00301
000
0
timestimestimesHighlysig
nificantNSno
tsignificantMm
ean
SDstand
arddifferenceIndm2ind
ividualm2F
Fisc
hern
umberP
prob
abilitylevelFd
freedom
degree
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
Ap tAp rAp CAmOc
E tP an
0050
100150200250300
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alG
2)
Figure 9 Earthwormsrsquo specific abundance average in study sites
dominant species was not previously quoted by other authorsworking on Algerian lumbricoid fauna Possible explanationsinclude identification problems in this complex group ofspecies recent introduction and posterior expansion orolder introduction as suggested by the large geographicdistribution of the species In the semiarid regions the taxonA molleri is important it locates preferentially in wet points(notably at the edge of effluents) In mountains of semiaridregions the species O complanatus dominates As for Aprosea it is the only one observed in arid bioclimatic stage atpoints where there is sufficient water
Among the 7 species inventoried (Figure 10) the endo-geic species accounted for 62 (Ap rosea A molleri Pantipai and Ap caliginosa) epigeic species for 3 (E tetrae-dra) and anecic species for 22 (O complanatus and Aptrapezoides) the latter may be considered as anecic endogeicor endoanecic because it varies according to the strain
Bouche [10] separated earthworms into three categoriesbased on morphological and behavioral characteristicsEpigeic species are consumer litter living and feeding on orsurface soil Anecic earthworms live in permanent verticalburrows within the soil and may emerge to feed on surfacelayer endogeic species live in temporary horizontal burrowsand feed on the soil This species is geophagous since itgains its nutrients by eating the soil and the green morph ischaracterized by Bouche [10] as more epigeic
Endogeic abundance is much higher in S4 at edgesupstream of the El Gourzi effluent which is without culturalpractices (Figure 11) However S7 at edges of El Kochbi efflu-ent from natural waters without cultural practices is betterrepresented by an anecic population The epigeic populationis important only on S4 and S6 upstream of the wastewatereffluent Endogeic earthworms are a major component of soilfauna communities in most natural ecosystems of the humidtropics [58]
The Shannon diversity index of different study sites is thelowest at S7 corresponding to edges of Kochbi effluent It isthe highest at S4 characterized by wastewaters upstream of ElGourzi effluent and any cultural practices This result allows
62Abd endo
3Abd epig
35Abd anec
Individualsm2
Figure 10 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance average
Abd endoAbd epigAbd anec
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 11 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance in studiedsoil sites
us to deduce that wastewater loaded with organic matterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
33 ANOVA Statistical analysis with the Newman-Keulsmultiple comparison posttest at 119875 le 005 (Table 5) revealeda highly significant effect of different irrigation practices andcultural practices on soilrsquos physical parameters (Is Cr PK 005 K 03 K 06 and K 1) Water retention infiltrationand hydraulic conductivity are among the soilrsquos hydraulicproperties affected by soil porosity and pore size distribution[40 59] Spatial variability of soilrsquos physical properties withinor among agricultural fields is inherent in nature due togeologic and pedologic soil forming factors but some of thevariability may be induced by tillage and other managementpracticesThese factors interact with each other across spatialand temporal scales and are further modified locally byerosion and deposition processes [60] In the regions witha cool climate soils are exposed to freeze-thaw cyclesespecially in the spring period Aggregation and therefore soilstructure may be either positively or negatively affected byfreeze-thaw cycles [61] Therefore the impacts of wastewater
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S1S2
S3S4
S5
S6
S7
S8S9
IsCr
Da
PK (005)
K (03)
K (06)K (1)
MO
CE
Ctot
CactifPH
Abt tot
Abd adult
Abd juv
Abd Ap t
Abd Ap r
Abd Ap CAbd Am
Abd Oc
Abd E t
Abd P an
Bio tot
Abd endoAbd epig
Abd anec
IDS
Biplot (axes F1 and F2 6186)
minus5
minus4
minus3
minus2
minus1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
F2 (1
996
)
minus7 minus6 minus5 minus4 minus3 minus2 minus1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8minus8F1 (4190)
Figure 12 PCA graph of interaction between studied soil properties
irrigation on main soil properties in agricultural areas undercool climate conditions may be different
ANOVA reveals highlight at very highly significant effectof different irrigation practices and cultural practices onstudied chemical parameters of soil (MO CE CaCO3 totCaCO3 act and pH) Effectively the soilrsquos physical propertiesare associated with nutrient applied and environmental soilscience availability solute andpollutantmovementmicrobialactivity and soil organic matter stabilization [62]
On parameters of earthworm characteristics (Table 6)ANOVA revealed a significant effect of study sites differencesexcept for Ap caliginosa and E tetraedra tetraedra speciesrsquoabundance The significant effect of sites has been wellrevealed on endogeic and anecic abundance However thereis no significant effect of different irrigation and croppingpractices on epigeic abundance
34 PCA In order to study interaction between physico-chemical soil parameters and earthworm communities ofstudied sites Principal Component Analysis (PCA)was usedThis procedure makes it possible to group or distributethe sampling sites around principal axes in function of thephysicochemical and earthwormparameters thus facilitatingobservation of possible links between variables and placeswhere they are most represented (Figure 12)
Contribution of principal axes to total variation is 4190for axis 1 and 1996 for axis 2 which makes a total of6186 which is well acceptable On variables distributiongraph both axes 1 and 2 contrast two groups of variablesbiological parameters of earthworms (total biomass totalabundance and adult wormsrsquo abundance) and physical infil-tration parameters (infiltration at saturation K 005 kPa K03 kPa K 06 kPa and K 1 kPa) The first group of biologicalvariables is represented by S5 site characterized by irrigationswith wastewaters upstream of El Gourzi effluent and by cereal
crop (wheatalfalfa) The group of infiltration characteristicsis represented by S2 and S3 sites These sites are irrigatedwith downstream wastewaters and characterized by cerealand arboreal crops This group includes physicochemicalcharacteristics pH and EC Axis 1 is intensely correlatedwith structural stability index and water retention capacityIt divides the characteristics of earthworms studied into twosubgroups One of them is well represented by S4 and S6 withirrigation by wastewater at upstream This group includesOM and active CaCO3 as well as Shannon Biodiversity Index
Francis and Fraser [63] and Capowiez et al [64] reportedthat galleries excavated by terrestrial bioturbation activitycontributed to water transfers Also Bottinelli et al [65]and Peres et al [66] reported that earthworms contribute toimproving soil porosity Indeed the PCA groups the S4 S5and S6 sites with abundance and biomass of earthworms andsoil porosity For his part Supersperg [67] found that annualapplications of liquid sludge cause an increase in compactnessof a heavy soil by clogging and a decrease in pores volume
By this PCA it can be deduced that very high organiccharge of partially treated waters has negative repercus-sions on hydraulic conductivity if this load exceeds certaindoses because the PCA rallied the hydraulic conductivityat saturation by different pressures applied to S1 S2 and S3sites downstream of El Gourzi effluent as well as S8 andS9 sites irrigated with natural waters of El Kochbi effluentThis is contradictory to the results of Minhas and Samra[68] and Ababsa et al [69] who have worked on the effectof earthworms on hydraulic conductivity in soils irrigatedby wastewaters Meanwhile our findings concur with theworks of some authors Wang et al Viviani and Iovino andMolahoseini [40 46 70] who have to work on the same axisof research
This opposition of results can be explained bymore or lessrapid duration of organic matter evolution of wastewaters
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 13
This change in state of OM from pores plugging form tosoil stabilizing and structuring form is closely related to soilphysicochemical parameters (pH active CaCO3 and EC)Indeed Callot and Dupuis [71] assume the role of activeCaCO3 in protection and conservation of organic matterin carbonate soils Active CaCO3 thus acts as a protectoragainst biological degradation of organic matter of these soilsto make it a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition[72] All the soils being studied are carbonate soils theiractiveCaCO3should play an important role in humificationprocess by rapidly sequestering lignified organic compoundsas inherited or residual humus [28]
4 Conclusion
Our objective was to study interaction between earthwormcommunity characteristics and physicochemical propertiesof soils characterized by irrigation with wastewaters andwell waters in conditions of different topography (upstreamand downstream) and cropping practices (natural vegetationcereal cultivation and arboriculture) in two regions of Batnadepartment
The results show that the maximum water retentioncapacity is better explained by the fine texture of the soilat the effluent border The porosity and rates of infiltrationat saturation are higher in sites characterized by irrigationwith wastewaters downstream of effluent This was explainedby clogging of soil pores by suspended materials presentin the wastewaters However structural stability is better insite characterized by irrigation with wastewaters upstreamof El Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This is due on onehand to input of organic matter and calcium ions whichplay the role of cements and cause improvement of particlessoil aggregation according to Kirkham [42] On the otherhand at cereal crop that effect increases production ofcementing substances through microbial activity by fungaland actinomycete mycelia that provide substrates to stabilizesoil aggregates according to Miller and Kemper [43]
The pH levels are more alkaline in downstream sitesthan upstream sites of wastewater effluent The pH of soilsirrigated with wastewater decreases following oxidation oforganic compounds and nitrification of ammonium Electri-cal conductivity values are the lowest at sampling points ofsite characterized by irrigation with wastewater upstream ofEl Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This could probably bedue to the level of organic matter which acts as a buffer Theorganicmatter is highest at site upstreamof El Gourzi effluentborder characterized by natural vegetation which is certainlyexplained by an important load of organic matter from thewastewater upstream of the effluent and high clay content ofsoil may physically protect the OM from the decompositionThe average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is higher atKochbi natural water effluent border while it showed lowvalues at downstream sites However the active CaCO3rate is the lowest at downstream site of El Gourzi effluentborder But it presents the highest values at S6 site irrigatedby wastewaters upstream of effluentThis result appears to berelated to soil pH
The total abundance and biomass average of earthwormsat different sampling points of study sites are the lowestat site irrigated by natural waters of El Kochbi effluentwhich is cultivated by cereal On the contrary they are thehighest at upstream site irrigated by El Gourzi wastewaterand cereal growing This result explains that abundance andbiomass of earthworms are related to wastewaters irrigationEarthworms are muchmore present where irrigation water isheavily loaded with organic materials
Taxonomic study allowed classification of 7 species ofLumbricidae Percentage of overall specific abundance showsdominance of Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrec-todea rosea The result shows that wastewaters have intenseeffect on development of earthwormrsquos biodiversity SpeciesAp rosea was the most concerned by this improvementAmong the 7 species inventoried the endogeic earthwormsrepresent the majority Endogeic abundance is much higherin site at edges upstream of the El Gourzi effluent which iswithout cultural practices However site at edges of El Kochbieffluent from natural waters without cultural practices isbetter represented by an anecic population The Shannondiversity index of different study sites shows that wastewaterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
ANOVA revealed a highly significant effect of differentirrigation types as well as different cultivation practices onall physicochemical properties of soil and on endogeic andanecic population This was not the case for the epigeicpopulation
The PCA allowed characterizing two major groups Thefirst group is defined by sites that are explained by the hydro-dynamic infiltration These sites are irrigated by wastewaterthey are located downstream of effluent (lowest load oforganic matter) and characterized by cereal and arborealcrops This group includes other chemical characteristicspH and EC The second group formed by upstream sitesirrigated by wastewaters encompasses the characteristics ofearthworms explained by highest load of organic matter Itincludes chemical characteristics OM and active limestoneIt also includes the ShannonBiodiversity IndexWe explainedthis by active CaCO3 which acts as a protector againstbiological degradation of organicmatter of these soils tomakeit a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition
Overall the results of the PCA show us that the effectof wastewater is positive on improvement of abundance andbiomass and biodiversity of earthworms population On thecontrary the wastewaters are unfavorable for the infiltrationphysical parameters of water into soil This will surelyhave long-term repercussions on the physical and biologicalparameters of soil and will induce a new organization ofmacro- and mesoporosity due to improvement of biologicalparameters of earthworms
Finally we propose complementing these results in thefield and in the laboratory to see the evolution of infiltrationparameters of soil water in parallel with the dynamics ofearthworm community in soil irrigated by wastewaters Thebiodiversity of earthworms may induce an improvement ininfiltration and reduce the problems of clogging pores and
14 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
solve other problems that wastewaters can introduce intosoils
Abbreviations
Cr Water retention capacityIs Structural instability indexDa Bulk density119875 Porosity119870 (h) sat Saturated hydraulic conductivity at
potential differenceCE Electric conductivityMO Organic matterTEM Trace Element MetalsMES Suspended matterBOD5 5-Day biological oxygen demandCOD Chemical oxygen demandAbd AbundanceJuv JuvenileAdt AdultBiom BiomassEndo EndogeicEpig EpigeicAnec AnecicAp t Aporrectodea trapezoidesAp r Aporrectodea roseaAp c Aporrectodea caliginosaAm Allolobophora molleriP ant Proctodrilus antipai antipaiOc Octodrilus complanatusE t Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedraSDI Shannon Biodiversity IndexDj Djebel or mountainWed effluent
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interestregarding the publication of this paper
References
[1] E Corcoran C Nellemann E Baker R Bos D Osborn andHSavelli ick Water The central role of wastewater managementin sustainable development A rapid response assessment UnitedNations Environment Programme UN-HABITAT ArendalNorway 2010
[2] F Hiouani H Messadia A Masmoudi D Madani and C TirldquoInfluence des eaux residuaires de tannerie sur le poids de lamatiere secherdquo in Proceedings of the Revue des Regions Arides-Actes du 4eme Meeting International - Numero Special - n∘35(32014) pp 1023ndash1319 2013
[3] B Jimenez and T Asano ldquoWater reclamation and reuse aroundthe Worldrdquo inWater Reuse An International Survey of CurrentPractice Issues and Needs pp 3ndash26 IWA Publishing LondonUK 2008
[4] Z S Burak ldquoWater wetlands and climate change build-ings linkages for their integrated managementrdquo MediterraneanRegional Roundtable pp 10-11 2002
[5] H Bouzerzour L Tamrabet and M Kribaa ldquoReponse de deuxgraminees fourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee
et de boue residuairerdquo in Proceedings Seminaire InternationalBiologie et Environnement 71 Univ Mentouri ConstantineAlgeria 2002
[6] L Tamrabet H Bouzerzour M Kribaa et and D Golea ldquoLedevenir des eaux usees traitees Reponse de deux gramineesfourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee traiteerdquo inProceedings of the Actes du Colloque international Oasis Eau etPopulation Universite Khider Biskra Algerie 2003
[7] M B Pescod Wastewater Treatment and Use in AgricultureFAO Irrigation and Drainage Rome Italy 1992
[8] A Coppola A Santini P Botti S Vacca V Comegna andG Severino ldquoMethodological approach for evaluating the re-sponse of soil hydrological behavior to irrigation with treatedmunicipal wastewaterrdquo Journal of Hydrology vol 292 no 1-4pp 114ndash134 2004
[9] I Nadav J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoWater repellency inducedby organic matter (OM) in treated wastewater (TWW) infiltra-tion ponds and irrigationrdquo Functions of Natural Organic Matterin Changing Environment pp 883ndash887 2013
[10] M B Bouche Lombriciens de France Ecologie et SystematiqueINRA Publication 72-2 Institut national de la rechercheagronomique Paris France 1972
[11] G Bachelier ldquoLes vers annelesrdquo in La faune du sol IDT n∘38pp 127ndash183 ORSTOM Paris France 1978
[12] K E Lee EarthwormsTheir Ecology and Relationship with Soilsand Land Use Academic Press Sydney Australia 1985
[13] P Lavelle C Lattaud D Trigo and I Barois ldquoMutualism andbiodiversity in soilsrdquo Plant and Soil vol 170 no 1 pp 23ndash331995
[14] T Kautz C Stumm R Kosters andU Kopke ldquoEffects of peren-nial fodder crops on soil structure in agricultural headlandsrdquoJournal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science vol 173 no 4 pp490ndash501 2010
[15] L A Schipper J C Williamson H A Kettles and T W SpeirldquoImpact of land-applied tertiary-treated effluent on soil bio-chemical propertiesrdquo Journal of Environmental Quality vol 25no 5 pp 1073ndash1077 1996
[16] A Lemtiri G Colinet T Alabi et al ldquoImpacts of earthwormson soil components and dynamics A reviewrdquo BiotechnologyAgronomy and Society and Environment vol 18 no 1 pp 121ndash133 2014
[17] K Bazri G Ouahrani Z Gheribi-Aoulmi et D J and D CosinldquoLa diversite des lombriciens dans lrsquoest algerien depuis la cotejusqursquoau desertrdquo EcologiaMediterranea vol 39 no 2 p 17 2013
[18] R Rougerie T Decaens L Deharveng et al ldquoDNAbarcodes forsoil animal taxonomyrdquoPesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira vol 44no 8 pp 789ndash802 2009
[19] T Decaens ldquoMacroecological patterns in soil communitiesrdquoGlobal Ecology and Biogeography vol 19 no 3 pp 287ndash3022010
[20] L Tamrabet M Kribaa B Hamidi S Alalata W Berkani andA Hamdoudi ldquoEvaluation de lrsquoaptitude des effluents drsquoOued ElGourzi (Batna Nord Est drsquoAlgerie) a lrsquoirrigation et leur impactsur le sol et la qualite des cultures maraıcheres et fourrageresrdquoin Actes du congres international lsquoEau et Dechets UniversiteMohamed I Oujda Maroco 2007
[21] Office National de lrsquoAssainissement (ONA) Situation actuelledes stations de traitement drsquoeaux usees en Algerie MRE AlgerAlgerie 7 p 2006
[22] S Maalem and N Ghanem ldquoLa caracterisation physico-chim-iques des eaux usees de Oued El Gourzirdquo In Actes de ColloqueNational de Biologie de lrsquouniversite de Batna 2016
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 15
[23] M Bournaud and C Amoros ldquoDes indicateurs biologiques auxdescripteurs de fonctionnement Quelques exemples dans lesysteme fluvialrdquo Bull Ecol vol 15 no 1 pp 57ndash66 1984
[24] H Marschner Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants vol 78Academic press New York NY USA 2nd edition 1995
[25] Z Alouni ldquoFlux de la charge parasitaire dans cinq stationsdrsquoepuration en Tunisierdquo Revue des sciences de lrsquoeau vol 6 no 4pp 453ndash462 1993
[26] A Mussy et and M Soutter Physique du sol ISBN 1st edition1991
[27] D BaizeGuide des analyses courantes en pedologie INRR 1988[28] P Duchaufour Pedologie I Pedogenese et classificationMasson
Paris France 1977[29] B Blakemore Cosmopolitan Earthworms An Eco-Taxonomic
Guide to the Peregrine Species of the World 2nd Ed 656 p2007
[30] M B Bouche ldquoStrategies Lombriciennes Soil organism ascomponents of ecosystemsrdquo in Proceedings of the 6th Int CollSoil Zool Ecol Bull U Lohm and T Persson Eds pp 122ndash132Stockholm Sweden 1977
[31] K Bazri ldquoEtude de la biodiversite des lombriciens et leursrelations avec les proprietes du sol dans differents etagesbioclimatiques dans lrsquoEst Algerienrdquo in These doctorat p 188Constantine University 2015
[32] J BlondelBiogeographie et ecologieMasson Paris France 1979[33] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 505 Dunod Paris France 1985[34] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 434 Dunod Paris France 1975[35] M A Mojid and G C L Wyseure ldquoImplications of municipal
wastewater irrigation on soil health froma study inBangladeshrdquoSoil Use and Management vol 29 no 3 pp 384ndash396 2013
[36] M A Gharaibeh T A Ghezzehei A A Albalasmeh andM ZAlghzawi ldquoAlteration of physical and chemical characteristicsof clayey soils by irrigationwith treatedwaste waterrdquoGeodermavol 276 pp 33ndash40 2016
[37] A Mojiri ldquoEffects of municipal wastewater on physical andchemical properties of saline soilrdquo Journal of Biodiversity andEnvironmental Sciences vol 5 pp 71ndash76 2011
[38] I Vogeler ldquoEffect of long-term wastewater application onphysical soil propertiesrdquoWater Air and Soil Pollution vol 196no 1-4 pp 385ndash392 2009
[39] J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoRheology of sodium-montmoril-lonite suspensions Effects of humic substances and pHrdquo SoilScience Society of America Journal vol 66 no 2 pp 406ndash4122002
[40] Z Wang A C Chang L Wu and D Crowley ldquoAssessingthe soil quality of long-term reclaimed wastewater-irrigatedcroplandrdquo Geoderma vol 114 no 3-4 pp 261ndash278 2003
[41] A Kunhikrishnan N S Bolan K Muller S Laurenson RNaidu and W-I Kim ldquoThe influence of wastewater irrigationon the transformation and bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)sin soilrdquo Advances in Agronomy vol 115 pp 215ndash297 2012
[42] B Kirkham Isposal of sludge on land Effects on soils plants andground water compost Sc pp 6-10 1974
[43] D E Miller andW D Kemper ldquoWater stability of aggregates oftwo soils as in fluenced by incorporation of alfalfardquoAgron J vol54 no 6 pp 494ndash496 1962
[44] S M F Rabbi B R Roy M M Miah M S Amin and TKhandakar ldquoSpatial variability of physical soil quality index ofan agricultural fieldrdquo Applied and Environmental Soil Sciencevol 2014 Article ID 379012 10 pages 2014
[45] G Bardhan D Russo D Goldstein and G J Levy ldquoChanges inthe hydraulic properties of a clay soil under long-term irrigationwith treated wastewaterrdquo Geoderma vol 264 pp 1ndash9 2016
[46] G Viviani and M Iovino ldquoWastewater reuse effects on soilhydraulic conductivityrdquo Journal of Irrigation and DrainageEngineering vol 130 no 6 pp 476ndash484 2004
[47] J L Morel A Guikart and H Sedgo ldquoEffet de lrsquoepandage desboues urbaines sur lrsquoetat physique des sols communsrdquo in XIcongres de lrsquoAISS Ed lA I S S XI congrΦs de Ed pp 12ndash19 Canada Mouton Canada 1978
[48] U Sahin O Anapali and S Ercisli ldquoPhysico-chemical andphysical properties of some substrates used in horticulturerdquoGartenbau wissen schaft 67 pp 55ndash60 2002
[49] M J Mohammad and N Mazahreh ldquoChanges in soil fertilityparameters in response to irrigation of forage crops withsecondary treated wastewaterrdquo Communications in Soil Scienceand Plant Analysis vol 34 no 9-10 pp 1281ndash1294 2003
[50] OVazquez-Montiel N JHoran andDDMara ldquoManagementof domestic wastewater for reuse in irrigationrdquo Water Scienceand Technology vol 33 no 10-11 pp 355ndash362 1996
[51] A R Hayes C F Mancino and I L Pepper ldquoIrrigation ofTurfgrass with Secondary Sewage Effluent I Soil and LeachateWater Qualityrdquo Agronomy Journal vol 82 no 5 p 939 1990
[52] K El Oumlouki R Moussadek A Zouahri H Dakak MChati and M El Amrani ldquoStudy of physic-chemical quality ofwater and soil in the region SoussMassa (Case perimeter Issen)Moroccordquo Journal of Materials and Environmental Science vol5 pp 2365ndash2374 2014
[53] M Galavi A Jalali M Ramroodi S R Mousavi andH GalavildquoEffects of Treated Municipal Wastewater on Soil ChemicalProperties and Heavy Metal Uptake by Sorghum (sorghumbicolor L)rdquo Journal of Agricultural Science vol 2 no 3 2010
[54] M A Gharaibeh N I Eltaif and B Al-Abdullah ldquoImpact offield application of treated wastewater on hydraulic propertiesof vertisolsrdquo Water Air and Soil Pollution vol 184 no 1-4 pp347ndash353 2007
[55] P Omodeo and G Martinucci Earthworms of MaghrebSelected Symposya andMonographsUZI 2MucchiModenapp 235-250 1987
[56] A Edwards and P J Bohlen Biology et Ecology of earthwormsvol 3 Springer Science amp Business Media 1996
[57] P Lavelle and A V Spain Soil Ecology Springer Science ampBusiness Media 2001
[58] P Lavelle GMelendez B Pashanasi andR Schaefer ldquoNitrogenmineralization and reorganization in casts of the geophagoustropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscoleci-dae)rdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 14 no 1 pp 49ndash53 1992
[59] R A Goncalves T V Gloaguen M V Folegatti P L Libardi YLucas andC RMontes ldquoPore size distribution in soils irrigatedwith sodic water and wastewaterrdquo Revista Brasileira de Cienciado Solo vol 34 no 3 pp 701ndash707 2010
[60] J Iqbal J A Thomasson J N Jenkins P R Owens and F DWhisler ldquoSpatial variability analysis of soil physical propertiesof alluvial soilsrdquo Soil Science Society of America Journal vol 69no 4 pp 1338ndash1350 2005
[61] U Sahin I Angin and F M Kiziloglu ldquoEffect of freezing andthawing processes on some physical properties of saline-sodicsoils mixed with sewage sludge or fly ashrdquo Soil and TillageResearch vol 99 no 2 pp 254ndash260 2008
[62] R Lal and M K Shukla Principles of Soil Physics MarcelDekker New York NY USA 2004
16 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[63] G S Francis and P M Fraser ldquoThe effects of three earthwormspecies on soil macroporosity and hydraulic conductivityrdquoApplied Soil Ecology vol 10 no 1-2 pp 11ndash19 1998
[64] Y Capowiez S Cadoux P Bouchant et al ldquoThe effect oftillage type and cropping system on earthworm communitiesmacroporosity and water infiltrationrdquo Soil and Tillage Researchvol 105 no 2 pp 209ndash216 2009
[65] N Bottinelli T Henry-des-Tureaux V Hallaire et al ldquoEarth-worms accelerate soil porosity turnover under watering condi-tionsrdquo Geoderma vol 156 no 1-2 pp 43ndash47 2010
[66] G Peres D Cluzeau P Curmi and V Hallaire ldquoEarthwormactivity and soil structure changes due to organic enrichmentsin vineyard systemsrdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 27 no 4pp 417ndash424 1998
[67] H Supersperg tilisation de la boue a lrsquoetat liquide sur les solslourds BERICHETE Der ATV 28p1977
[68] P S Minhas and J S Samra Wastewater use in peri-urbanagriculture impacts and opportunities Central Soil salinityResearch Institute Karnal 132001 India Tech Bull N562 p2004
[69] N Ababsa M Kribaa D Addad L Tamrabet and M BahaldquoDoes earthworms density really modify soilrsquos hydrodynamicproperties in irrigated systems with recycled waterrdquo Journal ofFundamental and Applied Sciences vol 8 no 2 p 627 2016
[70] H Molahoseini ldquoLong-term effects of municipal wastewaterirrigation on some properties of a semiarid region soil of IranrdquoInternational Journal of Science Engineering and Technologyvol 3 no 4 pp 444ndash449 2014
[71] G Callot and M Dupuis ldquoLe calcaire actif des sols et sa signifi-cationrdquo Science du sol vol 1 pp 17ndash27 1980
[72] H Ben Hassine T Aloui T Gallali T Bouzid S El amri andR Ben Hassen ldquoValuation quantitative et roles de la matiereorganique dans les sols cultives en zones subhumides et semi-arides mediterraneennes de la Tunisierdquo Agro-Solutions vol 17no 2 pp 4ndash17 2008
Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 201
International Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
6 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Total CaCO3 is determined by volumetric method ofthe ldquoBernard Calcimeterrdquo while active CaCO3 is deter-mined by contact with a specific extraction reagent ldquoammo-nium oxalaterdquo at 02N
27 Methods Studying Earthworms The determination oftaxa concerns only adult worms In this study we tried touse much more external characters of worms collected usinginternal anatomical features for certain taxa to determinespecies in questionThe external and internal characters usedare those explained by Bouche and Bachelier [10 11] The keychosen for taxa determination is modified by Blakemore in2007 [29] For classification of ecological categories we usedthat of Bouche [10 30] which was used by Bazri [31] in hisstudy of the Northern Algerian earthworm population
Abundance is expressed as point abundance that is totalnumber of earthworms present in a sampling point and isexpressed as number of individuals per m2
Earthworm biomass is expressed as population biomasstaken and expressed by individual biomass (weight of eachworm) andwormpoint biomass (total weight of worms takenat a sampling point)
To estimate diversity of earthworm community for eachsite we used Shannon diversity index derived from a functionestablished by Shannon and Wiener which became theShannon diversity index
Value of Shannon diversity index 1198671015840 varies between 05and 45 bits and is given by the following formula [32 33]
1198671015840 = minussum Pi log2Pi (4)
where Pi (see (5)) is number of species 119894 individuals in relationto total number of individuals identified (119873)
Pi = ni119873 (5)
This index is independent of sample size and takes intoaccount distribution of individuals number per species [34]
3 Results and Discussion
31 Soil Compartment
311 Physical Properties of Soil The means of soil moisture(H) at moment of sampling of earthworm are in Table 5These close rates of soil moisture among the nine sites seemto be more favorable to the biological activity of earthwormsThese moisture levels are due to spring irrigation or precip-itation Average of highest water retention rate (Cr) wasrecorded at S1 S4 and S7 at border of effluents Overallmean water retention rates in study sites appear to be closelyrelated to fine particle contents of study fields especially at theedges of effluents downstream where they are deposited aftertraining by the flow of water Meanwhile Mojid andWyseure[35] determined enhanced water retention capacity values inthe wastewater irrigation conditions compared to fresh waterirrigation
Porosity is highest in S2 characterized by wastewatersdownstream and by cereal crops while it was lowest at
P
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1000
10002000300040005000600070008000
()
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 2 Total porosity average in study sites
S7 at edges of natural water Kochbi effluent (Figure 2)Effectively Gharaibeh et al [36] noted that irrigation treatedfor long periods with wastewaters resulted in slight decreasein bulk density compared to the control Many researchesobtained lower bulk density or higher porosity values underwastewater irrigation [35 37 38] Moreover elevation ofdissolved organic matter in treated wastewaters is reportedto causeincrease clay dispersion by reducing the differentialviscosity of clay suspensions and decreasing the attractionforces between clay particles [39] Wang et al [40] indicatedthat wastewater irrigation caused a slight increase in soilcompaction Particularly high-suspended solid concentra-tion in wastewater may increase the bulk density whilelower concentrationsmay not significantly affect it [41]Thesevalues reflect on one hand the plowing practices in the studysites and on the other hand a less favorable effect of theaccumulation of organicmatter in the fields located upstreamof the effluent
Structural stability is better in S6 characterized by irriga-tion with wastewaters upstream and alternations of vegetablecrops and cereal crops (Figure 3) It is low in S8with irrigationby natural waters and arboriculture Indeed Kirkham [42]notes that inputs of sludge in successive 4 years have raisedorganic matter content of soil of the first 15 cm from 12to 24 Input of organic matter and calcium ions play afavorable role in cements stability which causes improvementof soil particles This same author underlined an improve-ment of unfavorable structures for clayey soils followingapplication of sludge Also Gharaibeh et al [36] noticed thataggregate stability (AS) results revealed that irrigation withtreated wastewaters significantly increased the percentage ofstable soil aggregates compared to the control Miller andKemper [43] observed increases in water-stable aggregates atleast for one growing season following alfalfa incorporationafter which there was a decreaseThey attributed this increaseto the production of cementing substances throughmicrobialactivity by fungal and actinomycete mycelia which providessubstrates to stabilize soil aggregates However Vogeler [38]
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 7
Table5Re
sults
ofstatisticalanalyses
ofph
ysicochemicalcharacteris
ticsindifferent
sites
ofthes
tudy
Region
Varia
bles
Sites
Htimestimestimes
Istimestimestimes
Crtimestimestimes
Da
gcm3timestimestimes
Ptimestimestimes
K005
kpatimestimestimes
K03k
patimestimestimes
K06k
patimestimestimes
K1kpatimestimestimes
MOtimestimestimes
ECdS
mtimes
CaC
o 3
tottimestimestimes
CaC
o 3
acttimestimestimes
pHtimestimestimes
ElMadher
(sitesirrigated
bywastewaters
downstre
amof
ElGou
rzieffluent)
S1M
2506
039
3844
087
6513
981
453
278
129
273
071
2646
990
849
SD5294
0051
2527
0092
3475
0473
0839
0422
0134
1225
0611
2962
4129
0162
S2M
2262
046
2759
073
7049
2636
1089
606
310
174
060
4338
1265
844
SD2566
0072
5259
0031
1175
2231
1401
1091
0299
0830
0294
6118
4072
0134
S3M
2787
029
2873
100
6030
2491
1444
707
341
366
053
2353
1245
855
SD6137
0137
1818
0079
296
410
000610
0358
0172
0563
0175
240
70371
0049
S4M
2497
031
3606
084
6628
1589
667
383
191
643
028
3691
2492
768
SD5294
0125
0816
0039
1466
1649
1536
0477
0191
2065
0039
9423
5450
0216
S5M
2233
023
2851
092
6330
2585
946
420
243
512
020
3131
2032
796
SD2566
0094
3069
0015
0551
2346
264
20919
0274
0980
0081
3387
2803
0206
S6M
2497
019
3323
088
6494
2228
1183
518
390
628
036
2910
3560
793
SD6137
0056
2148
0024
0907
1822
1006
0917
0826
1492
0159
5266
5265
0335
Ouled
SiSlim
ane
(sitesirrigated
bynaturalw
ater
ofEl
Kochbieffl
uent)
S7M
4566
050
3059
108
5734
1080
589
346
157
249
026
5823
1180
783
SD6310
0122
7061
0113
4282
0489
0495
0200
0111
0493
0034
3984
4712
0055
S8M
2682
086
2786
093
6308
1918
1489
751
381
172
021
5369
1570
775
SD3191
006
64382
0032
1207
3878
1134
0593
0360
0433
0036
646
82683
0031
S9M
2463
078
2494
097
6155
1947
1306
724
319
212
059
5182
1800
792
SD3944
0089
344
60091
344
23274
0806
0501
0212
0461
0291
1505
4077
0073
Ranges
valuessite
Max
S7S8
S1S7
S2S2
S8S8
S6S4
S1S7
S6S3
Min
S5S6
S9S2
S7S1
S1S1
S1S2
S5S3
S1S8
ANOVA
results
EffectF
d8
88
88
88
88
88
88
8F
628
3086
654
1138
1117
3944
4153
3531
3802
1519
275
1607
2062
1968
P000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
00017
000
0000
0000
0timestimestimesHighlysig
nificanttimesSign
ificantN
Sno
tsignificantMm
ean
SDstand
arddifferenceF
Fischern
umberP
prob
abilitylevelFd
freedom
degree
8 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Is
000010020030040050060070080090100
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 3 Average of Heninrsquos structural stability index in study sites
K (h) saturated
K (005 kpa)K (03 kpa)K (06 kpa)K (1 kpa)
000
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
(mmmiddotB
minus1)
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
Figure 4 Saturated hydraulic conductivity average at differentwaterpotential in study sites
attributed higher AS value to the higher total carbon contentor to the composition of soil organic matter in areas irrigatedfor long periods with treated wastewaters compared with thecontrol block
The best rates of filtration at saturationKs (h) for 005 kPasuction were recorded in S2 and S3 sites characterized bywastewaters downstream of El Gourzi effluent (Figure 4)But globally for this pressure Ks is more important in theirrigated wastewaters For the other pressures differenceis less remarkable Rapid infiltration capacity of a soil isestimated by macroporosity Rabbi et al [44] mention thatpercentages of clay bulk density and porosity have a stronginfluence onKsThese results are in agreement with Bardhanet al [45] who reported a decrease in the infiltration rate dueto clogging of soil pores by suspendedmaterials present in thetreated wastewaters Previous studies with similar soil texture(clay) of the current study reached the same conclusion that
application of wastewater resulted in pore clogging whichleads to reduced soil porosity and subsequently a decrease inthe soil infiltrability [46]
Meanwhile Morel et al [47] showed that permeabil-ity of a soil increases significantly in plots enriched withsludge as organic matter richness of sludge improves waterbalance and increases reserve of useful water this favorsprocesses of stabilization of soil aggregates and in particulargives soil a better permeability in relation to a more stablestructure There is a close relationship between the poresize distribution and soil water content due to the factthat macropores control the aeration and drainage meso-pores control the water conductivity micropores controlthe water retention and the most available water for plants[48]
312 Chemical Soil Properties The pH (Table 5) in studyfields showsmoderate alkalinity in sites irrigated with naturalwaters as well as fields irrigated by wastewater upstreamThepH levels aremore alkaline in sites downstreamofwastewatereffluent than in the sites with upstreamwastewaters Standarddeviations between pHvalues of sampling points of sites oftenirrigated by upstream wastewater are much greater Schipperet al [15] indicate that soil pH increases as a result of along period of irrigation with wastewater They attribute thisincrease to chemical composition of cations effluent such asNa Ca and Mg The pH of soil irrigated with wastewaterdecreases following oxidation of organic compounds andnitrification of ammonium [49ndash51]
Electrical conductivity values are the lowest at samplingpoints of S5 characterized by irrigation by wastewaterupstream of El Gourzi effluent Standard deviation valuesare much higher at sampling points of S1 as previouslydescribed Contrary to the results mentioned in the work ofMaalem andGhanem [22] on the values of ElGourzi effluentrsquoswastewaters which are higher upstream than downstreamthe soil has higher CE values downstream than upstreamThis could be due to the organic matter which acts as abuffer In a general way according to standards presentedby DIAEADRHASEEN in El Oumlouki et al [52] ECof various treatments soils of our experimentation remainsweak
The organic matter is lowest at S8 with well waterirrigation and arboriculture (Figure 5) It is highest at S4upstream of El Gourzi effluent border Indeed Tamrabet etal [6] reported that a comparison of control soil averages andirrigated soils by wastewater shows that irrigation with thiswastewater has a very significant effect on OM improvementHowever many other studies showed increase in the OMwithin creased period of treated wastewaters irrigation [3853 54] This is the case in our study Moreover high claycontent of soil may physically protect the OM from thedecomposition
The average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is lowest atS3 downstream of El Gourzi effluent It is highest at Kochbinatural water effluent border These values are generallystrongly to very strongly calcareous according to gradingscale proposed by GEPPA in Baize [27] The limestone levelsappear to be related to soil pH
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9(
)
OM
000
200
400
600
800
1000
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 5 Organic matter rate percentage average in study sites
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 6 Earthwormsrsquo total abundance in different sites of study
32 EarthwormCompartment (Table 6) The total abundanceand biomass average of earthworms at different samplingpoints of study sites are the lowest in S9 with irrigation bynatural waters of El Kochbi effluent and cereal crop Theywere the highest in S5 with irrigation by El Gourzi wastewaterupstream and cereal growing (Figure 6) This abundance wasrepresented by 54 of adults and 46 of juvenile worms(Figure 7) Our results explain a negative effect of plowingon the abundance and biomass of earthworms Contrariwisethe irrigation with wastewaters improves significantly theirabundance and biomass In Bazri et alrsquos [17] study the densityof earthworm in eastern Algeria from the coast to the desertwas respectively 600 plusmn 141 to 2960 plusmn 1183 individualsm2and 028 plusmn 039 to 1313 plusmn 794 gm2 These results are almostsimilar to those of Omodeo andMartinucci [55] in NorthernAlgeria who found earthworm densities ranging from 110to 127 individualsm2 and biomass ranging from 125 to30 gm2 Edwards and Bohlen [56] explained that soils with
54Abd adult
46Abd juv
Individualm2
Figure 7 Total abundance percentage of earthworms in study sites
34Ap t
33Ap r
0Ap C
Am10
Oc2
E t3 20
P an
Individualm2
Figure 8 Earthwormsrsquo global specific abundance percentage
low organic matter contents usually do not support highdensities of earthwormsThe highest values are usually foundin fertilized pastures and the lowest ones are in acid or aridsoils [12 57]
Taxonomic study was carried out on a total of 594 adultworms The taxonomic key and nomenclature quoted byRougerie et al [18] allowed classification of 7 species of Lumb-ricidaeAporrectodea trapezoides (Duges 1828)Aporrectodearosea (Savigny 1826)Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny 1826)Allolobophora molleri (Rosa 1889) Octodrilus complana-tus (Duges 1828) Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedra (Savigny1826) and Proctodrilus antipai antipai (Michaelsen 1891)Percentage of overall specific abundance shows dominanceof Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrectodea rosea(Figure 8)
Ap trapezoides is present in greater quantity (134individualsm2) in S7 characterized by nonpractical plowingand natural vegetation at Kochbi edge where there is healthynatural water (Figure 9) However Ap rosea is present ingreater amounts (130 and 120 individualsm2) in S4 and S5at edges of effluent and irrigated by wastewaters upstreamPr antipai is the most dominant species in S6 characterizedby wastewater irrigation upstream of the effluent and arbori-culture On biomass Ap trapezoides is highest (1248 gm2)in S7 at edges of natural water effluent Ap rosea is presenton a biomass of 117 gm2 in S5 irrigated by wastewaters andcharacterized by cereal cultivation These results allow us todeduce that wastewaters have intense effect on developmentof earthwormrsquos biodiversity Species Ap rosea was the mostconcerned by this improvement
Bazri et al [17] noted in their study that it is curious andhard to explain that Ap trapezoides the most common and
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Table6Re
sults
ofstatisticalanalyses
ofearthw
ormsrsquocharacteris
ticsindifferent
sites
ofthes
tudy
Region
Varia
bles
Sites
Abt
Tottimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
adttimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
juvtimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
tottimestimestimes
Abd
endo
timestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
epigN
S
(Indm2)
Abd
anectimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
endo
timestimestimes
(gm2)
Biom
epigN
S
(gm2)
Biom
anectimestimestimes
(gm2)
IDS
ElMadher
(sitesirrigated
bywastewaters
downstre
amof
ElGou
rzieffluent)
S1M
1660
520
1140
508
300
040
180
184
016
080
1945
SD13939
3493
10455
3513
0707
0548
2490
0689
0230
1131
S2M
1940
1120
920
1035
460
000
660
207
000
651
1401
SD3647
2950
3899
1041
2074
000
02191
1324
000
02063
S3M
980
300
700
565
240
000
080
359
000
066
1425
SD16
4310
000707
1832
1140
000
0044
72086
000
00521
S4M
4380
3440
900
2004
2800
200
520
1056
137
752
2192
SD13755
1616
53536
5726
21319
346
45541
8248
2614
7712
S5M
4960
2680
2280
3756
1980
000
700
1886
000
938
1759
SD7162
6496
11167
6361
7014
000
03082
6887
000
03190
S6M
3860
2140
1720
1922
1540
080
540
640
012
633
1799
SD22041
9813
13498
8450
5320
1789
3507
1620
0264
3985
Ouled
SiSlim
ane
(sitesirrigated
bynaturalw
ater
ofEl
Kochbieffl
uent)
S7M
3440
1520
1840
2105
060
000
1460
017
000
1411
0636
SD6229
5586
9099
7948
0894
000
05639
0244
000
07175
S8M
700
120
580
289
060
000
060
052
000
047
0906
SD4416
1789
3962
2627
1342
000
00894
1167
000
00663
S9M
260
040
220
221
000
020
020
000
019
019
1SD
2793
0548
2683
2308
000
0044
7044
7000
00434
0420
Ranges
values
(site)
Max
S5S4
S5S5
S4S4
S7S5
S4S7
S4
Min
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S8S2S3
S5S7S8
S9S7
ANOVA
results
EffectF
d8
88
88
88
88
8
F1340
1461
366
2595
868
127
981
1400
124
755
P
000
00003
000
0000
0000
00287
000
0000
00301
000
0
timestimestimesHighlysig
nificantNSno
tsignificantMm
ean
SDstand
arddifferenceIndm2ind
ividualm2F
Fisc
hern
umberP
prob
abilitylevelFd
freedom
degree
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
Ap tAp rAp CAmOc
E tP an
0050
100150200250300
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alG
2)
Figure 9 Earthwormsrsquo specific abundance average in study sites
dominant species was not previously quoted by other authorsworking on Algerian lumbricoid fauna Possible explanationsinclude identification problems in this complex group ofspecies recent introduction and posterior expansion orolder introduction as suggested by the large geographicdistribution of the species In the semiarid regions the taxonA molleri is important it locates preferentially in wet points(notably at the edge of effluents) In mountains of semiaridregions the species O complanatus dominates As for Aprosea it is the only one observed in arid bioclimatic stage atpoints where there is sufficient water
Among the 7 species inventoried (Figure 10) the endo-geic species accounted for 62 (Ap rosea A molleri Pantipai and Ap caliginosa) epigeic species for 3 (E tetrae-dra) and anecic species for 22 (O complanatus and Aptrapezoides) the latter may be considered as anecic endogeicor endoanecic because it varies according to the strain
Bouche [10] separated earthworms into three categoriesbased on morphological and behavioral characteristicsEpigeic species are consumer litter living and feeding on orsurface soil Anecic earthworms live in permanent verticalburrows within the soil and may emerge to feed on surfacelayer endogeic species live in temporary horizontal burrowsand feed on the soil This species is geophagous since itgains its nutrients by eating the soil and the green morph ischaracterized by Bouche [10] as more epigeic
Endogeic abundance is much higher in S4 at edgesupstream of the El Gourzi effluent which is without culturalpractices (Figure 11) However S7 at edges of El Kochbi efflu-ent from natural waters without cultural practices is betterrepresented by an anecic population The epigeic populationis important only on S4 and S6 upstream of the wastewatereffluent Endogeic earthworms are a major component of soilfauna communities in most natural ecosystems of the humidtropics [58]
The Shannon diversity index of different study sites is thelowest at S7 corresponding to edges of Kochbi effluent It isthe highest at S4 characterized by wastewaters upstream of ElGourzi effluent and any cultural practices This result allows
62Abd endo
3Abd epig
35Abd anec
Individualsm2
Figure 10 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance average
Abd endoAbd epigAbd anec
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 11 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance in studiedsoil sites
us to deduce that wastewater loaded with organic matterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
33 ANOVA Statistical analysis with the Newman-Keulsmultiple comparison posttest at 119875 le 005 (Table 5) revealeda highly significant effect of different irrigation practices andcultural practices on soilrsquos physical parameters (Is Cr PK 005 K 03 K 06 and K 1) Water retention infiltrationand hydraulic conductivity are among the soilrsquos hydraulicproperties affected by soil porosity and pore size distribution[40 59] Spatial variability of soilrsquos physical properties withinor among agricultural fields is inherent in nature due togeologic and pedologic soil forming factors but some of thevariability may be induced by tillage and other managementpracticesThese factors interact with each other across spatialand temporal scales and are further modified locally byerosion and deposition processes [60] In the regions witha cool climate soils are exposed to freeze-thaw cyclesespecially in the spring period Aggregation and therefore soilstructure may be either positively or negatively affected byfreeze-thaw cycles [61] Therefore the impacts of wastewater
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S1S2
S3S4
S5
S6
S7
S8S9
IsCr
Da
PK (005)
K (03)
K (06)K (1)
MO
CE
Ctot
CactifPH
Abt tot
Abd adult
Abd juv
Abd Ap t
Abd Ap r
Abd Ap CAbd Am
Abd Oc
Abd E t
Abd P an
Bio tot
Abd endoAbd epig
Abd anec
IDS
Biplot (axes F1 and F2 6186)
minus5
minus4
minus3
minus2
minus1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
F2 (1
996
)
minus7 minus6 minus5 minus4 minus3 minus2 minus1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8minus8F1 (4190)
Figure 12 PCA graph of interaction between studied soil properties
irrigation on main soil properties in agricultural areas undercool climate conditions may be different
ANOVA reveals highlight at very highly significant effectof different irrigation practices and cultural practices onstudied chemical parameters of soil (MO CE CaCO3 totCaCO3 act and pH) Effectively the soilrsquos physical propertiesare associated with nutrient applied and environmental soilscience availability solute andpollutantmovementmicrobialactivity and soil organic matter stabilization [62]
On parameters of earthworm characteristics (Table 6)ANOVA revealed a significant effect of study sites differencesexcept for Ap caliginosa and E tetraedra tetraedra speciesrsquoabundance The significant effect of sites has been wellrevealed on endogeic and anecic abundance However thereis no significant effect of different irrigation and croppingpractices on epigeic abundance
34 PCA In order to study interaction between physico-chemical soil parameters and earthworm communities ofstudied sites Principal Component Analysis (PCA)was usedThis procedure makes it possible to group or distributethe sampling sites around principal axes in function of thephysicochemical and earthwormparameters thus facilitatingobservation of possible links between variables and placeswhere they are most represented (Figure 12)
Contribution of principal axes to total variation is 4190for axis 1 and 1996 for axis 2 which makes a total of6186 which is well acceptable On variables distributiongraph both axes 1 and 2 contrast two groups of variablesbiological parameters of earthworms (total biomass totalabundance and adult wormsrsquo abundance) and physical infil-tration parameters (infiltration at saturation K 005 kPa K03 kPa K 06 kPa and K 1 kPa) The first group of biologicalvariables is represented by S5 site characterized by irrigationswith wastewaters upstream of El Gourzi effluent and by cereal
crop (wheatalfalfa) The group of infiltration characteristicsis represented by S2 and S3 sites These sites are irrigatedwith downstream wastewaters and characterized by cerealand arboreal crops This group includes physicochemicalcharacteristics pH and EC Axis 1 is intensely correlatedwith structural stability index and water retention capacityIt divides the characteristics of earthworms studied into twosubgroups One of them is well represented by S4 and S6 withirrigation by wastewater at upstream This group includesOM and active CaCO3 as well as Shannon Biodiversity Index
Francis and Fraser [63] and Capowiez et al [64] reportedthat galleries excavated by terrestrial bioturbation activitycontributed to water transfers Also Bottinelli et al [65]and Peres et al [66] reported that earthworms contribute toimproving soil porosity Indeed the PCA groups the S4 S5and S6 sites with abundance and biomass of earthworms andsoil porosity For his part Supersperg [67] found that annualapplications of liquid sludge cause an increase in compactnessof a heavy soil by clogging and a decrease in pores volume
By this PCA it can be deduced that very high organiccharge of partially treated waters has negative repercus-sions on hydraulic conductivity if this load exceeds certaindoses because the PCA rallied the hydraulic conductivityat saturation by different pressures applied to S1 S2 and S3sites downstream of El Gourzi effluent as well as S8 andS9 sites irrigated with natural waters of El Kochbi effluentThis is contradictory to the results of Minhas and Samra[68] and Ababsa et al [69] who have worked on the effectof earthworms on hydraulic conductivity in soils irrigatedby wastewaters Meanwhile our findings concur with theworks of some authors Wang et al Viviani and Iovino andMolahoseini [40 46 70] who have to work on the same axisof research
This opposition of results can be explained bymore or lessrapid duration of organic matter evolution of wastewaters
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 13
This change in state of OM from pores plugging form tosoil stabilizing and structuring form is closely related to soilphysicochemical parameters (pH active CaCO3 and EC)Indeed Callot and Dupuis [71] assume the role of activeCaCO3 in protection and conservation of organic matterin carbonate soils Active CaCO3 thus acts as a protectoragainst biological degradation of organic matter of these soilsto make it a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition[72] All the soils being studied are carbonate soils theiractiveCaCO3should play an important role in humificationprocess by rapidly sequestering lignified organic compoundsas inherited or residual humus [28]
4 Conclusion
Our objective was to study interaction between earthwormcommunity characteristics and physicochemical propertiesof soils characterized by irrigation with wastewaters andwell waters in conditions of different topography (upstreamand downstream) and cropping practices (natural vegetationcereal cultivation and arboriculture) in two regions of Batnadepartment
The results show that the maximum water retentioncapacity is better explained by the fine texture of the soilat the effluent border The porosity and rates of infiltrationat saturation are higher in sites characterized by irrigationwith wastewaters downstream of effluent This was explainedby clogging of soil pores by suspended materials presentin the wastewaters However structural stability is better insite characterized by irrigation with wastewaters upstreamof El Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This is due on onehand to input of organic matter and calcium ions whichplay the role of cements and cause improvement of particlessoil aggregation according to Kirkham [42] On the otherhand at cereal crop that effect increases production ofcementing substances through microbial activity by fungaland actinomycete mycelia that provide substrates to stabilizesoil aggregates according to Miller and Kemper [43]
The pH levels are more alkaline in downstream sitesthan upstream sites of wastewater effluent The pH of soilsirrigated with wastewater decreases following oxidation oforganic compounds and nitrification of ammonium Electri-cal conductivity values are the lowest at sampling points ofsite characterized by irrigation with wastewater upstream ofEl Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This could probably bedue to the level of organic matter which acts as a buffer Theorganicmatter is highest at site upstreamof El Gourzi effluentborder characterized by natural vegetation which is certainlyexplained by an important load of organic matter from thewastewater upstream of the effluent and high clay content ofsoil may physically protect the OM from the decompositionThe average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is higher atKochbi natural water effluent border while it showed lowvalues at downstream sites However the active CaCO3rate is the lowest at downstream site of El Gourzi effluentborder But it presents the highest values at S6 site irrigatedby wastewaters upstream of effluentThis result appears to berelated to soil pH
The total abundance and biomass average of earthwormsat different sampling points of study sites are the lowestat site irrigated by natural waters of El Kochbi effluentwhich is cultivated by cereal On the contrary they are thehighest at upstream site irrigated by El Gourzi wastewaterand cereal growing This result explains that abundance andbiomass of earthworms are related to wastewaters irrigationEarthworms are muchmore present where irrigation water isheavily loaded with organic materials
Taxonomic study allowed classification of 7 species ofLumbricidae Percentage of overall specific abundance showsdominance of Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrec-todea rosea The result shows that wastewaters have intenseeffect on development of earthwormrsquos biodiversity SpeciesAp rosea was the most concerned by this improvementAmong the 7 species inventoried the endogeic earthwormsrepresent the majority Endogeic abundance is much higherin site at edges upstream of the El Gourzi effluent which iswithout cultural practices However site at edges of El Kochbieffluent from natural waters without cultural practices isbetter represented by an anecic population The Shannondiversity index of different study sites shows that wastewaterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
ANOVA revealed a highly significant effect of differentirrigation types as well as different cultivation practices onall physicochemical properties of soil and on endogeic andanecic population This was not the case for the epigeicpopulation
The PCA allowed characterizing two major groups Thefirst group is defined by sites that are explained by the hydro-dynamic infiltration These sites are irrigated by wastewaterthey are located downstream of effluent (lowest load oforganic matter) and characterized by cereal and arborealcrops This group includes other chemical characteristicspH and EC The second group formed by upstream sitesirrigated by wastewaters encompasses the characteristics ofearthworms explained by highest load of organic matter Itincludes chemical characteristics OM and active limestoneIt also includes the ShannonBiodiversity IndexWe explainedthis by active CaCO3 which acts as a protector againstbiological degradation of organicmatter of these soils tomakeit a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition
Overall the results of the PCA show us that the effectof wastewater is positive on improvement of abundance andbiomass and biodiversity of earthworms population On thecontrary the wastewaters are unfavorable for the infiltrationphysical parameters of water into soil This will surelyhave long-term repercussions on the physical and biologicalparameters of soil and will induce a new organization ofmacro- and mesoporosity due to improvement of biologicalparameters of earthworms
Finally we propose complementing these results in thefield and in the laboratory to see the evolution of infiltrationparameters of soil water in parallel with the dynamics ofearthworm community in soil irrigated by wastewaters Thebiodiversity of earthworms may induce an improvement ininfiltration and reduce the problems of clogging pores and
14 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
solve other problems that wastewaters can introduce intosoils
Abbreviations
Cr Water retention capacityIs Structural instability indexDa Bulk density119875 Porosity119870 (h) sat Saturated hydraulic conductivity at
potential differenceCE Electric conductivityMO Organic matterTEM Trace Element MetalsMES Suspended matterBOD5 5-Day biological oxygen demandCOD Chemical oxygen demandAbd AbundanceJuv JuvenileAdt AdultBiom BiomassEndo EndogeicEpig EpigeicAnec AnecicAp t Aporrectodea trapezoidesAp r Aporrectodea roseaAp c Aporrectodea caliginosaAm Allolobophora molleriP ant Proctodrilus antipai antipaiOc Octodrilus complanatusE t Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedraSDI Shannon Biodiversity IndexDj Djebel or mountainWed effluent
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interestregarding the publication of this paper
References
[1] E Corcoran C Nellemann E Baker R Bos D Osborn andHSavelli ick Water The central role of wastewater managementin sustainable development A rapid response assessment UnitedNations Environment Programme UN-HABITAT ArendalNorway 2010
[2] F Hiouani H Messadia A Masmoudi D Madani and C TirldquoInfluence des eaux residuaires de tannerie sur le poids de lamatiere secherdquo in Proceedings of the Revue des Regions Arides-Actes du 4eme Meeting International - Numero Special - n∘35(32014) pp 1023ndash1319 2013
[3] B Jimenez and T Asano ldquoWater reclamation and reuse aroundthe Worldrdquo inWater Reuse An International Survey of CurrentPractice Issues and Needs pp 3ndash26 IWA Publishing LondonUK 2008
[4] Z S Burak ldquoWater wetlands and climate change build-ings linkages for their integrated managementrdquo MediterraneanRegional Roundtable pp 10-11 2002
[5] H Bouzerzour L Tamrabet and M Kribaa ldquoReponse de deuxgraminees fourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee
et de boue residuairerdquo in Proceedings Seminaire InternationalBiologie et Environnement 71 Univ Mentouri ConstantineAlgeria 2002
[6] L Tamrabet H Bouzerzour M Kribaa et and D Golea ldquoLedevenir des eaux usees traitees Reponse de deux gramineesfourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee traiteerdquo inProceedings of the Actes du Colloque international Oasis Eau etPopulation Universite Khider Biskra Algerie 2003
[7] M B Pescod Wastewater Treatment and Use in AgricultureFAO Irrigation and Drainage Rome Italy 1992
[8] A Coppola A Santini P Botti S Vacca V Comegna andG Severino ldquoMethodological approach for evaluating the re-sponse of soil hydrological behavior to irrigation with treatedmunicipal wastewaterrdquo Journal of Hydrology vol 292 no 1-4pp 114ndash134 2004
[9] I Nadav J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoWater repellency inducedby organic matter (OM) in treated wastewater (TWW) infiltra-tion ponds and irrigationrdquo Functions of Natural Organic Matterin Changing Environment pp 883ndash887 2013
[10] M B Bouche Lombriciens de France Ecologie et SystematiqueINRA Publication 72-2 Institut national de la rechercheagronomique Paris France 1972
[11] G Bachelier ldquoLes vers annelesrdquo in La faune du sol IDT n∘38pp 127ndash183 ORSTOM Paris France 1978
[12] K E Lee EarthwormsTheir Ecology and Relationship with Soilsand Land Use Academic Press Sydney Australia 1985
[13] P Lavelle C Lattaud D Trigo and I Barois ldquoMutualism andbiodiversity in soilsrdquo Plant and Soil vol 170 no 1 pp 23ndash331995
[14] T Kautz C Stumm R Kosters andU Kopke ldquoEffects of peren-nial fodder crops on soil structure in agricultural headlandsrdquoJournal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science vol 173 no 4 pp490ndash501 2010
[15] L A Schipper J C Williamson H A Kettles and T W SpeirldquoImpact of land-applied tertiary-treated effluent on soil bio-chemical propertiesrdquo Journal of Environmental Quality vol 25no 5 pp 1073ndash1077 1996
[16] A Lemtiri G Colinet T Alabi et al ldquoImpacts of earthwormson soil components and dynamics A reviewrdquo BiotechnologyAgronomy and Society and Environment vol 18 no 1 pp 121ndash133 2014
[17] K Bazri G Ouahrani Z Gheribi-Aoulmi et D J and D CosinldquoLa diversite des lombriciens dans lrsquoest algerien depuis la cotejusqursquoau desertrdquo EcologiaMediterranea vol 39 no 2 p 17 2013
[18] R Rougerie T Decaens L Deharveng et al ldquoDNAbarcodes forsoil animal taxonomyrdquoPesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira vol 44no 8 pp 789ndash802 2009
[19] T Decaens ldquoMacroecological patterns in soil communitiesrdquoGlobal Ecology and Biogeography vol 19 no 3 pp 287ndash3022010
[20] L Tamrabet M Kribaa B Hamidi S Alalata W Berkani andA Hamdoudi ldquoEvaluation de lrsquoaptitude des effluents drsquoOued ElGourzi (Batna Nord Est drsquoAlgerie) a lrsquoirrigation et leur impactsur le sol et la qualite des cultures maraıcheres et fourrageresrdquoin Actes du congres international lsquoEau et Dechets UniversiteMohamed I Oujda Maroco 2007
[21] Office National de lrsquoAssainissement (ONA) Situation actuelledes stations de traitement drsquoeaux usees en Algerie MRE AlgerAlgerie 7 p 2006
[22] S Maalem and N Ghanem ldquoLa caracterisation physico-chim-iques des eaux usees de Oued El Gourzirdquo In Actes de ColloqueNational de Biologie de lrsquouniversite de Batna 2016
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[23] M Bournaud and C Amoros ldquoDes indicateurs biologiques auxdescripteurs de fonctionnement Quelques exemples dans lesysteme fluvialrdquo Bull Ecol vol 15 no 1 pp 57ndash66 1984
[24] H Marschner Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants vol 78Academic press New York NY USA 2nd edition 1995
[25] Z Alouni ldquoFlux de la charge parasitaire dans cinq stationsdrsquoepuration en Tunisierdquo Revue des sciences de lrsquoeau vol 6 no 4pp 453ndash462 1993
[26] A Mussy et and M Soutter Physique du sol ISBN 1st edition1991
[27] D BaizeGuide des analyses courantes en pedologie INRR 1988[28] P Duchaufour Pedologie I Pedogenese et classificationMasson
Paris France 1977[29] B Blakemore Cosmopolitan Earthworms An Eco-Taxonomic
Guide to the Peregrine Species of the World 2nd Ed 656 p2007
[30] M B Bouche ldquoStrategies Lombriciennes Soil organism ascomponents of ecosystemsrdquo in Proceedings of the 6th Int CollSoil Zool Ecol Bull U Lohm and T Persson Eds pp 122ndash132Stockholm Sweden 1977
[31] K Bazri ldquoEtude de la biodiversite des lombriciens et leursrelations avec les proprietes du sol dans differents etagesbioclimatiques dans lrsquoEst Algerienrdquo in These doctorat p 188Constantine University 2015
[32] J BlondelBiogeographie et ecologieMasson Paris France 1979[33] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 505 Dunod Paris France 1985[34] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 434 Dunod Paris France 1975[35] M A Mojid and G C L Wyseure ldquoImplications of municipal
wastewater irrigation on soil health froma study inBangladeshrdquoSoil Use and Management vol 29 no 3 pp 384ndash396 2013
[36] M A Gharaibeh T A Ghezzehei A A Albalasmeh andM ZAlghzawi ldquoAlteration of physical and chemical characteristicsof clayey soils by irrigationwith treatedwaste waterrdquoGeodermavol 276 pp 33ndash40 2016
[37] A Mojiri ldquoEffects of municipal wastewater on physical andchemical properties of saline soilrdquo Journal of Biodiversity andEnvironmental Sciences vol 5 pp 71ndash76 2011
[38] I Vogeler ldquoEffect of long-term wastewater application onphysical soil propertiesrdquoWater Air and Soil Pollution vol 196no 1-4 pp 385ndash392 2009
[39] J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoRheology of sodium-montmoril-lonite suspensions Effects of humic substances and pHrdquo SoilScience Society of America Journal vol 66 no 2 pp 406ndash4122002
[40] Z Wang A C Chang L Wu and D Crowley ldquoAssessingthe soil quality of long-term reclaimed wastewater-irrigatedcroplandrdquo Geoderma vol 114 no 3-4 pp 261ndash278 2003
[41] A Kunhikrishnan N S Bolan K Muller S Laurenson RNaidu and W-I Kim ldquoThe influence of wastewater irrigationon the transformation and bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)sin soilrdquo Advances in Agronomy vol 115 pp 215ndash297 2012
[42] B Kirkham Isposal of sludge on land Effects on soils plants andground water compost Sc pp 6-10 1974
[43] D E Miller andW D Kemper ldquoWater stability of aggregates oftwo soils as in fluenced by incorporation of alfalfardquoAgron J vol54 no 6 pp 494ndash496 1962
[44] S M F Rabbi B R Roy M M Miah M S Amin and TKhandakar ldquoSpatial variability of physical soil quality index ofan agricultural fieldrdquo Applied and Environmental Soil Sciencevol 2014 Article ID 379012 10 pages 2014
[45] G Bardhan D Russo D Goldstein and G J Levy ldquoChanges inthe hydraulic properties of a clay soil under long-term irrigationwith treated wastewaterrdquo Geoderma vol 264 pp 1ndash9 2016
[46] G Viviani and M Iovino ldquoWastewater reuse effects on soilhydraulic conductivityrdquo Journal of Irrigation and DrainageEngineering vol 130 no 6 pp 476ndash484 2004
[47] J L Morel A Guikart and H Sedgo ldquoEffet de lrsquoepandage desboues urbaines sur lrsquoetat physique des sols communsrdquo in XIcongres de lrsquoAISS Ed lA I S S XI congrΦs de Ed pp 12ndash19 Canada Mouton Canada 1978
[48] U Sahin O Anapali and S Ercisli ldquoPhysico-chemical andphysical properties of some substrates used in horticulturerdquoGartenbau wissen schaft 67 pp 55ndash60 2002
[49] M J Mohammad and N Mazahreh ldquoChanges in soil fertilityparameters in response to irrigation of forage crops withsecondary treated wastewaterrdquo Communications in Soil Scienceand Plant Analysis vol 34 no 9-10 pp 1281ndash1294 2003
[50] OVazquez-Montiel N JHoran andDDMara ldquoManagementof domestic wastewater for reuse in irrigationrdquo Water Scienceand Technology vol 33 no 10-11 pp 355ndash362 1996
[51] A R Hayes C F Mancino and I L Pepper ldquoIrrigation ofTurfgrass with Secondary Sewage Effluent I Soil and LeachateWater Qualityrdquo Agronomy Journal vol 82 no 5 p 939 1990
[52] K El Oumlouki R Moussadek A Zouahri H Dakak MChati and M El Amrani ldquoStudy of physic-chemical quality ofwater and soil in the region SoussMassa (Case perimeter Issen)Moroccordquo Journal of Materials and Environmental Science vol5 pp 2365ndash2374 2014
[53] M Galavi A Jalali M Ramroodi S R Mousavi andH GalavildquoEffects of Treated Municipal Wastewater on Soil ChemicalProperties and Heavy Metal Uptake by Sorghum (sorghumbicolor L)rdquo Journal of Agricultural Science vol 2 no 3 2010
[54] M A Gharaibeh N I Eltaif and B Al-Abdullah ldquoImpact offield application of treated wastewater on hydraulic propertiesof vertisolsrdquo Water Air and Soil Pollution vol 184 no 1-4 pp347ndash353 2007
[55] P Omodeo and G Martinucci Earthworms of MaghrebSelected Symposya andMonographsUZI 2MucchiModenapp 235-250 1987
[56] A Edwards and P J Bohlen Biology et Ecology of earthwormsvol 3 Springer Science amp Business Media 1996
[57] P Lavelle and A V Spain Soil Ecology Springer Science ampBusiness Media 2001
[58] P Lavelle GMelendez B Pashanasi andR Schaefer ldquoNitrogenmineralization and reorganization in casts of the geophagoustropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscoleci-dae)rdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 14 no 1 pp 49ndash53 1992
[59] R A Goncalves T V Gloaguen M V Folegatti P L Libardi YLucas andC RMontes ldquoPore size distribution in soils irrigatedwith sodic water and wastewaterrdquo Revista Brasileira de Cienciado Solo vol 34 no 3 pp 701ndash707 2010
[60] J Iqbal J A Thomasson J N Jenkins P R Owens and F DWhisler ldquoSpatial variability analysis of soil physical propertiesof alluvial soilsrdquo Soil Science Society of America Journal vol 69no 4 pp 1338ndash1350 2005
[61] U Sahin I Angin and F M Kiziloglu ldquoEffect of freezing andthawing processes on some physical properties of saline-sodicsoils mixed with sewage sludge or fly ashrdquo Soil and TillageResearch vol 99 no 2 pp 254ndash260 2008
[62] R Lal and M K Shukla Principles of Soil Physics MarcelDekker New York NY USA 2004
16 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[63] G S Francis and P M Fraser ldquoThe effects of three earthwormspecies on soil macroporosity and hydraulic conductivityrdquoApplied Soil Ecology vol 10 no 1-2 pp 11ndash19 1998
[64] Y Capowiez S Cadoux P Bouchant et al ldquoThe effect oftillage type and cropping system on earthworm communitiesmacroporosity and water infiltrationrdquo Soil and Tillage Researchvol 105 no 2 pp 209ndash216 2009
[65] N Bottinelli T Henry-des-Tureaux V Hallaire et al ldquoEarth-worms accelerate soil porosity turnover under watering condi-tionsrdquo Geoderma vol 156 no 1-2 pp 43ndash47 2010
[66] G Peres D Cluzeau P Curmi and V Hallaire ldquoEarthwormactivity and soil structure changes due to organic enrichmentsin vineyard systemsrdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 27 no 4pp 417ndash424 1998
[67] H Supersperg tilisation de la boue a lrsquoetat liquide sur les solslourds BERICHETE Der ATV 28p1977
[68] P S Minhas and J S Samra Wastewater use in peri-urbanagriculture impacts and opportunities Central Soil salinityResearch Institute Karnal 132001 India Tech Bull N562 p2004
[69] N Ababsa M Kribaa D Addad L Tamrabet and M BahaldquoDoes earthworms density really modify soilrsquos hydrodynamicproperties in irrigated systems with recycled waterrdquo Journal ofFundamental and Applied Sciences vol 8 no 2 p 627 2016
[70] H Molahoseini ldquoLong-term effects of municipal wastewaterirrigation on some properties of a semiarid region soil of IranrdquoInternational Journal of Science Engineering and Technologyvol 3 no 4 pp 444ndash449 2014
[71] G Callot and M Dupuis ldquoLe calcaire actif des sols et sa signifi-cationrdquo Science du sol vol 1 pp 17ndash27 1980
[72] H Ben Hassine T Aloui T Gallali T Bouzid S El amri andR Ben Hassen ldquoValuation quantitative et roles de la matiereorganique dans les sols cultives en zones subhumides et semi-arides mediterraneennes de la Tunisierdquo Agro-Solutions vol 17no 2 pp 4ndash17 2008
Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
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International Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
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BiodiversityInternational Journal of
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The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 7
Table5Re
sults
ofstatisticalanalyses
ofph
ysicochemicalcharacteris
ticsindifferent
sites
ofthes
tudy
Region
Varia
bles
Sites
Htimestimestimes
Istimestimestimes
Crtimestimestimes
Da
gcm3timestimestimes
Ptimestimestimes
K005
kpatimestimestimes
K03k
patimestimestimes
K06k
patimestimestimes
K1kpatimestimestimes
MOtimestimestimes
ECdS
mtimes
CaC
o 3
tottimestimestimes
CaC
o 3
acttimestimestimes
pHtimestimestimes
ElMadher
(sitesirrigated
bywastewaters
downstre
amof
ElGou
rzieffluent)
S1M
2506
039
3844
087
6513
981
453
278
129
273
071
2646
990
849
SD5294
0051
2527
0092
3475
0473
0839
0422
0134
1225
0611
2962
4129
0162
S2M
2262
046
2759
073
7049
2636
1089
606
310
174
060
4338
1265
844
SD2566
0072
5259
0031
1175
2231
1401
1091
0299
0830
0294
6118
4072
0134
S3M
2787
029
2873
100
6030
2491
1444
707
341
366
053
2353
1245
855
SD6137
0137
1818
0079
296
410
000610
0358
0172
0563
0175
240
70371
0049
S4M
2497
031
3606
084
6628
1589
667
383
191
643
028
3691
2492
768
SD5294
0125
0816
0039
1466
1649
1536
0477
0191
2065
0039
9423
5450
0216
S5M
2233
023
2851
092
6330
2585
946
420
243
512
020
3131
2032
796
SD2566
0094
3069
0015
0551
2346
264
20919
0274
0980
0081
3387
2803
0206
S6M
2497
019
3323
088
6494
2228
1183
518
390
628
036
2910
3560
793
SD6137
0056
2148
0024
0907
1822
1006
0917
0826
1492
0159
5266
5265
0335
Ouled
SiSlim
ane
(sitesirrigated
bynaturalw
ater
ofEl
Kochbieffl
uent)
S7M
4566
050
3059
108
5734
1080
589
346
157
249
026
5823
1180
783
SD6310
0122
7061
0113
4282
0489
0495
0200
0111
0493
0034
3984
4712
0055
S8M
2682
086
2786
093
6308
1918
1489
751
381
172
021
5369
1570
775
SD3191
006
64382
0032
1207
3878
1134
0593
0360
0433
0036
646
82683
0031
S9M
2463
078
2494
097
6155
1947
1306
724
319
212
059
5182
1800
792
SD3944
0089
344
60091
344
23274
0806
0501
0212
0461
0291
1505
4077
0073
Ranges
valuessite
Max
S7S8
S1S7
S2S2
S8S8
S6S4
S1S7
S6S3
Min
S5S6
S9S2
S7S1
S1S1
S1S2
S5S3
S1S8
ANOVA
results
EffectF
d8
88
88
88
88
88
88
8F
628
3086
654
1138
1117
3944
4153
3531
3802
1519
275
1607
2062
1968
P000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
00017
000
0000
0000
0timestimestimesHighlysig
nificanttimesSign
ificantN
Sno
tsignificantMm
ean
SDstand
arddifferenceF
Fischern
umberP
prob
abilitylevelFd
freedom
degree
8 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Is
000010020030040050060070080090100
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 3 Average of Heninrsquos structural stability index in study sites
K (h) saturated
K (005 kpa)K (03 kpa)K (06 kpa)K (1 kpa)
000
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
(mmmiddotB
minus1)
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
Figure 4 Saturated hydraulic conductivity average at differentwaterpotential in study sites
attributed higher AS value to the higher total carbon contentor to the composition of soil organic matter in areas irrigatedfor long periods with treated wastewaters compared with thecontrol block
The best rates of filtration at saturationKs (h) for 005 kPasuction were recorded in S2 and S3 sites characterized bywastewaters downstream of El Gourzi effluent (Figure 4)But globally for this pressure Ks is more important in theirrigated wastewaters For the other pressures differenceis less remarkable Rapid infiltration capacity of a soil isestimated by macroporosity Rabbi et al [44] mention thatpercentages of clay bulk density and porosity have a stronginfluence onKsThese results are in agreement with Bardhanet al [45] who reported a decrease in the infiltration rate dueto clogging of soil pores by suspendedmaterials present in thetreated wastewaters Previous studies with similar soil texture(clay) of the current study reached the same conclusion that
application of wastewater resulted in pore clogging whichleads to reduced soil porosity and subsequently a decrease inthe soil infiltrability [46]
Meanwhile Morel et al [47] showed that permeabil-ity of a soil increases significantly in plots enriched withsludge as organic matter richness of sludge improves waterbalance and increases reserve of useful water this favorsprocesses of stabilization of soil aggregates and in particulargives soil a better permeability in relation to a more stablestructure There is a close relationship between the poresize distribution and soil water content due to the factthat macropores control the aeration and drainage meso-pores control the water conductivity micropores controlthe water retention and the most available water for plants[48]
312 Chemical Soil Properties The pH (Table 5) in studyfields showsmoderate alkalinity in sites irrigated with naturalwaters as well as fields irrigated by wastewater upstreamThepH levels aremore alkaline in sites downstreamofwastewatereffluent than in the sites with upstreamwastewaters Standarddeviations between pHvalues of sampling points of sites oftenirrigated by upstream wastewater are much greater Schipperet al [15] indicate that soil pH increases as a result of along period of irrigation with wastewater They attribute thisincrease to chemical composition of cations effluent such asNa Ca and Mg The pH of soil irrigated with wastewaterdecreases following oxidation of organic compounds andnitrification of ammonium [49ndash51]
Electrical conductivity values are the lowest at samplingpoints of S5 characterized by irrigation by wastewaterupstream of El Gourzi effluent Standard deviation valuesare much higher at sampling points of S1 as previouslydescribed Contrary to the results mentioned in the work ofMaalem andGhanem [22] on the values of ElGourzi effluentrsquoswastewaters which are higher upstream than downstreamthe soil has higher CE values downstream than upstreamThis could be due to the organic matter which acts as abuffer In a general way according to standards presentedby DIAEADRHASEEN in El Oumlouki et al [52] ECof various treatments soils of our experimentation remainsweak
The organic matter is lowest at S8 with well waterirrigation and arboriculture (Figure 5) It is highest at S4upstream of El Gourzi effluent border Indeed Tamrabet etal [6] reported that a comparison of control soil averages andirrigated soils by wastewater shows that irrigation with thiswastewater has a very significant effect on OM improvementHowever many other studies showed increase in the OMwithin creased period of treated wastewaters irrigation [3853 54] This is the case in our study Moreover high claycontent of soil may physically protect the OM from thedecomposition
The average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is lowest atS3 downstream of El Gourzi effluent It is highest at Kochbinatural water effluent border These values are generallystrongly to very strongly calcareous according to gradingscale proposed by GEPPA in Baize [27] The limestone levelsappear to be related to soil pH
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9(
)
OM
000
200
400
600
800
1000
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 5 Organic matter rate percentage average in study sites
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 6 Earthwormsrsquo total abundance in different sites of study
32 EarthwormCompartment (Table 6) The total abundanceand biomass average of earthworms at different samplingpoints of study sites are the lowest in S9 with irrigation bynatural waters of El Kochbi effluent and cereal crop Theywere the highest in S5 with irrigation by El Gourzi wastewaterupstream and cereal growing (Figure 6) This abundance wasrepresented by 54 of adults and 46 of juvenile worms(Figure 7) Our results explain a negative effect of plowingon the abundance and biomass of earthworms Contrariwisethe irrigation with wastewaters improves significantly theirabundance and biomass In Bazri et alrsquos [17] study the densityof earthworm in eastern Algeria from the coast to the desertwas respectively 600 plusmn 141 to 2960 plusmn 1183 individualsm2and 028 plusmn 039 to 1313 plusmn 794 gm2 These results are almostsimilar to those of Omodeo andMartinucci [55] in NorthernAlgeria who found earthworm densities ranging from 110to 127 individualsm2 and biomass ranging from 125 to30 gm2 Edwards and Bohlen [56] explained that soils with
54Abd adult
46Abd juv
Individualm2
Figure 7 Total abundance percentage of earthworms in study sites
34Ap t
33Ap r
0Ap C
Am10
Oc2
E t3 20
P an
Individualm2
Figure 8 Earthwormsrsquo global specific abundance percentage
low organic matter contents usually do not support highdensities of earthwormsThe highest values are usually foundin fertilized pastures and the lowest ones are in acid or aridsoils [12 57]
Taxonomic study was carried out on a total of 594 adultworms The taxonomic key and nomenclature quoted byRougerie et al [18] allowed classification of 7 species of Lumb-ricidaeAporrectodea trapezoides (Duges 1828)Aporrectodearosea (Savigny 1826)Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny 1826)Allolobophora molleri (Rosa 1889) Octodrilus complana-tus (Duges 1828) Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedra (Savigny1826) and Proctodrilus antipai antipai (Michaelsen 1891)Percentage of overall specific abundance shows dominanceof Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrectodea rosea(Figure 8)
Ap trapezoides is present in greater quantity (134individualsm2) in S7 characterized by nonpractical plowingand natural vegetation at Kochbi edge where there is healthynatural water (Figure 9) However Ap rosea is present ingreater amounts (130 and 120 individualsm2) in S4 and S5at edges of effluent and irrigated by wastewaters upstreamPr antipai is the most dominant species in S6 characterizedby wastewater irrigation upstream of the effluent and arbori-culture On biomass Ap trapezoides is highest (1248 gm2)in S7 at edges of natural water effluent Ap rosea is presenton a biomass of 117 gm2 in S5 irrigated by wastewaters andcharacterized by cereal cultivation These results allow us todeduce that wastewaters have intense effect on developmentof earthwormrsquos biodiversity Species Ap rosea was the mostconcerned by this improvement
Bazri et al [17] noted in their study that it is curious andhard to explain that Ap trapezoides the most common and
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Table6Re
sults
ofstatisticalanalyses
ofearthw
ormsrsquocharacteris
ticsindifferent
sites
ofthes
tudy
Region
Varia
bles
Sites
Abt
Tottimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
adttimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
juvtimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
tottimestimestimes
Abd
endo
timestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
epigN
S
(Indm2)
Abd
anectimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
endo
timestimestimes
(gm2)
Biom
epigN
S
(gm2)
Biom
anectimestimestimes
(gm2)
IDS
ElMadher
(sitesirrigated
bywastewaters
downstre
amof
ElGou
rzieffluent)
S1M
1660
520
1140
508
300
040
180
184
016
080
1945
SD13939
3493
10455
3513
0707
0548
2490
0689
0230
1131
S2M
1940
1120
920
1035
460
000
660
207
000
651
1401
SD3647
2950
3899
1041
2074
000
02191
1324
000
02063
S3M
980
300
700
565
240
000
080
359
000
066
1425
SD16
4310
000707
1832
1140
000
0044
72086
000
00521
S4M
4380
3440
900
2004
2800
200
520
1056
137
752
2192
SD13755
1616
53536
5726
21319
346
45541
8248
2614
7712
S5M
4960
2680
2280
3756
1980
000
700
1886
000
938
1759
SD7162
6496
11167
6361
7014
000
03082
6887
000
03190
S6M
3860
2140
1720
1922
1540
080
540
640
012
633
1799
SD22041
9813
13498
8450
5320
1789
3507
1620
0264
3985
Ouled
SiSlim
ane
(sitesirrigated
bynaturalw
ater
ofEl
Kochbieffl
uent)
S7M
3440
1520
1840
2105
060
000
1460
017
000
1411
0636
SD6229
5586
9099
7948
0894
000
05639
0244
000
07175
S8M
700
120
580
289
060
000
060
052
000
047
0906
SD4416
1789
3962
2627
1342
000
00894
1167
000
00663
S9M
260
040
220
221
000
020
020
000
019
019
1SD
2793
0548
2683
2308
000
0044
7044
7000
00434
0420
Ranges
values
(site)
Max
S5S4
S5S5
S4S4
S7S5
S4S7
S4
Min
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S8S2S3
S5S7S8
S9S7
ANOVA
results
EffectF
d8
88
88
88
88
8
F1340
1461
366
2595
868
127
981
1400
124
755
P
000
00003
000
0000
0000
00287
000
0000
00301
000
0
timestimestimesHighlysig
nificantNSno
tsignificantMm
ean
SDstand
arddifferenceIndm2ind
ividualm2F
Fisc
hern
umberP
prob
abilitylevelFd
freedom
degree
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
Ap tAp rAp CAmOc
E tP an
0050
100150200250300
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alG
2)
Figure 9 Earthwormsrsquo specific abundance average in study sites
dominant species was not previously quoted by other authorsworking on Algerian lumbricoid fauna Possible explanationsinclude identification problems in this complex group ofspecies recent introduction and posterior expansion orolder introduction as suggested by the large geographicdistribution of the species In the semiarid regions the taxonA molleri is important it locates preferentially in wet points(notably at the edge of effluents) In mountains of semiaridregions the species O complanatus dominates As for Aprosea it is the only one observed in arid bioclimatic stage atpoints where there is sufficient water
Among the 7 species inventoried (Figure 10) the endo-geic species accounted for 62 (Ap rosea A molleri Pantipai and Ap caliginosa) epigeic species for 3 (E tetrae-dra) and anecic species for 22 (O complanatus and Aptrapezoides) the latter may be considered as anecic endogeicor endoanecic because it varies according to the strain
Bouche [10] separated earthworms into three categoriesbased on morphological and behavioral characteristicsEpigeic species are consumer litter living and feeding on orsurface soil Anecic earthworms live in permanent verticalburrows within the soil and may emerge to feed on surfacelayer endogeic species live in temporary horizontal burrowsand feed on the soil This species is geophagous since itgains its nutrients by eating the soil and the green morph ischaracterized by Bouche [10] as more epigeic
Endogeic abundance is much higher in S4 at edgesupstream of the El Gourzi effluent which is without culturalpractices (Figure 11) However S7 at edges of El Kochbi efflu-ent from natural waters without cultural practices is betterrepresented by an anecic population The epigeic populationis important only on S4 and S6 upstream of the wastewatereffluent Endogeic earthworms are a major component of soilfauna communities in most natural ecosystems of the humidtropics [58]
The Shannon diversity index of different study sites is thelowest at S7 corresponding to edges of Kochbi effluent It isthe highest at S4 characterized by wastewaters upstream of ElGourzi effluent and any cultural practices This result allows
62Abd endo
3Abd epig
35Abd anec
Individualsm2
Figure 10 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance average
Abd endoAbd epigAbd anec
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 11 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance in studiedsoil sites
us to deduce that wastewater loaded with organic matterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
33 ANOVA Statistical analysis with the Newman-Keulsmultiple comparison posttest at 119875 le 005 (Table 5) revealeda highly significant effect of different irrigation practices andcultural practices on soilrsquos physical parameters (Is Cr PK 005 K 03 K 06 and K 1) Water retention infiltrationand hydraulic conductivity are among the soilrsquos hydraulicproperties affected by soil porosity and pore size distribution[40 59] Spatial variability of soilrsquos physical properties withinor among agricultural fields is inherent in nature due togeologic and pedologic soil forming factors but some of thevariability may be induced by tillage and other managementpracticesThese factors interact with each other across spatialand temporal scales and are further modified locally byerosion and deposition processes [60] In the regions witha cool climate soils are exposed to freeze-thaw cyclesespecially in the spring period Aggregation and therefore soilstructure may be either positively or negatively affected byfreeze-thaw cycles [61] Therefore the impacts of wastewater
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S1S2
S3S4
S5
S6
S7
S8S9
IsCr
Da
PK (005)
K (03)
K (06)K (1)
MO
CE
Ctot
CactifPH
Abt tot
Abd adult
Abd juv
Abd Ap t
Abd Ap r
Abd Ap CAbd Am
Abd Oc
Abd E t
Abd P an
Bio tot
Abd endoAbd epig
Abd anec
IDS
Biplot (axes F1 and F2 6186)
minus5
minus4
minus3
minus2
minus1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
F2 (1
996
)
minus7 minus6 minus5 minus4 minus3 minus2 minus1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8minus8F1 (4190)
Figure 12 PCA graph of interaction between studied soil properties
irrigation on main soil properties in agricultural areas undercool climate conditions may be different
ANOVA reveals highlight at very highly significant effectof different irrigation practices and cultural practices onstudied chemical parameters of soil (MO CE CaCO3 totCaCO3 act and pH) Effectively the soilrsquos physical propertiesare associated with nutrient applied and environmental soilscience availability solute andpollutantmovementmicrobialactivity and soil organic matter stabilization [62]
On parameters of earthworm characteristics (Table 6)ANOVA revealed a significant effect of study sites differencesexcept for Ap caliginosa and E tetraedra tetraedra speciesrsquoabundance The significant effect of sites has been wellrevealed on endogeic and anecic abundance However thereis no significant effect of different irrigation and croppingpractices on epigeic abundance
34 PCA In order to study interaction between physico-chemical soil parameters and earthworm communities ofstudied sites Principal Component Analysis (PCA)was usedThis procedure makes it possible to group or distributethe sampling sites around principal axes in function of thephysicochemical and earthwormparameters thus facilitatingobservation of possible links between variables and placeswhere they are most represented (Figure 12)
Contribution of principal axes to total variation is 4190for axis 1 and 1996 for axis 2 which makes a total of6186 which is well acceptable On variables distributiongraph both axes 1 and 2 contrast two groups of variablesbiological parameters of earthworms (total biomass totalabundance and adult wormsrsquo abundance) and physical infil-tration parameters (infiltration at saturation K 005 kPa K03 kPa K 06 kPa and K 1 kPa) The first group of biologicalvariables is represented by S5 site characterized by irrigationswith wastewaters upstream of El Gourzi effluent and by cereal
crop (wheatalfalfa) The group of infiltration characteristicsis represented by S2 and S3 sites These sites are irrigatedwith downstream wastewaters and characterized by cerealand arboreal crops This group includes physicochemicalcharacteristics pH and EC Axis 1 is intensely correlatedwith structural stability index and water retention capacityIt divides the characteristics of earthworms studied into twosubgroups One of them is well represented by S4 and S6 withirrigation by wastewater at upstream This group includesOM and active CaCO3 as well as Shannon Biodiversity Index
Francis and Fraser [63] and Capowiez et al [64] reportedthat galleries excavated by terrestrial bioturbation activitycontributed to water transfers Also Bottinelli et al [65]and Peres et al [66] reported that earthworms contribute toimproving soil porosity Indeed the PCA groups the S4 S5and S6 sites with abundance and biomass of earthworms andsoil porosity For his part Supersperg [67] found that annualapplications of liquid sludge cause an increase in compactnessof a heavy soil by clogging and a decrease in pores volume
By this PCA it can be deduced that very high organiccharge of partially treated waters has negative repercus-sions on hydraulic conductivity if this load exceeds certaindoses because the PCA rallied the hydraulic conductivityat saturation by different pressures applied to S1 S2 and S3sites downstream of El Gourzi effluent as well as S8 andS9 sites irrigated with natural waters of El Kochbi effluentThis is contradictory to the results of Minhas and Samra[68] and Ababsa et al [69] who have worked on the effectof earthworms on hydraulic conductivity in soils irrigatedby wastewaters Meanwhile our findings concur with theworks of some authors Wang et al Viviani and Iovino andMolahoseini [40 46 70] who have to work on the same axisof research
This opposition of results can be explained bymore or lessrapid duration of organic matter evolution of wastewaters
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 13
This change in state of OM from pores plugging form tosoil stabilizing and structuring form is closely related to soilphysicochemical parameters (pH active CaCO3 and EC)Indeed Callot and Dupuis [71] assume the role of activeCaCO3 in protection and conservation of organic matterin carbonate soils Active CaCO3 thus acts as a protectoragainst biological degradation of organic matter of these soilsto make it a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition[72] All the soils being studied are carbonate soils theiractiveCaCO3should play an important role in humificationprocess by rapidly sequestering lignified organic compoundsas inherited or residual humus [28]
4 Conclusion
Our objective was to study interaction between earthwormcommunity characteristics and physicochemical propertiesof soils characterized by irrigation with wastewaters andwell waters in conditions of different topography (upstreamand downstream) and cropping practices (natural vegetationcereal cultivation and arboriculture) in two regions of Batnadepartment
The results show that the maximum water retentioncapacity is better explained by the fine texture of the soilat the effluent border The porosity and rates of infiltrationat saturation are higher in sites characterized by irrigationwith wastewaters downstream of effluent This was explainedby clogging of soil pores by suspended materials presentin the wastewaters However structural stability is better insite characterized by irrigation with wastewaters upstreamof El Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This is due on onehand to input of organic matter and calcium ions whichplay the role of cements and cause improvement of particlessoil aggregation according to Kirkham [42] On the otherhand at cereal crop that effect increases production ofcementing substances through microbial activity by fungaland actinomycete mycelia that provide substrates to stabilizesoil aggregates according to Miller and Kemper [43]
The pH levels are more alkaline in downstream sitesthan upstream sites of wastewater effluent The pH of soilsirrigated with wastewater decreases following oxidation oforganic compounds and nitrification of ammonium Electri-cal conductivity values are the lowest at sampling points ofsite characterized by irrigation with wastewater upstream ofEl Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This could probably bedue to the level of organic matter which acts as a buffer Theorganicmatter is highest at site upstreamof El Gourzi effluentborder characterized by natural vegetation which is certainlyexplained by an important load of organic matter from thewastewater upstream of the effluent and high clay content ofsoil may physically protect the OM from the decompositionThe average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is higher atKochbi natural water effluent border while it showed lowvalues at downstream sites However the active CaCO3rate is the lowest at downstream site of El Gourzi effluentborder But it presents the highest values at S6 site irrigatedby wastewaters upstream of effluentThis result appears to berelated to soil pH
The total abundance and biomass average of earthwormsat different sampling points of study sites are the lowestat site irrigated by natural waters of El Kochbi effluentwhich is cultivated by cereal On the contrary they are thehighest at upstream site irrigated by El Gourzi wastewaterand cereal growing This result explains that abundance andbiomass of earthworms are related to wastewaters irrigationEarthworms are muchmore present where irrigation water isheavily loaded with organic materials
Taxonomic study allowed classification of 7 species ofLumbricidae Percentage of overall specific abundance showsdominance of Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrec-todea rosea The result shows that wastewaters have intenseeffect on development of earthwormrsquos biodiversity SpeciesAp rosea was the most concerned by this improvementAmong the 7 species inventoried the endogeic earthwormsrepresent the majority Endogeic abundance is much higherin site at edges upstream of the El Gourzi effluent which iswithout cultural practices However site at edges of El Kochbieffluent from natural waters without cultural practices isbetter represented by an anecic population The Shannondiversity index of different study sites shows that wastewaterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
ANOVA revealed a highly significant effect of differentirrigation types as well as different cultivation practices onall physicochemical properties of soil and on endogeic andanecic population This was not the case for the epigeicpopulation
The PCA allowed characterizing two major groups Thefirst group is defined by sites that are explained by the hydro-dynamic infiltration These sites are irrigated by wastewaterthey are located downstream of effluent (lowest load oforganic matter) and characterized by cereal and arborealcrops This group includes other chemical characteristicspH and EC The second group formed by upstream sitesirrigated by wastewaters encompasses the characteristics ofearthworms explained by highest load of organic matter Itincludes chemical characteristics OM and active limestoneIt also includes the ShannonBiodiversity IndexWe explainedthis by active CaCO3 which acts as a protector againstbiological degradation of organicmatter of these soils tomakeit a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition
Overall the results of the PCA show us that the effectof wastewater is positive on improvement of abundance andbiomass and biodiversity of earthworms population On thecontrary the wastewaters are unfavorable for the infiltrationphysical parameters of water into soil This will surelyhave long-term repercussions on the physical and biologicalparameters of soil and will induce a new organization ofmacro- and mesoporosity due to improvement of biologicalparameters of earthworms
Finally we propose complementing these results in thefield and in the laboratory to see the evolution of infiltrationparameters of soil water in parallel with the dynamics ofearthworm community in soil irrigated by wastewaters Thebiodiversity of earthworms may induce an improvement ininfiltration and reduce the problems of clogging pores and
14 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
solve other problems that wastewaters can introduce intosoils
Abbreviations
Cr Water retention capacityIs Structural instability indexDa Bulk density119875 Porosity119870 (h) sat Saturated hydraulic conductivity at
potential differenceCE Electric conductivityMO Organic matterTEM Trace Element MetalsMES Suspended matterBOD5 5-Day biological oxygen demandCOD Chemical oxygen demandAbd AbundanceJuv JuvenileAdt AdultBiom BiomassEndo EndogeicEpig EpigeicAnec AnecicAp t Aporrectodea trapezoidesAp r Aporrectodea roseaAp c Aporrectodea caliginosaAm Allolobophora molleriP ant Proctodrilus antipai antipaiOc Octodrilus complanatusE t Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedraSDI Shannon Biodiversity IndexDj Djebel or mountainWed effluent
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interestregarding the publication of this paper
References
[1] E Corcoran C Nellemann E Baker R Bos D Osborn andHSavelli ick Water The central role of wastewater managementin sustainable development A rapid response assessment UnitedNations Environment Programme UN-HABITAT ArendalNorway 2010
[2] F Hiouani H Messadia A Masmoudi D Madani and C TirldquoInfluence des eaux residuaires de tannerie sur le poids de lamatiere secherdquo in Proceedings of the Revue des Regions Arides-Actes du 4eme Meeting International - Numero Special - n∘35(32014) pp 1023ndash1319 2013
[3] B Jimenez and T Asano ldquoWater reclamation and reuse aroundthe Worldrdquo inWater Reuse An International Survey of CurrentPractice Issues and Needs pp 3ndash26 IWA Publishing LondonUK 2008
[4] Z S Burak ldquoWater wetlands and climate change build-ings linkages for their integrated managementrdquo MediterraneanRegional Roundtable pp 10-11 2002
[5] H Bouzerzour L Tamrabet and M Kribaa ldquoReponse de deuxgraminees fourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee
et de boue residuairerdquo in Proceedings Seminaire InternationalBiologie et Environnement 71 Univ Mentouri ConstantineAlgeria 2002
[6] L Tamrabet H Bouzerzour M Kribaa et and D Golea ldquoLedevenir des eaux usees traitees Reponse de deux gramineesfourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee traiteerdquo inProceedings of the Actes du Colloque international Oasis Eau etPopulation Universite Khider Biskra Algerie 2003
[7] M B Pescod Wastewater Treatment and Use in AgricultureFAO Irrigation and Drainage Rome Italy 1992
[8] A Coppola A Santini P Botti S Vacca V Comegna andG Severino ldquoMethodological approach for evaluating the re-sponse of soil hydrological behavior to irrigation with treatedmunicipal wastewaterrdquo Journal of Hydrology vol 292 no 1-4pp 114ndash134 2004
[9] I Nadav J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoWater repellency inducedby organic matter (OM) in treated wastewater (TWW) infiltra-tion ponds and irrigationrdquo Functions of Natural Organic Matterin Changing Environment pp 883ndash887 2013
[10] M B Bouche Lombriciens de France Ecologie et SystematiqueINRA Publication 72-2 Institut national de la rechercheagronomique Paris France 1972
[11] G Bachelier ldquoLes vers annelesrdquo in La faune du sol IDT n∘38pp 127ndash183 ORSTOM Paris France 1978
[12] K E Lee EarthwormsTheir Ecology and Relationship with Soilsand Land Use Academic Press Sydney Australia 1985
[13] P Lavelle C Lattaud D Trigo and I Barois ldquoMutualism andbiodiversity in soilsrdquo Plant and Soil vol 170 no 1 pp 23ndash331995
[14] T Kautz C Stumm R Kosters andU Kopke ldquoEffects of peren-nial fodder crops on soil structure in agricultural headlandsrdquoJournal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science vol 173 no 4 pp490ndash501 2010
[15] L A Schipper J C Williamson H A Kettles and T W SpeirldquoImpact of land-applied tertiary-treated effluent on soil bio-chemical propertiesrdquo Journal of Environmental Quality vol 25no 5 pp 1073ndash1077 1996
[16] A Lemtiri G Colinet T Alabi et al ldquoImpacts of earthwormson soil components and dynamics A reviewrdquo BiotechnologyAgronomy and Society and Environment vol 18 no 1 pp 121ndash133 2014
[17] K Bazri G Ouahrani Z Gheribi-Aoulmi et D J and D CosinldquoLa diversite des lombriciens dans lrsquoest algerien depuis la cotejusqursquoau desertrdquo EcologiaMediterranea vol 39 no 2 p 17 2013
[18] R Rougerie T Decaens L Deharveng et al ldquoDNAbarcodes forsoil animal taxonomyrdquoPesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira vol 44no 8 pp 789ndash802 2009
[19] T Decaens ldquoMacroecological patterns in soil communitiesrdquoGlobal Ecology and Biogeography vol 19 no 3 pp 287ndash3022010
[20] L Tamrabet M Kribaa B Hamidi S Alalata W Berkani andA Hamdoudi ldquoEvaluation de lrsquoaptitude des effluents drsquoOued ElGourzi (Batna Nord Est drsquoAlgerie) a lrsquoirrigation et leur impactsur le sol et la qualite des cultures maraıcheres et fourrageresrdquoin Actes du congres international lsquoEau et Dechets UniversiteMohamed I Oujda Maroco 2007
[21] Office National de lrsquoAssainissement (ONA) Situation actuelledes stations de traitement drsquoeaux usees en Algerie MRE AlgerAlgerie 7 p 2006
[22] S Maalem and N Ghanem ldquoLa caracterisation physico-chim-iques des eaux usees de Oued El Gourzirdquo In Actes de ColloqueNational de Biologie de lrsquouniversite de Batna 2016
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 15
[23] M Bournaud and C Amoros ldquoDes indicateurs biologiques auxdescripteurs de fonctionnement Quelques exemples dans lesysteme fluvialrdquo Bull Ecol vol 15 no 1 pp 57ndash66 1984
[24] H Marschner Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants vol 78Academic press New York NY USA 2nd edition 1995
[25] Z Alouni ldquoFlux de la charge parasitaire dans cinq stationsdrsquoepuration en Tunisierdquo Revue des sciences de lrsquoeau vol 6 no 4pp 453ndash462 1993
[26] A Mussy et and M Soutter Physique du sol ISBN 1st edition1991
[27] D BaizeGuide des analyses courantes en pedologie INRR 1988[28] P Duchaufour Pedologie I Pedogenese et classificationMasson
Paris France 1977[29] B Blakemore Cosmopolitan Earthworms An Eco-Taxonomic
Guide to the Peregrine Species of the World 2nd Ed 656 p2007
[30] M B Bouche ldquoStrategies Lombriciennes Soil organism ascomponents of ecosystemsrdquo in Proceedings of the 6th Int CollSoil Zool Ecol Bull U Lohm and T Persson Eds pp 122ndash132Stockholm Sweden 1977
[31] K Bazri ldquoEtude de la biodiversite des lombriciens et leursrelations avec les proprietes du sol dans differents etagesbioclimatiques dans lrsquoEst Algerienrdquo in These doctorat p 188Constantine University 2015
[32] J BlondelBiogeographie et ecologieMasson Paris France 1979[33] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 505 Dunod Paris France 1985[34] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 434 Dunod Paris France 1975[35] M A Mojid and G C L Wyseure ldquoImplications of municipal
wastewater irrigation on soil health froma study inBangladeshrdquoSoil Use and Management vol 29 no 3 pp 384ndash396 2013
[36] M A Gharaibeh T A Ghezzehei A A Albalasmeh andM ZAlghzawi ldquoAlteration of physical and chemical characteristicsof clayey soils by irrigationwith treatedwaste waterrdquoGeodermavol 276 pp 33ndash40 2016
[37] A Mojiri ldquoEffects of municipal wastewater on physical andchemical properties of saline soilrdquo Journal of Biodiversity andEnvironmental Sciences vol 5 pp 71ndash76 2011
[38] I Vogeler ldquoEffect of long-term wastewater application onphysical soil propertiesrdquoWater Air and Soil Pollution vol 196no 1-4 pp 385ndash392 2009
[39] J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoRheology of sodium-montmoril-lonite suspensions Effects of humic substances and pHrdquo SoilScience Society of America Journal vol 66 no 2 pp 406ndash4122002
[40] Z Wang A C Chang L Wu and D Crowley ldquoAssessingthe soil quality of long-term reclaimed wastewater-irrigatedcroplandrdquo Geoderma vol 114 no 3-4 pp 261ndash278 2003
[41] A Kunhikrishnan N S Bolan K Muller S Laurenson RNaidu and W-I Kim ldquoThe influence of wastewater irrigationon the transformation and bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)sin soilrdquo Advances in Agronomy vol 115 pp 215ndash297 2012
[42] B Kirkham Isposal of sludge on land Effects on soils plants andground water compost Sc pp 6-10 1974
[43] D E Miller andW D Kemper ldquoWater stability of aggregates oftwo soils as in fluenced by incorporation of alfalfardquoAgron J vol54 no 6 pp 494ndash496 1962
[44] S M F Rabbi B R Roy M M Miah M S Amin and TKhandakar ldquoSpatial variability of physical soil quality index ofan agricultural fieldrdquo Applied and Environmental Soil Sciencevol 2014 Article ID 379012 10 pages 2014
[45] G Bardhan D Russo D Goldstein and G J Levy ldquoChanges inthe hydraulic properties of a clay soil under long-term irrigationwith treated wastewaterrdquo Geoderma vol 264 pp 1ndash9 2016
[46] G Viviani and M Iovino ldquoWastewater reuse effects on soilhydraulic conductivityrdquo Journal of Irrigation and DrainageEngineering vol 130 no 6 pp 476ndash484 2004
[47] J L Morel A Guikart and H Sedgo ldquoEffet de lrsquoepandage desboues urbaines sur lrsquoetat physique des sols communsrdquo in XIcongres de lrsquoAISS Ed lA I S S XI congrΦs de Ed pp 12ndash19 Canada Mouton Canada 1978
[48] U Sahin O Anapali and S Ercisli ldquoPhysico-chemical andphysical properties of some substrates used in horticulturerdquoGartenbau wissen schaft 67 pp 55ndash60 2002
[49] M J Mohammad and N Mazahreh ldquoChanges in soil fertilityparameters in response to irrigation of forage crops withsecondary treated wastewaterrdquo Communications in Soil Scienceand Plant Analysis vol 34 no 9-10 pp 1281ndash1294 2003
[50] OVazquez-Montiel N JHoran andDDMara ldquoManagementof domestic wastewater for reuse in irrigationrdquo Water Scienceand Technology vol 33 no 10-11 pp 355ndash362 1996
[51] A R Hayes C F Mancino and I L Pepper ldquoIrrigation ofTurfgrass with Secondary Sewage Effluent I Soil and LeachateWater Qualityrdquo Agronomy Journal vol 82 no 5 p 939 1990
[52] K El Oumlouki R Moussadek A Zouahri H Dakak MChati and M El Amrani ldquoStudy of physic-chemical quality ofwater and soil in the region SoussMassa (Case perimeter Issen)Moroccordquo Journal of Materials and Environmental Science vol5 pp 2365ndash2374 2014
[53] M Galavi A Jalali M Ramroodi S R Mousavi andH GalavildquoEffects of Treated Municipal Wastewater on Soil ChemicalProperties and Heavy Metal Uptake by Sorghum (sorghumbicolor L)rdquo Journal of Agricultural Science vol 2 no 3 2010
[54] M A Gharaibeh N I Eltaif and B Al-Abdullah ldquoImpact offield application of treated wastewater on hydraulic propertiesof vertisolsrdquo Water Air and Soil Pollution vol 184 no 1-4 pp347ndash353 2007
[55] P Omodeo and G Martinucci Earthworms of MaghrebSelected Symposya andMonographsUZI 2MucchiModenapp 235-250 1987
[56] A Edwards and P J Bohlen Biology et Ecology of earthwormsvol 3 Springer Science amp Business Media 1996
[57] P Lavelle and A V Spain Soil Ecology Springer Science ampBusiness Media 2001
[58] P Lavelle GMelendez B Pashanasi andR Schaefer ldquoNitrogenmineralization and reorganization in casts of the geophagoustropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscoleci-dae)rdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 14 no 1 pp 49ndash53 1992
[59] R A Goncalves T V Gloaguen M V Folegatti P L Libardi YLucas andC RMontes ldquoPore size distribution in soils irrigatedwith sodic water and wastewaterrdquo Revista Brasileira de Cienciado Solo vol 34 no 3 pp 701ndash707 2010
[60] J Iqbal J A Thomasson J N Jenkins P R Owens and F DWhisler ldquoSpatial variability analysis of soil physical propertiesof alluvial soilsrdquo Soil Science Society of America Journal vol 69no 4 pp 1338ndash1350 2005
[61] U Sahin I Angin and F M Kiziloglu ldquoEffect of freezing andthawing processes on some physical properties of saline-sodicsoils mixed with sewage sludge or fly ashrdquo Soil and TillageResearch vol 99 no 2 pp 254ndash260 2008
[62] R Lal and M K Shukla Principles of Soil Physics MarcelDekker New York NY USA 2004
16 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[63] G S Francis and P M Fraser ldquoThe effects of three earthwormspecies on soil macroporosity and hydraulic conductivityrdquoApplied Soil Ecology vol 10 no 1-2 pp 11ndash19 1998
[64] Y Capowiez S Cadoux P Bouchant et al ldquoThe effect oftillage type and cropping system on earthworm communitiesmacroporosity and water infiltrationrdquo Soil and Tillage Researchvol 105 no 2 pp 209ndash216 2009
[65] N Bottinelli T Henry-des-Tureaux V Hallaire et al ldquoEarth-worms accelerate soil porosity turnover under watering condi-tionsrdquo Geoderma vol 156 no 1-2 pp 43ndash47 2010
[66] G Peres D Cluzeau P Curmi and V Hallaire ldquoEarthwormactivity and soil structure changes due to organic enrichmentsin vineyard systemsrdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 27 no 4pp 417ndash424 1998
[67] H Supersperg tilisation de la boue a lrsquoetat liquide sur les solslourds BERICHETE Der ATV 28p1977
[68] P S Minhas and J S Samra Wastewater use in peri-urbanagriculture impacts and opportunities Central Soil salinityResearch Institute Karnal 132001 India Tech Bull N562 p2004
[69] N Ababsa M Kribaa D Addad L Tamrabet and M BahaldquoDoes earthworms density really modify soilrsquos hydrodynamicproperties in irrigated systems with recycled waterrdquo Journal ofFundamental and Applied Sciences vol 8 no 2 p 627 2016
[70] H Molahoseini ldquoLong-term effects of municipal wastewaterirrigation on some properties of a semiarid region soil of IranrdquoInternational Journal of Science Engineering and Technologyvol 3 no 4 pp 444ndash449 2014
[71] G Callot and M Dupuis ldquoLe calcaire actif des sols et sa signifi-cationrdquo Science du sol vol 1 pp 17ndash27 1980
[72] H Ben Hassine T Aloui T Gallali T Bouzid S El amri andR Ben Hassen ldquoValuation quantitative et roles de la matiereorganique dans les sols cultives en zones subhumides et semi-arides mediterraneennes de la Tunisierdquo Agro-Solutions vol 17no 2 pp 4ndash17 2008
Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom
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ClimatologyJournal of
8 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Is
000010020030040050060070080090100
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 3 Average of Heninrsquos structural stability index in study sites
K (h) saturated
K (005 kpa)K (03 kpa)K (06 kpa)K (1 kpa)
000
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
(mmmiddotB
minus1)
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
Figure 4 Saturated hydraulic conductivity average at differentwaterpotential in study sites
attributed higher AS value to the higher total carbon contentor to the composition of soil organic matter in areas irrigatedfor long periods with treated wastewaters compared with thecontrol block
The best rates of filtration at saturationKs (h) for 005 kPasuction were recorded in S2 and S3 sites characterized bywastewaters downstream of El Gourzi effluent (Figure 4)But globally for this pressure Ks is more important in theirrigated wastewaters For the other pressures differenceis less remarkable Rapid infiltration capacity of a soil isestimated by macroporosity Rabbi et al [44] mention thatpercentages of clay bulk density and porosity have a stronginfluence onKsThese results are in agreement with Bardhanet al [45] who reported a decrease in the infiltration rate dueto clogging of soil pores by suspendedmaterials present in thetreated wastewaters Previous studies with similar soil texture(clay) of the current study reached the same conclusion that
application of wastewater resulted in pore clogging whichleads to reduced soil porosity and subsequently a decrease inthe soil infiltrability [46]
Meanwhile Morel et al [47] showed that permeabil-ity of a soil increases significantly in plots enriched withsludge as organic matter richness of sludge improves waterbalance and increases reserve of useful water this favorsprocesses of stabilization of soil aggregates and in particulargives soil a better permeability in relation to a more stablestructure There is a close relationship between the poresize distribution and soil water content due to the factthat macropores control the aeration and drainage meso-pores control the water conductivity micropores controlthe water retention and the most available water for plants[48]
312 Chemical Soil Properties The pH (Table 5) in studyfields showsmoderate alkalinity in sites irrigated with naturalwaters as well as fields irrigated by wastewater upstreamThepH levels aremore alkaline in sites downstreamofwastewatereffluent than in the sites with upstreamwastewaters Standarddeviations between pHvalues of sampling points of sites oftenirrigated by upstream wastewater are much greater Schipperet al [15] indicate that soil pH increases as a result of along period of irrigation with wastewater They attribute thisincrease to chemical composition of cations effluent such asNa Ca and Mg The pH of soil irrigated with wastewaterdecreases following oxidation of organic compounds andnitrification of ammonium [49ndash51]
Electrical conductivity values are the lowest at samplingpoints of S5 characterized by irrigation by wastewaterupstream of El Gourzi effluent Standard deviation valuesare much higher at sampling points of S1 as previouslydescribed Contrary to the results mentioned in the work ofMaalem andGhanem [22] on the values of ElGourzi effluentrsquoswastewaters which are higher upstream than downstreamthe soil has higher CE values downstream than upstreamThis could be due to the organic matter which acts as abuffer In a general way according to standards presentedby DIAEADRHASEEN in El Oumlouki et al [52] ECof various treatments soils of our experimentation remainsweak
The organic matter is lowest at S8 with well waterirrigation and arboriculture (Figure 5) It is highest at S4upstream of El Gourzi effluent border Indeed Tamrabet etal [6] reported that a comparison of control soil averages andirrigated soils by wastewater shows that irrigation with thiswastewater has a very significant effect on OM improvementHowever many other studies showed increase in the OMwithin creased period of treated wastewaters irrigation [3853 54] This is the case in our study Moreover high claycontent of soil may physically protect the OM from thedecomposition
The average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is lowest atS3 downstream of El Gourzi effluent It is highest at Kochbinatural water effluent border These values are generallystrongly to very strongly calcareous according to gradingscale proposed by GEPPA in Baize [27] The limestone levelsappear to be related to soil pH
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9(
)
OM
000
200
400
600
800
1000
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 5 Organic matter rate percentage average in study sites
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 6 Earthwormsrsquo total abundance in different sites of study
32 EarthwormCompartment (Table 6) The total abundanceand biomass average of earthworms at different samplingpoints of study sites are the lowest in S9 with irrigation bynatural waters of El Kochbi effluent and cereal crop Theywere the highest in S5 with irrigation by El Gourzi wastewaterupstream and cereal growing (Figure 6) This abundance wasrepresented by 54 of adults and 46 of juvenile worms(Figure 7) Our results explain a negative effect of plowingon the abundance and biomass of earthworms Contrariwisethe irrigation with wastewaters improves significantly theirabundance and biomass In Bazri et alrsquos [17] study the densityof earthworm in eastern Algeria from the coast to the desertwas respectively 600 plusmn 141 to 2960 plusmn 1183 individualsm2and 028 plusmn 039 to 1313 plusmn 794 gm2 These results are almostsimilar to those of Omodeo andMartinucci [55] in NorthernAlgeria who found earthworm densities ranging from 110to 127 individualsm2 and biomass ranging from 125 to30 gm2 Edwards and Bohlen [56] explained that soils with
54Abd adult
46Abd juv
Individualm2
Figure 7 Total abundance percentage of earthworms in study sites
34Ap t
33Ap r
0Ap C
Am10
Oc2
E t3 20
P an
Individualm2
Figure 8 Earthwormsrsquo global specific abundance percentage
low organic matter contents usually do not support highdensities of earthwormsThe highest values are usually foundin fertilized pastures and the lowest ones are in acid or aridsoils [12 57]
Taxonomic study was carried out on a total of 594 adultworms The taxonomic key and nomenclature quoted byRougerie et al [18] allowed classification of 7 species of Lumb-ricidaeAporrectodea trapezoides (Duges 1828)Aporrectodearosea (Savigny 1826)Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny 1826)Allolobophora molleri (Rosa 1889) Octodrilus complana-tus (Duges 1828) Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedra (Savigny1826) and Proctodrilus antipai antipai (Michaelsen 1891)Percentage of overall specific abundance shows dominanceof Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrectodea rosea(Figure 8)
Ap trapezoides is present in greater quantity (134individualsm2) in S7 characterized by nonpractical plowingand natural vegetation at Kochbi edge where there is healthynatural water (Figure 9) However Ap rosea is present ingreater amounts (130 and 120 individualsm2) in S4 and S5at edges of effluent and irrigated by wastewaters upstreamPr antipai is the most dominant species in S6 characterizedby wastewater irrigation upstream of the effluent and arbori-culture On biomass Ap trapezoides is highest (1248 gm2)in S7 at edges of natural water effluent Ap rosea is presenton a biomass of 117 gm2 in S5 irrigated by wastewaters andcharacterized by cereal cultivation These results allow us todeduce that wastewaters have intense effect on developmentof earthwormrsquos biodiversity Species Ap rosea was the mostconcerned by this improvement
Bazri et al [17] noted in their study that it is curious andhard to explain that Ap trapezoides the most common and
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Table6Re
sults
ofstatisticalanalyses
ofearthw
ormsrsquocharacteris
ticsindifferent
sites
ofthes
tudy
Region
Varia
bles
Sites
Abt
Tottimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
adttimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
juvtimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
tottimestimestimes
Abd
endo
timestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
epigN
S
(Indm2)
Abd
anectimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
endo
timestimestimes
(gm2)
Biom
epigN
S
(gm2)
Biom
anectimestimestimes
(gm2)
IDS
ElMadher
(sitesirrigated
bywastewaters
downstre
amof
ElGou
rzieffluent)
S1M
1660
520
1140
508
300
040
180
184
016
080
1945
SD13939
3493
10455
3513
0707
0548
2490
0689
0230
1131
S2M
1940
1120
920
1035
460
000
660
207
000
651
1401
SD3647
2950
3899
1041
2074
000
02191
1324
000
02063
S3M
980
300
700
565
240
000
080
359
000
066
1425
SD16
4310
000707
1832
1140
000
0044
72086
000
00521
S4M
4380
3440
900
2004
2800
200
520
1056
137
752
2192
SD13755
1616
53536
5726
21319
346
45541
8248
2614
7712
S5M
4960
2680
2280
3756
1980
000
700
1886
000
938
1759
SD7162
6496
11167
6361
7014
000
03082
6887
000
03190
S6M
3860
2140
1720
1922
1540
080
540
640
012
633
1799
SD22041
9813
13498
8450
5320
1789
3507
1620
0264
3985
Ouled
SiSlim
ane
(sitesirrigated
bynaturalw
ater
ofEl
Kochbieffl
uent)
S7M
3440
1520
1840
2105
060
000
1460
017
000
1411
0636
SD6229
5586
9099
7948
0894
000
05639
0244
000
07175
S8M
700
120
580
289
060
000
060
052
000
047
0906
SD4416
1789
3962
2627
1342
000
00894
1167
000
00663
S9M
260
040
220
221
000
020
020
000
019
019
1SD
2793
0548
2683
2308
000
0044
7044
7000
00434
0420
Ranges
values
(site)
Max
S5S4
S5S5
S4S4
S7S5
S4S7
S4
Min
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S8S2S3
S5S7S8
S9S7
ANOVA
results
EffectF
d8
88
88
88
88
8
F1340
1461
366
2595
868
127
981
1400
124
755
P
000
00003
000
0000
0000
00287
000
0000
00301
000
0
timestimestimesHighlysig
nificantNSno
tsignificantMm
ean
SDstand
arddifferenceIndm2ind
ividualm2F
Fisc
hern
umberP
prob
abilitylevelFd
freedom
degree
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
Ap tAp rAp CAmOc
E tP an
0050
100150200250300
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alG
2)
Figure 9 Earthwormsrsquo specific abundance average in study sites
dominant species was not previously quoted by other authorsworking on Algerian lumbricoid fauna Possible explanationsinclude identification problems in this complex group ofspecies recent introduction and posterior expansion orolder introduction as suggested by the large geographicdistribution of the species In the semiarid regions the taxonA molleri is important it locates preferentially in wet points(notably at the edge of effluents) In mountains of semiaridregions the species O complanatus dominates As for Aprosea it is the only one observed in arid bioclimatic stage atpoints where there is sufficient water
Among the 7 species inventoried (Figure 10) the endo-geic species accounted for 62 (Ap rosea A molleri Pantipai and Ap caliginosa) epigeic species for 3 (E tetrae-dra) and anecic species for 22 (O complanatus and Aptrapezoides) the latter may be considered as anecic endogeicor endoanecic because it varies according to the strain
Bouche [10] separated earthworms into three categoriesbased on morphological and behavioral characteristicsEpigeic species are consumer litter living and feeding on orsurface soil Anecic earthworms live in permanent verticalburrows within the soil and may emerge to feed on surfacelayer endogeic species live in temporary horizontal burrowsand feed on the soil This species is geophagous since itgains its nutrients by eating the soil and the green morph ischaracterized by Bouche [10] as more epigeic
Endogeic abundance is much higher in S4 at edgesupstream of the El Gourzi effluent which is without culturalpractices (Figure 11) However S7 at edges of El Kochbi efflu-ent from natural waters without cultural practices is betterrepresented by an anecic population The epigeic populationis important only on S4 and S6 upstream of the wastewatereffluent Endogeic earthworms are a major component of soilfauna communities in most natural ecosystems of the humidtropics [58]
The Shannon diversity index of different study sites is thelowest at S7 corresponding to edges of Kochbi effluent It isthe highest at S4 characterized by wastewaters upstream of ElGourzi effluent and any cultural practices This result allows
62Abd endo
3Abd epig
35Abd anec
Individualsm2
Figure 10 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance average
Abd endoAbd epigAbd anec
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 11 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance in studiedsoil sites
us to deduce that wastewater loaded with organic matterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
33 ANOVA Statistical analysis with the Newman-Keulsmultiple comparison posttest at 119875 le 005 (Table 5) revealeda highly significant effect of different irrigation practices andcultural practices on soilrsquos physical parameters (Is Cr PK 005 K 03 K 06 and K 1) Water retention infiltrationand hydraulic conductivity are among the soilrsquos hydraulicproperties affected by soil porosity and pore size distribution[40 59] Spatial variability of soilrsquos physical properties withinor among agricultural fields is inherent in nature due togeologic and pedologic soil forming factors but some of thevariability may be induced by tillage and other managementpracticesThese factors interact with each other across spatialand temporal scales and are further modified locally byerosion and deposition processes [60] In the regions witha cool climate soils are exposed to freeze-thaw cyclesespecially in the spring period Aggregation and therefore soilstructure may be either positively or negatively affected byfreeze-thaw cycles [61] Therefore the impacts of wastewater
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S1S2
S3S4
S5
S6
S7
S8S9
IsCr
Da
PK (005)
K (03)
K (06)K (1)
MO
CE
Ctot
CactifPH
Abt tot
Abd adult
Abd juv
Abd Ap t
Abd Ap r
Abd Ap CAbd Am
Abd Oc
Abd E t
Abd P an
Bio tot
Abd endoAbd epig
Abd anec
IDS
Biplot (axes F1 and F2 6186)
minus5
minus4
minus3
minus2
minus1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
F2 (1
996
)
minus7 minus6 minus5 minus4 minus3 minus2 minus1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8minus8F1 (4190)
Figure 12 PCA graph of interaction between studied soil properties
irrigation on main soil properties in agricultural areas undercool climate conditions may be different
ANOVA reveals highlight at very highly significant effectof different irrigation practices and cultural practices onstudied chemical parameters of soil (MO CE CaCO3 totCaCO3 act and pH) Effectively the soilrsquos physical propertiesare associated with nutrient applied and environmental soilscience availability solute andpollutantmovementmicrobialactivity and soil organic matter stabilization [62]
On parameters of earthworm characteristics (Table 6)ANOVA revealed a significant effect of study sites differencesexcept for Ap caliginosa and E tetraedra tetraedra speciesrsquoabundance The significant effect of sites has been wellrevealed on endogeic and anecic abundance However thereis no significant effect of different irrigation and croppingpractices on epigeic abundance
34 PCA In order to study interaction between physico-chemical soil parameters and earthworm communities ofstudied sites Principal Component Analysis (PCA)was usedThis procedure makes it possible to group or distributethe sampling sites around principal axes in function of thephysicochemical and earthwormparameters thus facilitatingobservation of possible links between variables and placeswhere they are most represented (Figure 12)
Contribution of principal axes to total variation is 4190for axis 1 and 1996 for axis 2 which makes a total of6186 which is well acceptable On variables distributiongraph both axes 1 and 2 contrast two groups of variablesbiological parameters of earthworms (total biomass totalabundance and adult wormsrsquo abundance) and physical infil-tration parameters (infiltration at saturation K 005 kPa K03 kPa K 06 kPa and K 1 kPa) The first group of biologicalvariables is represented by S5 site characterized by irrigationswith wastewaters upstream of El Gourzi effluent and by cereal
crop (wheatalfalfa) The group of infiltration characteristicsis represented by S2 and S3 sites These sites are irrigatedwith downstream wastewaters and characterized by cerealand arboreal crops This group includes physicochemicalcharacteristics pH and EC Axis 1 is intensely correlatedwith structural stability index and water retention capacityIt divides the characteristics of earthworms studied into twosubgroups One of them is well represented by S4 and S6 withirrigation by wastewater at upstream This group includesOM and active CaCO3 as well as Shannon Biodiversity Index
Francis and Fraser [63] and Capowiez et al [64] reportedthat galleries excavated by terrestrial bioturbation activitycontributed to water transfers Also Bottinelli et al [65]and Peres et al [66] reported that earthworms contribute toimproving soil porosity Indeed the PCA groups the S4 S5and S6 sites with abundance and biomass of earthworms andsoil porosity For his part Supersperg [67] found that annualapplications of liquid sludge cause an increase in compactnessof a heavy soil by clogging and a decrease in pores volume
By this PCA it can be deduced that very high organiccharge of partially treated waters has negative repercus-sions on hydraulic conductivity if this load exceeds certaindoses because the PCA rallied the hydraulic conductivityat saturation by different pressures applied to S1 S2 and S3sites downstream of El Gourzi effluent as well as S8 andS9 sites irrigated with natural waters of El Kochbi effluentThis is contradictory to the results of Minhas and Samra[68] and Ababsa et al [69] who have worked on the effectof earthworms on hydraulic conductivity in soils irrigatedby wastewaters Meanwhile our findings concur with theworks of some authors Wang et al Viviani and Iovino andMolahoseini [40 46 70] who have to work on the same axisof research
This opposition of results can be explained bymore or lessrapid duration of organic matter evolution of wastewaters
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 13
This change in state of OM from pores plugging form tosoil stabilizing and structuring form is closely related to soilphysicochemical parameters (pH active CaCO3 and EC)Indeed Callot and Dupuis [71] assume the role of activeCaCO3 in protection and conservation of organic matterin carbonate soils Active CaCO3 thus acts as a protectoragainst biological degradation of organic matter of these soilsto make it a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition[72] All the soils being studied are carbonate soils theiractiveCaCO3should play an important role in humificationprocess by rapidly sequestering lignified organic compoundsas inherited or residual humus [28]
4 Conclusion
Our objective was to study interaction between earthwormcommunity characteristics and physicochemical propertiesof soils characterized by irrigation with wastewaters andwell waters in conditions of different topography (upstreamand downstream) and cropping practices (natural vegetationcereal cultivation and arboriculture) in two regions of Batnadepartment
The results show that the maximum water retentioncapacity is better explained by the fine texture of the soilat the effluent border The porosity and rates of infiltrationat saturation are higher in sites characterized by irrigationwith wastewaters downstream of effluent This was explainedby clogging of soil pores by suspended materials presentin the wastewaters However structural stability is better insite characterized by irrigation with wastewaters upstreamof El Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This is due on onehand to input of organic matter and calcium ions whichplay the role of cements and cause improvement of particlessoil aggregation according to Kirkham [42] On the otherhand at cereal crop that effect increases production ofcementing substances through microbial activity by fungaland actinomycete mycelia that provide substrates to stabilizesoil aggregates according to Miller and Kemper [43]
The pH levels are more alkaline in downstream sitesthan upstream sites of wastewater effluent The pH of soilsirrigated with wastewater decreases following oxidation oforganic compounds and nitrification of ammonium Electri-cal conductivity values are the lowest at sampling points ofsite characterized by irrigation with wastewater upstream ofEl Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This could probably bedue to the level of organic matter which acts as a buffer Theorganicmatter is highest at site upstreamof El Gourzi effluentborder characterized by natural vegetation which is certainlyexplained by an important load of organic matter from thewastewater upstream of the effluent and high clay content ofsoil may physically protect the OM from the decompositionThe average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is higher atKochbi natural water effluent border while it showed lowvalues at downstream sites However the active CaCO3rate is the lowest at downstream site of El Gourzi effluentborder But it presents the highest values at S6 site irrigatedby wastewaters upstream of effluentThis result appears to berelated to soil pH
The total abundance and biomass average of earthwormsat different sampling points of study sites are the lowestat site irrigated by natural waters of El Kochbi effluentwhich is cultivated by cereal On the contrary they are thehighest at upstream site irrigated by El Gourzi wastewaterand cereal growing This result explains that abundance andbiomass of earthworms are related to wastewaters irrigationEarthworms are muchmore present where irrigation water isheavily loaded with organic materials
Taxonomic study allowed classification of 7 species ofLumbricidae Percentage of overall specific abundance showsdominance of Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrec-todea rosea The result shows that wastewaters have intenseeffect on development of earthwormrsquos biodiversity SpeciesAp rosea was the most concerned by this improvementAmong the 7 species inventoried the endogeic earthwormsrepresent the majority Endogeic abundance is much higherin site at edges upstream of the El Gourzi effluent which iswithout cultural practices However site at edges of El Kochbieffluent from natural waters without cultural practices isbetter represented by an anecic population The Shannondiversity index of different study sites shows that wastewaterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
ANOVA revealed a highly significant effect of differentirrigation types as well as different cultivation practices onall physicochemical properties of soil and on endogeic andanecic population This was not the case for the epigeicpopulation
The PCA allowed characterizing two major groups Thefirst group is defined by sites that are explained by the hydro-dynamic infiltration These sites are irrigated by wastewaterthey are located downstream of effluent (lowest load oforganic matter) and characterized by cereal and arborealcrops This group includes other chemical characteristicspH and EC The second group formed by upstream sitesirrigated by wastewaters encompasses the characteristics ofearthworms explained by highest load of organic matter Itincludes chemical characteristics OM and active limestoneIt also includes the ShannonBiodiversity IndexWe explainedthis by active CaCO3 which acts as a protector againstbiological degradation of organicmatter of these soils tomakeit a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition
Overall the results of the PCA show us that the effectof wastewater is positive on improvement of abundance andbiomass and biodiversity of earthworms population On thecontrary the wastewaters are unfavorable for the infiltrationphysical parameters of water into soil This will surelyhave long-term repercussions on the physical and biologicalparameters of soil and will induce a new organization ofmacro- and mesoporosity due to improvement of biologicalparameters of earthworms
Finally we propose complementing these results in thefield and in the laboratory to see the evolution of infiltrationparameters of soil water in parallel with the dynamics ofearthworm community in soil irrigated by wastewaters Thebiodiversity of earthworms may induce an improvement ininfiltration and reduce the problems of clogging pores and
14 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
solve other problems that wastewaters can introduce intosoils
Abbreviations
Cr Water retention capacityIs Structural instability indexDa Bulk density119875 Porosity119870 (h) sat Saturated hydraulic conductivity at
potential differenceCE Electric conductivityMO Organic matterTEM Trace Element MetalsMES Suspended matterBOD5 5-Day biological oxygen demandCOD Chemical oxygen demandAbd AbundanceJuv JuvenileAdt AdultBiom BiomassEndo EndogeicEpig EpigeicAnec AnecicAp t Aporrectodea trapezoidesAp r Aporrectodea roseaAp c Aporrectodea caliginosaAm Allolobophora molleriP ant Proctodrilus antipai antipaiOc Octodrilus complanatusE t Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedraSDI Shannon Biodiversity IndexDj Djebel or mountainWed effluent
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interestregarding the publication of this paper
References
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[2] F Hiouani H Messadia A Masmoudi D Madani and C TirldquoInfluence des eaux residuaires de tannerie sur le poids de lamatiere secherdquo in Proceedings of the Revue des Regions Arides-Actes du 4eme Meeting International - Numero Special - n∘35(32014) pp 1023ndash1319 2013
[3] B Jimenez and T Asano ldquoWater reclamation and reuse aroundthe Worldrdquo inWater Reuse An International Survey of CurrentPractice Issues and Needs pp 3ndash26 IWA Publishing LondonUK 2008
[4] Z S Burak ldquoWater wetlands and climate change build-ings linkages for their integrated managementrdquo MediterraneanRegional Roundtable pp 10-11 2002
[5] H Bouzerzour L Tamrabet and M Kribaa ldquoReponse de deuxgraminees fourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee
et de boue residuairerdquo in Proceedings Seminaire InternationalBiologie et Environnement 71 Univ Mentouri ConstantineAlgeria 2002
[6] L Tamrabet H Bouzerzour M Kribaa et and D Golea ldquoLedevenir des eaux usees traitees Reponse de deux gramineesfourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee traiteerdquo inProceedings of the Actes du Colloque international Oasis Eau etPopulation Universite Khider Biskra Algerie 2003
[7] M B Pescod Wastewater Treatment and Use in AgricultureFAO Irrigation and Drainage Rome Italy 1992
[8] A Coppola A Santini P Botti S Vacca V Comegna andG Severino ldquoMethodological approach for evaluating the re-sponse of soil hydrological behavior to irrigation with treatedmunicipal wastewaterrdquo Journal of Hydrology vol 292 no 1-4pp 114ndash134 2004
[9] I Nadav J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoWater repellency inducedby organic matter (OM) in treated wastewater (TWW) infiltra-tion ponds and irrigationrdquo Functions of Natural Organic Matterin Changing Environment pp 883ndash887 2013
[10] M B Bouche Lombriciens de France Ecologie et SystematiqueINRA Publication 72-2 Institut national de la rechercheagronomique Paris France 1972
[11] G Bachelier ldquoLes vers annelesrdquo in La faune du sol IDT n∘38pp 127ndash183 ORSTOM Paris France 1978
[12] K E Lee EarthwormsTheir Ecology and Relationship with Soilsand Land Use Academic Press Sydney Australia 1985
[13] P Lavelle C Lattaud D Trigo and I Barois ldquoMutualism andbiodiversity in soilsrdquo Plant and Soil vol 170 no 1 pp 23ndash331995
[14] T Kautz C Stumm R Kosters andU Kopke ldquoEffects of peren-nial fodder crops on soil structure in agricultural headlandsrdquoJournal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science vol 173 no 4 pp490ndash501 2010
[15] L A Schipper J C Williamson H A Kettles and T W SpeirldquoImpact of land-applied tertiary-treated effluent on soil bio-chemical propertiesrdquo Journal of Environmental Quality vol 25no 5 pp 1073ndash1077 1996
[16] A Lemtiri G Colinet T Alabi et al ldquoImpacts of earthwormson soil components and dynamics A reviewrdquo BiotechnologyAgronomy and Society and Environment vol 18 no 1 pp 121ndash133 2014
[17] K Bazri G Ouahrani Z Gheribi-Aoulmi et D J and D CosinldquoLa diversite des lombriciens dans lrsquoest algerien depuis la cotejusqursquoau desertrdquo EcologiaMediterranea vol 39 no 2 p 17 2013
[18] R Rougerie T Decaens L Deharveng et al ldquoDNAbarcodes forsoil animal taxonomyrdquoPesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira vol 44no 8 pp 789ndash802 2009
[19] T Decaens ldquoMacroecological patterns in soil communitiesrdquoGlobal Ecology and Biogeography vol 19 no 3 pp 287ndash3022010
[20] L Tamrabet M Kribaa B Hamidi S Alalata W Berkani andA Hamdoudi ldquoEvaluation de lrsquoaptitude des effluents drsquoOued ElGourzi (Batna Nord Est drsquoAlgerie) a lrsquoirrigation et leur impactsur le sol et la qualite des cultures maraıcheres et fourrageresrdquoin Actes du congres international lsquoEau et Dechets UniversiteMohamed I Oujda Maroco 2007
[21] Office National de lrsquoAssainissement (ONA) Situation actuelledes stations de traitement drsquoeaux usees en Algerie MRE AlgerAlgerie 7 p 2006
[22] S Maalem and N Ghanem ldquoLa caracterisation physico-chim-iques des eaux usees de Oued El Gourzirdquo In Actes de ColloqueNational de Biologie de lrsquouniversite de Batna 2016
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[23] M Bournaud and C Amoros ldquoDes indicateurs biologiques auxdescripteurs de fonctionnement Quelques exemples dans lesysteme fluvialrdquo Bull Ecol vol 15 no 1 pp 57ndash66 1984
[24] H Marschner Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants vol 78Academic press New York NY USA 2nd edition 1995
[25] Z Alouni ldquoFlux de la charge parasitaire dans cinq stationsdrsquoepuration en Tunisierdquo Revue des sciences de lrsquoeau vol 6 no 4pp 453ndash462 1993
[26] A Mussy et and M Soutter Physique du sol ISBN 1st edition1991
[27] D BaizeGuide des analyses courantes en pedologie INRR 1988[28] P Duchaufour Pedologie I Pedogenese et classificationMasson
Paris France 1977[29] B Blakemore Cosmopolitan Earthworms An Eco-Taxonomic
Guide to the Peregrine Species of the World 2nd Ed 656 p2007
[30] M B Bouche ldquoStrategies Lombriciennes Soil organism ascomponents of ecosystemsrdquo in Proceedings of the 6th Int CollSoil Zool Ecol Bull U Lohm and T Persson Eds pp 122ndash132Stockholm Sweden 1977
[31] K Bazri ldquoEtude de la biodiversite des lombriciens et leursrelations avec les proprietes du sol dans differents etagesbioclimatiques dans lrsquoEst Algerienrdquo in These doctorat p 188Constantine University 2015
[32] J BlondelBiogeographie et ecologieMasson Paris France 1979[33] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 505 Dunod Paris France 1985[34] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 434 Dunod Paris France 1975[35] M A Mojid and G C L Wyseure ldquoImplications of municipal
wastewater irrigation on soil health froma study inBangladeshrdquoSoil Use and Management vol 29 no 3 pp 384ndash396 2013
[36] M A Gharaibeh T A Ghezzehei A A Albalasmeh andM ZAlghzawi ldquoAlteration of physical and chemical characteristicsof clayey soils by irrigationwith treatedwaste waterrdquoGeodermavol 276 pp 33ndash40 2016
[37] A Mojiri ldquoEffects of municipal wastewater on physical andchemical properties of saline soilrdquo Journal of Biodiversity andEnvironmental Sciences vol 5 pp 71ndash76 2011
[38] I Vogeler ldquoEffect of long-term wastewater application onphysical soil propertiesrdquoWater Air and Soil Pollution vol 196no 1-4 pp 385ndash392 2009
[39] J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoRheology of sodium-montmoril-lonite suspensions Effects of humic substances and pHrdquo SoilScience Society of America Journal vol 66 no 2 pp 406ndash4122002
[40] Z Wang A C Chang L Wu and D Crowley ldquoAssessingthe soil quality of long-term reclaimed wastewater-irrigatedcroplandrdquo Geoderma vol 114 no 3-4 pp 261ndash278 2003
[41] A Kunhikrishnan N S Bolan K Muller S Laurenson RNaidu and W-I Kim ldquoThe influence of wastewater irrigationon the transformation and bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)sin soilrdquo Advances in Agronomy vol 115 pp 215ndash297 2012
[42] B Kirkham Isposal of sludge on land Effects on soils plants andground water compost Sc pp 6-10 1974
[43] D E Miller andW D Kemper ldquoWater stability of aggregates oftwo soils as in fluenced by incorporation of alfalfardquoAgron J vol54 no 6 pp 494ndash496 1962
[44] S M F Rabbi B R Roy M M Miah M S Amin and TKhandakar ldquoSpatial variability of physical soil quality index ofan agricultural fieldrdquo Applied and Environmental Soil Sciencevol 2014 Article ID 379012 10 pages 2014
[45] G Bardhan D Russo D Goldstein and G J Levy ldquoChanges inthe hydraulic properties of a clay soil under long-term irrigationwith treated wastewaterrdquo Geoderma vol 264 pp 1ndash9 2016
[46] G Viviani and M Iovino ldquoWastewater reuse effects on soilhydraulic conductivityrdquo Journal of Irrigation and DrainageEngineering vol 130 no 6 pp 476ndash484 2004
[47] J L Morel A Guikart and H Sedgo ldquoEffet de lrsquoepandage desboues urbaines sur lrsquoetat physique des sols communsrdquo in XIcongres de lrsquoAISS Ed lA I S S XI congrΦs de Ed pp 12ndash19 Canada Mouton Canada 1978
[48] U Sahin O Anapali and S Ercisli ldquoPhysico-chemical andphysical properties of some substrates used in horticulturerdquoGartenbau wissen schaft 67 pp 55ndash60 2002
[49] M J Mohammad and N Mazahreh ldquoChanges in soil fertilityparameters in response to irrigation of forage crops withsecondary treated wastewaterrdquo Communications in Soil Scienceand Plant Analysis vol 34 no 9-10 pp 1281ndash1294 2003
[50] OVazquez-Montiel N JHoran andDDMara ldquoManagementof domestic wastewater for reuse in irrigationrdquo Water Scienceand Technology vol 33 no 10-11 pp 355ndash362 1996
[51] A R Hayes C F Mancino and I L Pepper ldquoIrrigation ofTurfgrass with Secondary Sewage Effluent I Soil and LeachateWater Qualityrdquo Agronomy Journal vol 82 no 5 p 939 1990
[52] K El Oumlouki R Moussadek A Zouahri H Dakak MChati and M El Amrani ldquoStudy of physic-chemical quality ofwater and soil in the region SoussMassa (Case perimeter Issen)Moroccordquo Journal of Materials and Environmental Science vol5 pp 2365ndash2374 2014
[53] M Galavi A Jalali M Ramroodi S R Mousavi andH GalavildquoEffects of Treated Municipal Wastewater on Soil ChemicalProperties and Heavy Metal Uptake by Sorghum (sorghumbicolor L)rdquo Journal of Agricultural Science vol 2 no 3 2010
[54] M A Gharaibeh N I Eltaif and B Al-Abdullah ldquoImpact offield application of treated wastewater on hydraulic propertiesof vertisolsrdquo Water Air and Soil Pollution vol 184 no 1-4 pp347ndash353 2007
[55] P Omodeo and G Martinucci Earthworms of MaghrebSelected Symposya andMonographsUZI 2MucchiModenapp 235-250 1987
[56] A Edwards and P J Bohlen Biology et Ecology of earthwormsvol 3 Springer Science amp Business Media 1996
[57] P Lavelle and A V Spain Soil Ecology Springer Science ampBusiness Media 2001
[58] P Lavelle GMelendez B Pashanasi andR Schaefer ldquoNitrogenmineralization and reorganization in casts of the geophagoustropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscoleci-dae)rdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 14 no 1 pp 49ndash53 1992
[59] R A Goncalves T V Gloaguen M V Folegatti P L Libardi YLucas andC RMontes ldquoPore size distribution in soils irrigatedwith sodic water and wastewaterrdquo Revista Brasileira de Cienciado Solo vol 34 no 3 pp 701ndash707 2010
[60] J Iqbal J A Thomasson J N Jenkins P R Owens and F DWhisler ldquoSpatial variability analysis of soil physical propertiesof alluvial soilsrdquo Soil Science Society of America Journal vol 69no 4 pp 1338ndash1350 2005
[61] U Sahin I Angin and F M Kiziloglu ldquoEffect of freezing andthawing processes on some physical properties of saline-sodicsoils mixed with sewage sludge or fly ashrdquo Soil and TillageResearch vol 99 no 2 pp 254ndash260 2008
[62] R Lal and M K Shukla Principles of Soil Physics MarcelDekker New York NY USA 2004
16 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[63] G S Francis and P M Fraser ldquoThe effects of three earthwormspecies on soil macroporosity and hydraulic conductivityrdquoApplied Soil Ecology vol 10 no 1-2 pp 11ndash19 1998
[64] Y Capowiez S Cadoux P Bouchant et al ldquoThe effect oftillage type and cropping system on earthworm communitiesmacroporosity and water infiltrationrdquo Soil and Tillage Researchvol 105 no 2 pp 209ndash216 2009
[65] N Bottinelli T Henry-des-Tureaux V Hallaire et al ldquoEarth-worms accelerate soil porosity turnover under watering condi-tionsrdquo Geoderma vol 156 no 1-2 pp 43ndash47 2010
[66] G Peres D Cluzeau P Curmi and V Hallaire ldquoEarthwormactivity and soil structure changes due to organic enrichmentsin vineyard systemsrdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 27 no 4pp 417ndash424 1998
[67] H Supersperg tilisation de la boue a lrsquoetat liquide sur les solslourds BERICHETE Der ATV 28p1977
[68] P S Minhas and J S Samra Wastewater use in peri-urbanagriculture impacts and opportunities Central Soil salinityResearch Institute Karnal 132001 India Tech Bull N562 p2004
[69] N Ababsa M Kribaa D Addad L Tamrabet and M BahaldquoDoes earthworms density really modify soilrsquos hydrodynamicproperties in irrigated systems with recycled waterrdquo Journal ofFundamental and Applied Sciences vol 8 no 2 p 627 2016
[70] H Molahoseini ldquoLong-term effects of municipal wastewaterirrigation on some properties of a semiarid region soil of IranrdquoInternational Journal of Science Engineering and Technologyvol 3 no 4 pp 444ndash449 2014
[71] G Callot and M Dupuis ldquoLe calcaire actif des sols et sa signifi-cationrdquo Science du sol vol 1 pp 17ndash27 1980
[72] H Ben Hassine T Aloui T Gallali T Bouzid S El amri andR Ben Hassen ldquoValuation quantitative et roles de la matiereorganique dans les sols cultives en zones subhumides et semi-arides mediterraneennes de la Tunisierdquo Agro-Solutions vol 17no 2 pp 4ndash17 2008
Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
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Advances in
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Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9(
)
OM
000
200
400
600
800
1000
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
Figure 5 Organic matter rate percentage average in study sites
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewaters downstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewaters upstream ofEl Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water of El Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 6 Earthwormsrsquo total abundance in different sites of study
32 EarthwormCompartment (Table 6) The total abundanceand biomass average of earthworms at different samplingpoints of study sites are the lowest in S9 with irrigation bynatural waters of El Kochbi effluent and cereal crop Theywere the highest in S5 with irrigation by El Gourzi wastewaterupstream and cereal growing (Figure 6) This abundance wasrepresented by 54 of adults and 46 of juvenile worms(Figure 7) Our results explain a negative effect of plowingon the abundance and biomass of earthworms Contrariwisethe irrigation with wastewaters improves significantly theirabundance and biomass In Bazri et alrsquos [17] study the densityof earthworm in eastern Algeria from the coast to the desertwas respectively 600 plusmn 141 to 2960 plusmn 1183 individualsm2and 028 plusmn 039 to 1313 plusmn 794 gm2 These results are almostsimilar to those of Omodeo andMartinucci [55] in NorthernAlgeria who found earthworm densities ranging from 110to 127 individualsm2 and biomass ranging from 125 to30 gm2 Edwards and Bohlen [56] explained that soils with
54Abd adult
46Abd juv
Individualm2
Figure 7 Total abundance percentage of earthworms in study sites
34Ap t
33Ap r
0Ap C
Am10
Oc2
E t3 20
P an
Individualm2
Figure 8 Earthwormsrsquo global specific abundance percentage
low organic matter contents usually do not support highdensities of earthwormsThe highest values are usually foundin fertilized pastures and the lowest ones are in acid or aridsoils [12 57]
Taxonomic study was carried out on a total of 594 adultworms The taxonomic key and nomenclature quoted byRougerie et al [18] allowed classification of 7 species of Lumb-ricidaeAporrectodea trapezoides (Duges 1828)Aporrectodearosea (Savigny 1826)Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny 1826)Allolobophora molleri (Rosa 1889) Octodrilus complana-tus (Duges 1828) Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedra (Savigny1826) and Proctodrilus antipai antipai (Michaelsen 1891)Percentage of overall specific abundance shows dominanceof Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrectodea rosea(Figure 8)
Ap trapezoides is present in greater quantity (134individualsm2) in S7 characterized by nonpractical plowingand natural vegetation at Kochbi edge where there is healthynatural water (Figure 9) However Ap rosea is present ingreater amounts (130 and 120 individualsm2) in S4 and S5at edges of effluent and irrigated by wastewaters upstreamPr antipai is the most dominant species in S6 characterizedby wastewater irrigation upstream of the effluent and arbori-culture On biomass Ap trapezoides is highest (1248 gm2)in S7 at edges of natural water effluent Ap rosea is presenton a biomass of 117 gm2 in S5 irrigated by wastewaters andcharacterized by cereal cultivation These results allow us todeduce that wastewaters have intense effect on developmentof earthwormrsquos biodiversity Species Ap rosea was the mostconcerned by this improvement
Bazri et al [17] noted in their study that it is curious andhard to explain that Ap trapezoides the most common and
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Table6Re
sults
ofstatisticalanalyses
ofearthw
ormsrsquocharacteris
ticsindifferent
sites
ofthes
tudy
Region
Varia
bles
Sites
Abt
Tottimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
adttimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
juvtimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
tottimestimestimes
Abd
endo
timestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
epigN
S
(Indm2)
Abd
anectimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
endo
timestimestimes
(gm2)
Biom
epigN
S
(gm2)
Biom
anectimestimestimes
(gm2)
IDS
ElMadher
(sitesirrigated
bywastewaters
downstre
amof
ElGou
rzieffluent)
S1M
1660
520
1140
508
300
040
180
184
016
080
1945
SD13939
3493
10455
3513
0707
0548
2490
0689
0230
1131
S2M
1940
1120
920
1035
460
000
660
207
000
651
1401
SD3647
2950
3899
1041
2074
000
02191
1324
000
02063
S3M
980
300
700
565
240
000
080
359
000
066
1425
SD16
4310
000707
1832
1140
000
0044
72086
000
00521
S4M
4380
3440
900
2004
2800
200
520
1056
137
752
2192
SD13755
1616
53536
5726
21319
346
45541
8248
2614
7712
S5M
4960
2680
2280
3756
1980
000
700
1886
000
938
1759
SD7162
6496
11167
6361
7014
000
03082
6887
000
03190
S6M
3860
2140
1720
1922
1540
080
540
640
012
633
1799
SD22041
9813
13498
8450
5320
1789
3507
1620
0264
3985
Ouled
SiSlim
ane
(sitesirrigated
bynaturalw
ater
ofEl
Kochbieffl
uent)
S7M
3440
1520
1840
2105
060
000
1460
017
000
1411
0636
SD6229
5586
9099
7948
0894
000
05639
0244
000
07175
S8M
700
120
580
289
060
000
060
052
000
047
0906
SD4416
1789
3962
2627
1342
000
00894
1167
000
00663
S9M
260
040
220
221
000
020
020
000
019
019
1SD
2793
0548
2683
2308
000
0044
7044
7000
00434
0420
Ranges
values
(site)
Max
S5S4
S5S5
S4S4
S7S5
S4S7
S4
Min
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S8S2S3
S5S7S8
S9S7
ANOVA
results
EffectF
d8
88
88
88
88
8
F1340
1461
366
2595
868
127
981
1400
124
755
P
000
00003
000
0000
0000
00287
000
0000
00301
000
0
timestimestimesHighlysig
nificantNSno
tsignificantMm
ean
SDstand
arddifferenceIndm2ind
ividualm2F
Fisc
hern
umberP
prob
abilitylevelFd
freedom
degree
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
Ap tAp rAp CAmOc
E tP an
0050
100150200250300
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alG
2)
Figure 9 Earthwormsrsquo specific abundance average in study sites
dominant species was not previously quoted by other authorsworking on Algerian lumbricoid fauna Possible explanationsinclude identification problems in this complex group ofspecies recent introduction and posterior expansion orolder introduction as suggested by the large geographicdistribution of the species In the semiarid regions the taxonA molleri is important it locates preferentially in wet points(notably at the edge of effluents) In mountains of semiaridregions the species O complanatus dominates As for Aprosea it is the only one observed in arid bioclimatic stage atpoints where there is sufficient water
Among the 7 species inventoried (Figure 10) the endo-geic species accounted for 62 (Ap rosea A molleri Pantipai and Ap caliginosa) epigeic species for 3 (E tetrae-dra) and anecic species for 22 (O complanatus and Aptrapezoides) the latter may be considered as anecic endogeicor endoanecic because it varies according to the strain
Bouche [10] separated earthworms into three categoriesbased on morphological and behavioral characteristicsEpigeic species are consumer litter living and feeding on orsurface soil Anecic earthworms live in permanent verticalburrows within the soil and may emerge to feed on surfacelayer endogeic species live in temporary horizontal burrowsand feed on the soil This species is geophagous since itgains its nutrients by eating the soil and the green morph ischaracterized by Bouche [10] as more epigeic
Endogeic abundance is much higher in S4 at edgesupstream of the El Gourzi effluent which is without culturalpractices (Figure 11) However S7 at edges of El Kochbi efflu-ent from natural waters without cultural practices is betterrepresented by an anecic population The epigeic populationis important only on S4 and S6 upstream of the wastewatereffluent Endogeic earthworms are a major component of soilfauna communities in most natural ecosystems of the humidtropics [58]
The Shannon diversity index of different study sites is thelowest at S7 corresponding to edges of Kochbi effluent It isthe highest at S4 characterized by wastewaters upstream of ElGourzi effluent and any cultural practices This result allows
62Abd endo
3Abd epig
35Abd anec
Individualsm2
Figure 10 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance average
Abd endoAbd epigAbd anec
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 11 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance in studiedsoil sites
us to deduce that wastewater loaded with organic matterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
33 ANOVA Statistical analysis with the Newman-Keulsmultiple comparison posttest at 119875 le 005 (Table 5) revealeda highly significant effect of different irrigation practices andcultural practices on soilrsquos physical parameters (Is Cr PK 005 K 03 K 06 and K 1) Water retention infiltrationand hydraulic conductivity are among the soilrsquos hydraulicproperties affected by soil porosity and pore size distribution[40 59] Spatial variability of soilrsquos physical properties withinor among agricultural fields is inherent in nature due togeologic and pedologic soil forming factors but some of thevariability may be induced by tillage and other managementpracticesThese factors interact with each other across spatialand temporal scales and are further modified locally byerosion and deposition processes [60] In the regions witha cool climate soils are exposed to freeze-thaw cyclesespecially in the spring period Aggregation and therefore soilstructure may be either positively or negatively affected byfreeze-thaw cycles [61] Therefore the impacts of wastewater
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S1S2
S3S4
S5
S6
S7
S8S9
IsCr
Da
PK (005)
K (03)
K (06)K (1)
MO
CE
Ctot
CactifPH
Abt tot
Abd adult
Abd juv
Abd Ap t
Abd Ap r
Abd Ap CAbd Am
Abd Oc
Abd E t
Abd P an
Bio tot
Abd endoAbd epig
Abd anec
IDS
Biplot (axes F1 and F2 6186)
minus5
minus4
minus3
minus2
minus1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
F2 (1
996
)
minus7 minus6 minus5 minus4 minus3 minus2 minus1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8minus8F1 (4190)
Figure 12 PCA graph of interaction between studied soil properties
irrigation on main soil properties in agricultural areas undercool climate conditions may be different
ANOVA reveals highlight at very highly significant effectof different irrigation practices and cultural practices onstudied chemical parameters of soil (MO CE CaCO3 totCaCO3 act and pH) Effectively the soilrsquos physical propertiesare associated with nutrient applied and environmental soilscience availability solute andpollutantmovementmicrobialactivity and soil organic matter stabilization [62]
On parameters of earthworm characteristics (Table 6)ANOVA revealed a significant effect of study sites differencesexcept for Ap caliginosa and E tetraedra tetraedra speciesrsquoabundance The significant effect of sites has been wellrevealed on endogeic and anecic abundance However thereis no significant effect of different irrigation and croppingpractices on epigeic abundance
34 PCA In order to study interaction between physico-chemical soil parameters and earthworm communities ofstudied sites Principal Component Analysis (PCA)was usedThis procedure makes it possible to group or distributethe sampling sites around principal axes in function of thephysicochemical and earthwormparameters thus facilitatingobservation of possible links between variables and placeswhere they are most represented (Figure 12)
Contribution of principal axes to total variation is 4190for axis 1 and 1996 for axis 2 which makes a total of6186 which is well acceptable On variables distributiongraph both axes 1 and 2 contrast two groups of variablesbiological parameters of earthworms (total biomass totalabundance and adult wormsrsquo abundance) and physical infil-tration parameters (infiltration at saturation K 005 kPa K03 kPa K 06 kPa and K 1 kPa) The first group of biologicalvariables is represented by S5 site characterized by irrigationswith wastewaters upstream of El Gourzi effluent and by cereal
crop (wheatalfalfa) The group of infiltration characteristicsis represented by S2 and S3 sites These sites are irrigatedwith downstream wastewaters and characterized by cerealand arboreal crops This group includes physicochemicalcharacteristics pH and EC Axis 1 is intensely correlatedwith structural stability index and water retention capacityIt divides the characteristics of earthworms studied into twosubgroups One of them is well represented by S4 and S6 withirrigation by wastewater at upstream This group includesOM and active CaCO3 as well as Shannon Biodiversity Index
Francis and Fraser [63] and Capowiez et al [64] reportedthat galleries excavated by terrestrial bioturbation activitycontributed to water transfers Also Bottinelli et al [65]and Peres et al [66] reported that earthworms contribute toimproving soil porosity Indeed the PCA groups the S4 S5and S6 sites with abundance and biomass of earthworms andsoil porosity For his part Supersperg [67] found that annualapplications of liquid sludge cause an increase in compactnessof a heavy soil by clogging and a decrease in pores volume
By this PCA it can be deduced that very high organiccharge of partially treated waters has negative repercus-sions on hydraulic conductivity if this load exceeds certaindoses because the PCA rallied the hydraulic conductivityat saturation by different pressures applied to S1 S2 and S3sites downstream of El Gourzi effluent as well as S8 andS9 sites irrigated with natural waters of El Kochbi effluentThis is contradictory to the results of Minhas and Samra[68] and Ababsa et al [69] who have worked on the effectof earthworms on hydraulic conductivity in soils irrigatedby wastewaters Meanwhile our findings concur with theworks of some authors Wang et al Viviani and Iovino andMolahoseini [40 46 70] who have to work on the same axisof research
This opposition of results can be explained bymore or lessrapid duration of organic matter evolution of wastewaters
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 13
This change in state of OM from pores plugging form tosoil stabilizing and structuring form is closely related to soilphysicochemical parameters (pH active CaCO3 and EC)Indeed Callot and Dupuis [71] assume the role of activeCaCO3 in protection and conservation of organic matterin carbonate soils Active CaCO3 thus acts as a protectoragainst biological degradation of organic matter of these soilsto make it a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition[72] All the soils being studied are carbonate soils theiractiveCaCO3should play an important role in humificationprocess by rapidly sequestering lignified organic compoundsas inherited or residual humus [28]
4 Conclusion
Our objective was to study interaction between earthwormcommunity characteristics and physicochemical propertiesof soils characterized by irrigation with wastewaters andwell waters in conditions of different topography (upstreamand downstream) and cropping practices (natural vegetationcereal cultivation and arboriculture) in two regions of Batnadepartment
The results show that the maximum water retentioncapacity is better explained by the fine texture of the soilat the effluent border The porosity and rates of infiltrationat saturation are higher in sites characterized by irrigationwith wastewaters downstream of effluent This was explainedby clogging of soil pores by suspended materials presentin the wastewaters However structural stability is better insite characterized by irrigation with wastewaters upstreamof El Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This is due on onehand to input of organic matter and calcium ions whichplay the role of cements and cause improvement of particlessoil aggregation according to Kirkham [42] On the otherhand at cereal crop that effect increases production ofcementing substances through microbial activity by fungaland actinomycete mycelia that provide substrates to stabilizesoil aggregates according to Miller and Kemper [43]
The pH levels are more alkaline in downstream sitesthan upstream sites of wastewater effluent The pH of soilsirrigated with wastewater decreases following oxidation oforganic compounds and nitrification of ammonium Electri-cal conductivity values are the lowest at sampling points ofsite characterized by irrigation with wastewater upstream ofEl Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This could probably bedue to the level of organic matter which acts as a buffer Theorganicmatter is highest at site upstreamof El Gourzi effluentborder characterized by natural vegetation which is certainlyexplained by an important load of organic matter from thewastewater upstream of the effluent and high clay content ofsoil may physically protect the OM from the decompositionThe average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is higher atKochbi natural water effluent border while it showed lowvalues at downstream sites However the active CaCO3rate is the lowest at downstream site of El Gourzi effluentborder But it presents the highest values at S6 site irrigatedby wastewaters upstream of effluentThis result appears to berelated to soil pH
The total abundance and biomass average of earthwormsat different sampling points of study sites are the lowestat site irrigated by natural waters of El Kochbi effluentwhich is cultivated by cereal On the contrary they are thehighest at upstream site irrigated by El Gourzi wastewaterand cereal growing This result explains that abundance andbiomass of earthworms are related to wastewaters irrigationEarthworms are muchmore present where irrigation water isheavily loaded with organic materials
Taxonomic study allowed classification of 7 species ofLumbricidae Percentage of overall specific abundance showsdominance of Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrec-todea rosea The result shows that wastewaters have intenseeffect on development of earthwormrsquos biodiversity SpeciesAp rosea was the most concerned by this improvementAmong the 7 species inventoried the endogeic earthwormsrepresent the majority Endogeic abundance is much higherin site at edges upstream of the El Gourzi effluent which iswithout cultural practices However site at edges of El Kochbieffluent from natural waters without cultural practices isbetter represented by an anecic population The Shannondiversity index of different study sites shows that wastewaterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
ANOVA revealed a highly significant effect of differentirrigation types as well as different cultivation practices onall physicochemical properties of soil and on endogeic andanecic population This was not the case for the epigeicpopulation
The PCA allowed characterizing two major groups Thefirst group is defined by sites that are explained by the hydro-dynamic infiltration These sites are irrigated by wastewaterthey are located downstream of effluent (lowest load oforganic matter) and characterized by cereal and arborealcrops This group includes other chemical characteristicspH and EC The second group formed by upstream sitesirrigated by wastewaters encompasses the characteristics ofearthworms explained by highest load of organic matter Itincludes chemical characteristics OM and active limestoneIt also includes the ShannonBiodiversity IndexWe explainedthis by active CaCO3 which acts as a protector againstbiological degradation of organicmatter of these soils tomakeit a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition
Overall the results of the PCA show us that the effectof wastewater is positive on improvement of abundance andbiomass and biodiversity of earthworms population On thecontrary the wastewaters are unfavorable for the infiltrationphysical parameters of water into soil This will surelyhave long-term repercussions on the physical and biologicalparameters of soil and will induce a new organization ofmacro- and mesoporosity due to improvement of biologicalparameters of earthworms
Finally we propose complementing these results in thefield and in the laboratory to see the evolution of infiltrationparameters of soil water in parallel with the dynamics ofearthworm community in soil irrigated by wastewaters Thebiodiversity of earthworms may induce an improvement ininfiltration and reduce the problems of clogging pores and
14 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
solve other problems that wastewaters can introduce intosoils
Abbreviations
Cr Water retention capacityIs Structural instability indexDa Bulk density119875 Porosity119870 (h) sat Saturated hydraulic conductivity at
potential differenceCE Electric conductivityMO Organic matterTEM Trace Element MetalsMES Suspended matterBOD5 5-Day biological oxygen demandCOD Chemical oxygen demandAbd AbundanceJuv JuvenileAdt AdultBiom BiomassEndo EndogeicEpig EpigeicAnec AnecicAp t Aporrectodea trapezoidesAp r Aporrectodea roseaAp c Aporrectodea caliginosaAm Allolobophora molleriP ant Proctodrilus antipai antipaiOc Octodrilus complanatusE t Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedraSDI Shannon Biodiversity IndexDj Djebel or mountainWed effluent
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interestregarding the publication of this paper
References
[1] E Corcoran C Nellemann E Baker R Bos D Osborn andHSavelli ick Water The central role of wastewater managementin sustainable development A rapid response assessment UnitedNations Environment Programme UN-HABITAT ArendalNorway 2010
[2] F Hiouani H Messadia A Masmoudi D Madani and C TirldquoInfluence des eaux residuaires de tannerie sur le poids de lamatiere secherdquo in Proceedings of the Revue des Regions Arides-Actes du 4eme Meeting International - Numero Special - n∘35(32014) pp 1023ndash1319 2013
[3] B Jimenez and T Asano ldquoWater reclamation and reuse aroundthe Worldrdquo inWater Reuse An International Survey of CurrentPractice Issues and Needs pp 3ndash26 IWA Publishing LondonUK 2008
[4] Z S Burak ldquoWater wetlands and climate change build-ings linkages for their integrated managementrdquo MediterraneanRegional Roundtable pp 10-11 2002
[5] H Bouzerzour L Tamrabet and M Kribaa ldquoReponse de deuxgraminees fourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee
et de boue residuairerdquo in Proceedings Seminaire InternationalBiologie et Environnement 71 Univ Mentouri ConstantineAlgeria 2002
[6] L Tamrabet H Bouzerzour M Kribaa et and D Golea ldquoLedevenir des eaux usees traitees Reponse de deux gramineesfourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee traiteerdquo inProceedings of the Actes du Colloque international Oasis Eau etPopulation Universite Khider Biskra Algerie 2003
[7] M B Pescod Wastewater Treatment and Use in AgricultureFAO Irrigation and Drainage Rome Italy 1992
[8] A Coppola A Santini P Botti S Vacca V Comegna andG Severino ldquoMethodological approach for evaluating the re-sponse of soil hydrological behavior to irrigation with treatedmunicipal wastewaterrdquo Journal of Hydrology vol 292 no 1-4pp 114ndash134 2004
[9] I Nadav J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoWater repellency inducedby organic matter (OM) in treated wastewater (TWW) infiltra-tion ponds and irrigationrdquo Functions of Natural Organic Matterin Changing Environment pp 883ndash887 2013
[10] M B Bouche Lombriciens de France Ecologie et SystematiqueINRA Publication 72-2 Institut national de la rechercheagronomique Paris France 1972
[11] G Bachelier ldquoLes vers annelesrdquo in La faune du sol IDT n∘38pp 127ndash183 ORSTOM Paris France 1978
[12] K E Lee EarthwormsTheir Ecology and Relationship with Soilsand Land Use Academic Press Sydney Australia 1985
[13] P Lavelle C Lattaud D Trigo and I Barois ldquoMutualism andbiodiversity in soilsrdquo Plant and Soil vol 170 no 1 pp 23ndash331995
[14] T Kautz C Stumm R Kosters andU Kopke ldquoEffects of peren-nial fodder crops on soil structure in agricultural headlandsrdquoJournal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science vol 173 no 4 pp490ndash501 2010
[15] L A Schipper J C Williamson H A Kettles and T W SpeirldquoImpact of land-applied tertiary-treated effluent on soil bio-chemical propertiesrdquo Journal of Environmental Quality vol 25no 5 pp 1073ndash1077 1996
[16] A Lemtiri G Colinet T Alabi et al ldquoImpacts of earthwormson soil components and dynamics A reviewrdquo BiotechnologyAgronomy and Society and Environment vol 18 no 1 pp 121ndash133 2014
[17] K Bazri G Ouahrani Z Gheribi-Aoulmi et D J and D CosinldquoLa diversite des lombriciens dans lrsquoest algerien depuis la cotejusqursquoau desertrdquo EcologiaMediterranea vol 39 no 2 p 17 2013
[18] R Rougerie T Decaens L Deharveng et al ldquoDNAbarcodes forsoil animal taxonomyrdquoPesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira vol 44no 8 pp 789ndash802 2009
[19] T Decaens ldquoMacroecological patterns in soil communitiesrdquoGlobal Ecology and Biogeography vol 19 no 3 pp 287ndash3022010
[20] L Tamrabet M Kribaa B Hamidi S Alalata W Berkani andA Hamdoudi ldquoEvaluation de lrsquoaptitude des effluents drsquoOued ElGourzi (Batna Nord Est drsquoAlgerie) a lrsquoirrigation et leur impactsur le sol et la qualite des cultures maraıcheres et fourrageresrdquoin Actes du congres international lsquoEau et Dechets UniversiteMohamed I Oujda Maroco 2007
[21] Office National de lrsquoAssainissement (ONA) Situation actuelledes stations de traitement drsquoeaux usees en Algerie MRE AlgerAlgerie 7 p 2006
[22] S Maalem and N Ghanem ldquoLa caracterisation physico-chim-iques des eaux usees de Oued El Gourzirdquo In Actes de ColloqueNational de Biologie de lrsquouniversite de Batna 2016
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 15
[23] M Bournaud and C Amoros ldquoDes indicateurs biologiques auxdescripteurs de fonctionnement Quelques exemples dans lesysteme fluvialrdquo Bull Ecol vol 15 no 1 pp 57ndash66 1984
[24] H Marschner Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants vol 78Academic press New York NY USA 2nd edition 1995
[25] Z Alouni ldquoFlux de la charge parasitaire dans cinq stationsdrsquoepuration en Tunisierdquo Revue des sciences de lrsquoeau vol 6 no 4pp 453ndash462 1993
[26] A Mussy et and M Soutter Physique du sol ISBN 1st edition1991
[27] D BaizeGuide des analyses courantes en pedologie INRR 1988[28] P Duchaufour Pedologie I Pedogenese et classificationMasson
Paris France 1977[29] B Blakemore Cosmopolitan Earthworms An Eco-Taxonomic
Guide to the Peregrine Species of the World 2nd Ed 656 p2007
[30] M B Bouche ldquoStrategies Lombriciennes Soil organism ascomponents of ecosystemsrdquo in Proceedings of the 6th Int CollSoil Zool Ecol Bull U Lohm and T Persson Eds pp 122ndash132Stockholm Sweden 1977
[31] K Bazri ldquoEtude de la biodiversite des lombriciens et leursrelations avec les proprietes du sol dans differents etagesbioclimatiques dans lrsquoEst Algerienrdquo in These doctorat p 188Constantine University 2015
[32] J BlondelBiogeographie et ecologieMasson Paris France 1979[33] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 505 Dunod Paris France 1985[34] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 434 Dunod Paris France 1975[35] M A Mojid and G C L Wyseure ldquoImplications of municipal
wastewater irrigation on soil health froma study inBangladeshrdquoSoil Use and Management vol 29 no 3 pp 384ndash396 2013
[36] M A Gharaibeh T A Ghezzehei A A Albalasmeh andM ZAlghzawi ldquoAlteration of physical and chemical characteristicsof clayey soils by irrigationwith treatedwaste waterrdquoGeodermavol 276 pp 33ndash40 2016
[37] A Mojiri ldquoEffects of municipal wastewater on physical andchemical properties of saline soilrdquo Journal of Biodiversity andEnvironmental Sciences vol 5 pp 71ndash76 2011
[38] I Vogeler ldquoEffect of long-term wastewater application onphysical soil propertiesrdquoWater Air and Soil Pollution vol 196no 1-4 pp 385ndash392 2009
[39] J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoRheology of sodium-montmoril-lonite suspensions Effects of humic substances and pHrdquo SoilScience Society of America Journal vol 66 no 2 pp 406ndash4122002
[40] Z Wang A C Chang L Wu and D Crowley ldquoAssessingthe soil quality of long-term reclaimed wastewater-irrigatedcroplandrdquo Geoderma vol 114 no 3-4 pp 261ndash278 2003
[41] A Kunhikrishnan N S Bolan K Muller S Laurenson RNaidu and W-I Kim ldquoThe influence of wastewater irrigationon the transformation and bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)sin soilrdquo Advances in Agronomy vol 115 pp 215ndash297 2012
[42] B Kirkham Isposal of sludge on land Effects on soils plants andground water compost Sc pp 6-10 1974
[43] D E Miller andW D Kemper ldquoWater stability of aggregates oftwo soils as in fluenced by incorporation of alfalfardquoAgron J vol54 no 6 pp 494ndash496 1962
[44] S M F Rabbi B R Roy M M Miah M S Amin and TKhandakar ldquoSpatial variability of physical soil quality index ofan agricultural fieldrdquo Applied and Environmental Soil Sciencevol 2014 Article ID 379012 10 pages 2014
[45] G Bardhan D Russo D Goldstein and G J Levy ldquoChanges inthe hydraulic properties of a clay soil under long-term irrigationwith treated wastewaterrdquo Geoderma vol 264 pp 1ndash9 2016
[46] G Viviani and M Iovino ldquoWastewater reuse effects on soilhydraulic conductivityrdquo Journal of Irrigation and DrainageEngineering vol 130 no 6 pp 476ndash484 2004
[47] J L Morel A Guikart and H Sedgo ldquoEffet de lrsquoepandage desboues urbaines sur lrsquoetat physique des sols communsrdquo in XIcongres de lrsquoAISS Ed lA I S S XI congrΦs de Ed pp 12ndash19 Canada Mouton Canada 1978
[48] U Sahin O Anapali and S Ercisli ldquoPhysico-chemical andphysical properties of some substrates used in horticulturerdquoGartenbau wissen schaft 67 pp 55ndash60 2002
[49] M J Mohammad and N Mazahreh ldquoChanges in soil fertilityparameters in response to irrigation of forage crops withsecondary treated wastewaterrdquo Communications in Soil Scienceand Plant Analysis vol 34 no 9-10 pp 1281ndash1294 2003
[50] OVazquez-Montiel N JHoran andDDMara ldquoManagementof domestic wastewater for reuse in irrigationrdquo Water Scienceand Technology vol 33 no 10-11 pp 355ndash362 1996
[51] A R Hayes C F Mancino and I L Pepper ldquoIrrigation ofTurfgrass with Secondary Sewage Effluent I Soil and LeachateWater Qualityrdquo Agronomy Journal vol 82 no 5 p 939 1990
[52] K El Oumlouki R Moussadek A Zouahri H Dakak MChati and M El Amrani ldquoStudy of physic-chemical quality ofwater and soil in the region SoussMassa (Case perimeter Issen)Moroccordquo Journal of Materials and Environmental Science vol5 pp 2365ndash2374 2014
[53] M Galavi A Jalali M Ramroodi S R Mousavi andH GalavildquoEffects of Treated Municipal Wastewater on Soil ChemicalProperties and Heavy Metal Uptake by Sorghum (sorghumbicolor L)rdquo Journal of Agricultural Science vol 2 no 3 2010
[54] M A Gharaibeh N I Eltaif and B Al-Abdullah ldquoImpact offield application of treated wastewater on hydraulic propertiesof vertisolsrdquo Water Air and Soil Pollution vol 184 no 1-4 pp347ndash353 2007
[55] P Omodeo and G Martinucci Earthworms of MaghrebSelected Symposya andMonographsUZI 2MucchiModenapp 235-250 1987
[56] A Edwards and P J Bohlen Biology et Ecology of earthwormsvol 3 Springer Science amp Business Media 1996
[57] P Lavelle and A V Spain Soil Ecology Springer Science ampBusiness Media 2001
[58] P Lavelle GMelendez B Pashanasi andR Schaefer ldquoNitrogenmineralization and reorganization in casts of the geophagoustropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscoleci-dae)rdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 14 no 1 pp 49ndash53 1992
[59] R A Goncalves T V Gloaguen M V Folegatti P L Libardi YLucas andC RMontes ldquoPore size distribution in soils irrigatedwith sodic water and wastewaterrdquo Revista Brasileira de Cienciado Solo vol 34 no 3 pp 701ndash707 2010
[60] J Iqbal J A Thomasson J N Jenkins P R Owens and F DWhisler ldquoSpatial variability analysis of soil physical propertiesof alluvial soilsrdquo Soil Science Society of America Journal vol 69no 4 pp 1338ndash1350 2005
[61] U Sahin I Angin and F M Kiziloglu ldquoEffect of freezing andthawing processes on some physical properties of saline-sodicsoils mixed with sewage sludge or fly ashrdquo Soil and TillageResearch vol 99 no 2 pp 254ndash260 2008
[62] R Lal and M K Shukla Principles of Soil Physics MarcelDekker New York NY USA 2004
16 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[63] G S Francis and P M Fraser ldquoThe effects of three earthwormspecies on soil macroporosity and hydraulic conductivityrdquoApplied Soil Ecology vol 10 no 1-2 pp 11ndash19 1998
[64] Y Capowiez S Cadoux P Bouchant et al ldquoThe effect oftillage type and cropping system on earthworm communitiesmacroporosity and water infiltrationrdquo Soil and Tillage Researchvol 105 no 2 pp 209ndash216 2009
[65] N Bottinelli T Henry-des-Tureaux V Hallaire et al ldquoEarth-worms accelerate soil porosity turnover under watering condi-tionsrdquo Geoderma vol 156 no 1-2 pp 43ndash47 2010
[66] G Peres D Cluzeau P Curmi and V Hallaire ldquoEarthwormactivity and soil structure changes due to organic enrichmentsin vineyard systemsrdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 27 no 4pp 417ndash424 1998
[67] H Supersperg tilisation de la boue a lrsquoetat liquide sur les solslourds BERICHETE Der ATV 28p1977
[68] P S Minhas and J S Samra Wastewater use in peri-urbanagriculture impacts and opportunities Central Soil salinityResearch Institute Karnal 132001 India Tech Bull N562 p2004
[69] N Ababsa M Kribaa D Addad L Tamrabet and M BahaldquoDoes earthworms density really modify soilrsquos hydrodynamicproperties in irrigated systems with recycled waterrdquo Journal ofFundamental and Applied Sciences vol 8 no 2 p 627 2016
[70] H Molahoseini ldquoLong-term effects of municipal wastewaterirrigation on some properties of a semiarid region soil of IranrdquoInternational Journal of Science Engineering and Technologyvol 3 no 4 pp 444ndash449 2014
[71] G Callot and M Dupuis ldquoLe calcaire actif des sols et sa signifi-cationrdquo Science du sol vol 1 pp 17ndash27 1980
[72] H Ben Hassine T Aloui T Gallali T Bouzid S El amri andR Ben Hassen ldquoValuation quantitative et roles de la matiereorganique dans les sols cultives en zones subhumides et semi-arides mediterraneennes de la Tunisierdquo Agro-Solutions vol 17no 2 pp 4ndash17 2008
Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 201
International Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Table6Re
sults
ofstatisticalanalyses
ofearthw
ormsrsquocharacteris
ticsindifferent
sites
ofthes
tudy
Region
Varia
bles
Sites
Abt
Tottimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
adttimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
juvtimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
tottimestimestimes
Abd
endo
timestimestimes
(Indm2)
Abd
epigN
S
(Indm2)
Abd
anectimestimestimes
(Indm2)
Biom
endo
timestimestimes
(gm2)
Biom
epigN
S
(gm2)
Biom
anectimestimestimes
(gm2)
IDS
ElMadher
(sitesirrigated
bywastewaters
downstre
amof
ElGou
rzieffluent)
S1M
1660
520
1140
508
300
040
180
184
016
080
1945
SD13939
3493
10455
3513
0707
0548
2490
0689
0230
1131
S2M
1940
1120
920
1035
460
000
660
207
000
651
1401
SD3647
2950
3899
1041
2074
000
02191
1324
000
02063
S3M
980
300
700
565
240
000
080
359
000
066
1425
SD16
4310
000707
1832
1140
000
0044
72086
000
00521
S4M
4380
3440
900
2004
2800
200
520
1056
137
752
2192
SD13755
1616
53536
5726
21319
346
45541
8248
2614
7712
S5M
4960
2680
2280
3756
1980
000
700
1886
000
938
1759
SD7162
6496
11167
6361
7014
000
03082
6887
000
03190
S6M
3860
2140
1720
1922
1540
080
540
640
012
633
1799
SD22041
9813
13498
8450
5320
1789
3507
1620
0264
3985
Ouled
SiSlim
ane
(sitesirrigated
bynaturalw
ater
ofEl
Kochbieffl
uent)
S7M
3440
1520
1840
2105
060
000
1460
017
000
1411
0636
SD6229
5586
9099
7948
0894
000
05639
0244
000
07175
S8M
700
120
580
289
060
000
060
052
000
047
0906
SD4416
1789
3962
2627
1342
000
00894
1167
000
00663
S9M
260
040
220
221
000
020
020
000
019
019
1SD
2793
0548
2683
2308
000
0044
7044
7000
00434
0420
Ranges
values
(site)
Max
S5S4
S5S5
S4S4
S7S5
S4S7
S4
Min
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S9S9
S8S2S3
S5S7S8
S9S7
ANOVA
results
EffectF
d8
88
88
88
88
8
F1340
1461
366
2595
868
127
981
1400
124
755
P
000
00003
000
0000
0000
00287
000
0000
00301
000
0
timestimestimesHighlysig
nificantNSno
tsignificantMm
ean
SDstand
arddifferenceIndm2ind
ividualm2F
Fisc
hern
umberP
prob
abilitylevelFd
freedom
degree
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
Ap tAp rAp CAmOc
E tP an
0050
100150200250300
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alG
2)
Figure 9 Earthwormsrsquo specific abundance average in study sites
dominant species was not previously quoted by other authorsworking on Algerian lumbricoid fauna Possible explanationsinclude identification problems in this complex group ofspecies recent introduction and posterior expansion orolder introduction as suggested by the large geographicdistribution of the species In the semiarid regions the taxonA molleri is important it locates preferentially in wet points(notably at the edge of effluents) In mountains of semiaridregions the species O complanatus dominates As for Aprosea it is the only one observed in arid bioclimatic stage atpoints where there is sufficient water
Among the 7 species inventoried (Figure 10) the endo-geic species accounted for 62 (Ap rosea A molleri Pantipai and Ap caliginosa) epigeic species for 3 (E tetrae-dra) and anecic species for 22 (O complanatus and Aptrapezoides) the latter may be considered as anecic endogeicor endoanecic because it varies according to the strain
Bouche [10] separated earthworms into three categoriesbased on morphological and behavioral characteristicsEpigeic species are consumer litter living and feeding on orsurface soil Anecic earthworms live in permanent verticalburrows within the soil and may emerge to feed on surfacelayer endogeic species live in temporary horizontal burrowsand feed on the soil This species is geophagous since itgains its nutrients by eating the soil and the green morph ischaracterized by Bouche [10] as more epigeic
Endogeic abundance is much higher in S4 at edgesupstream of the El Gourzi effluent which is without culturalpractices (Figure 11) However S7 at edges of El Kochbi efflu-ent from natural waters without cultural practices is betterrepresented by an anecic population The epigeic populationis important only on S4 and S6 upstream of the wastewatereffluent Endogeic earthworms are a major component of soilfauna communities in most natural ecosystems of the humidtropics [58]
The Shannon diversity index of different study sites is thelowest at S7 corresponding to edges of Kochbi effluent It isthe highest at S4 characterized by wastewaters upstream of ElGourzi effluent and any cultural practices This result allows
62Abd endo
3Abd epig
35Abd anec
Individualsm2
Figure 10 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance average
Abd endoAbd epigAbd anec
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 11 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance in studiedsoil sites
us to deduce that wastewater loaded with organic matterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
33 ANOVA Statistical analysis with the Newman-Keulsmultiple comparison posttest at 119875 le 005 (Table 5) revealeda highly significant effect of different irrigation practices andcultural practices on soilrsquos physical parameters (Is Cr PK 005 K 03 K 06 and K 1) Water retention infiltrationand hydraulic conductivity are among the soilrsquos hydraulicproperties affected by soil porosity and pore size distribution[40 59] Spatial variability of soilrsquos physical properties withinor among agricultural fields is inherent in nature due togeologic and pedologic soil forming factors but some of thevariability may be induced by tillage and other managementpracticesThese factors interact with each other across spatialand temporal scales and are further modified locally byerosion and deposition processes [60] In the regions witha cool climate soils are exposed to freeze-thaw cyclesespecially in the spring period Aggregation and therefore soilstructure may be either positively or negatively affected byfreeze-thaw cycles [61] Therefore the impacts of wastewater
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S1S2
S3S4
S5
S6
S7
S8S9
IsCr
Da
PK (005)
K (03)
K (06)K (1)
MO
CE
Ctot
CactifPH
Abt tot
Abd adult
Abd juv
Abd Ap t
Abd Ap r
Abd Ap CAbd Am
Abd Oc
Abd E t
Abd P an
Bio tot
Abd endoAbd epig
Abd anec
IDS
Biplot (axes F1 and F2 6186)
minus5
minus4
minus3
minus2
minus1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
F2 (1
996
)
minus7 minus6 minus5 minus4 minus3 minus2 minus1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8minus8F1 (4190)
Figure 12 PCA graph of interaction between studied soil properties
irrigation on main soil properties in agricultural areas undercool climate conditions may be different
ANOVA reveals highlight at very highly significant effectof different irrigation practices and cultural practices onstudied chemical parameters of soil (MO CE CaCO3 totCaCO3 act and pH) Effectively the soilrsquos physical propertiesare associated with nutrient applied and environmental soilscience availability solute andpollutantmovementmicrobialactivity and soil organic matter stabilization [62]
On parameters of earthworm characteristics (Table 6)ANOVA revealed a significant effect of study sites differencesexcept for Ap caliginosa and E tetraedra tetraedra speciesrsquoabundance The significant effect of sites has been wellrevealed on endogeic and anecic abundance However thereis no significant effect of different irrigation and croppingpractices on epigeic abundance
34 PCA In order to study interaction between physico-chemical soil parameters and earthworm communities ofstudied sites Principal Component Analysis (PCA)was usedThis procedure makes it possible to group or distributethe sampling sites around principal axes in function of thephysicochemical and earthwormparameters thus facilitatingobservation of possible links between variables and placeswhere they are most represented (Figure 12)
Contribution of principal axes to total variation is 4190for axis 1 and 1996 for axis 2 which makes a total of6186 which is well acceptable On variables distributiongraph both axes 1 and 2 contrast two groups of variablesbiological parameters of earthworms (total biomass totalabundance and adult wormsrsquo abundance) and physical infil-tration parameters (infiltration at saturation K 005 kPa K03 kPa K 06 kPa and K 1 kPa) The first group of biologicalvariables is represented by S5 site characterized by irrigationswith wastewaters upstream of El Gourzi effluent and by cereal
crop (wheatalfalfa) The group of infiltration characteristicsis represented by S2 and S3 sites These sites are irrigatedwith downstream wastewaters and characterized by cerealand arboreal crops This group includes physicochemicalcharacteristics pH and EC Axis 1 is intensely correlatedwith structural stability index and water retention capacityIt divides the characteristics of earthworms studied into twosubgroups One of them is well represented by S4 and S6 withirrigation by wastewater at upstream This group includesOM and active CaCO3 as well as Shannon Biodiversity Index
Francis and Fraser [63] and Capowiez et al [64] reportedthat galleries excavated by terrestrial bioturbation activitycontributed to water transfers Also Bottinelli et al [65]and Peres et al [66] reported that earthworms contribute toimproving soil porosity Indeed the PCA groups the S4 S5and S6 sites with abundance and biomass of earthworms andsoil porosity For his part Supersperg [67] found that annualapplications of liquid sludge cause an increase in compactnessof a heavy soil by clogging and a decrease in pores volume
By this PCA it can be deduced that very high organiccharge of partially treated waters has negative repercus-sions on hydraulic conductivity if this load exceeds certaindoses because the PCA rallied the hydraulic conductivityat saturation by different pressures applied to S1 S2 and S3sites downstream of El Gourzi effluent as well as S8 andS9 sites irrigated with natural waters of El Kochbi effluentThis is contradictory to the results of Minhas and Samra[68] and Ababsa et al [69] who have worked on the effectof earthworms on hydraulic conductivity in soils irrigatedby wastewaters Meanwhile our findings concur with theworks of some authors Wang et al Viviani and Iovino andMolahoseini [40 46 70] who have to work on the same axisof research
This opposition of results can be explained bymore or lessrapid duration of organic matter evolution of wastewaters
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 13
This change in state of OM from pores plugging form tosoil stabilizing and structuring form is closely related to soilphysicochemical parameters (pH active CaCO3 and EC)Indeed Callot and Dupuis [71] assume the role of activeCaCO3 in protection and conservation of organic matterin carbonate soils Active CaCO3 thus acts as a protectoragainst biological degradation of organic matter of these soilsto make it a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition[72] All the soils being studied are carbonate soils theiractiveCaCO3should play an important role in humificationprocess by rapidly sequestering lignified organic compoundsas inherited or residual humus [28]
4 Conclusion
Our objective was to study interaction between earthwormcommunity characteristics and physicochemical propertiesof soils characterized by irrigation with wastewaters andwell waters in conditions of different topography (upstreamand downstream) and cropping practices (natural vegetationcereal cultivation and arboriculture) in two regions of Batnadepartment
The results show that the maximum water retentioncapacity is better explained by the fine texture of the soilat the effluent border The porosity and rates of infiltrationat saturation are higher in sites characterized by irrigationwith wastewaters downstream of effluent This was explainedby clogging of soil pores by suspended materials presentin the wastewaters However structural stability is better insite characterized by irrigation with wastewaters upstreamof El Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This is due on onehand to input of organic matter and calcium ions whichplay the role of cements and cause improvement of particlessoil aggregation according to Kirkham [42] On the otherhand at cereal crop that effect increases production ofcementing substances through microbial activity by fungaland actinomycete mycelia that provide substrates to stabilizesoil aggregates according to Miller and Kemper [43]
The pH levels are more alkaline in downstream sitesthan upstream sites of wastewater effluent The pH of soilsirrigated with wastewater decreases following oxidation oforganic compounds and nitrification of ammonium Electri-cal conductivity values are the lowest at sampling points ofsite characterized by irrigation with wastewater upstream ofEl Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This could probably bedue to the level of organic matter which acts as a buffer Theorganicmatter is highest at site upstreamof El Gourzi effluentborder characterized by natural vegetation which is certainlyexplained by an important load of organic matter from thewastewater upstream of the effluent and high clay content ofsoil may physically protect the OM from the decompositionThe average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is higher atKochbi natural water effluent border while it showed lowvalues at downstream sites However the active CaCO3rate is the lowest at downstream site of El Gourzi effluentborder But it presents the highest values at S6 site irrigatedby wastewaters upstream of effluentThis result appears to berelated to soil pH
The total abundance and biomass average of earthwormsat different sampling points of study sites are the lowestat site irrigated by natural waters of El Kochbi effluentwhich is cultivated by cereal On the contrary they are thehighest at upstream site irrigated by El Gourzi wastewaterand cereal growing This result explains that abundance andbiomass of earthworms are related to wastewaters irrigationEarthworms are muchmore present where irrigation water isheavily loaded with organic materials
Taxonomic study allowed classification of 7 species ofLumbricidae Percentage of overall specific abundance showsdominance of Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrec-todea rosea The result shows that wastewaters have intenseeffect on development of earthwormrsquos biodiversity SpeciesAp rosea was the most concerned by this improvementAmong the 7 species inventoried the endogeic earthwormsrepresent the majority Endogeic abundance is much higherin site at edges upstream of the El Gourzi effluent which iswithout cultural practices However site at edges of El Kochbieffluent from natural waters without cultural practices isbetter represented by an anecic population The Shannondiversity index of different study sites shows that wastewaterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
ANOVA revealed a highly significant effect of differentirrigation types as well as different cultivation practices onall physicochemical properties of soil and on endogeic andanecic population This was not the case for the epigeicpopulation
The PCA allowed characterizing two major groups Thefirst group is defined by sites that are explained by the hydro-dynamic infiltration These sites are irrigated by wastewaterthey are located downstream of effluent (lowest load oforganic matter) and characterized by cereal and arborealcrops This group includes other chemical characteristicspH and EC The second group formed by upstream sitesirrigated by wastewaters encompasses the characteristics ofearthworms explained by highest load of organic matter Itincludes chemical characteristics OM and active limestoneIt also includes the ShannonBiodiversity IndexWe explainedthis by active CaCO3 which acts as a protector againstbiological degradation of organicmatter of these soils tomakeit a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition
Overall the results of the PCA show us that the effectof wastewater is positive on improvement of abundance andbiomass and biodiversity of earthworms population On thecontrary the wastewaters are unfavorable for the infiltrationphysical parameters of water into soil This will surelyhave long-term repercussions on the physical and biologicalparameters of soil and will induce a new organization ofmacro- and mesoporosity due to improvement of biologicalparameters of earthworms
Finally we propose complementing these results in thefield and in the laboratory to see the evolution of infiltrationparameters of soil water in parallel with the dynamics ofearthworm community in soil irrigated by wastewaters Thebiodiversity of earthworms may induce an improvement ininfiltration and reduce the problems of clogging pores and
14 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
solve other problems that wastewaters can introduce intosoils
Abbreviations
Cr Water retention capacityIs Structural instability indexDa Bulk density119875 Porosity119870 (h) sat Saturated hydraulic conductivity at
potential differenceCE Electric conductivityMO Organic matterTEM Trace Element MetalsMES Suspended matterBOD5 5-Day biological oxygen demandCOD Chemical oxygen demandAbd AbundanceJuv JuvenileAdt AdultBiom BiomassEndo EndogeicEpig EpigeicAnec AnecicAp t Aporrectodea trapezoidesAp r Aporrectodea roseaAp c Aporrectodea caliginosaAm Allolobophora molleriP ant Proctodrilus antipai antipaiOc Octodrilus complanatusE t Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedraSDI Shannon Biodiversity IndexDj Djebel or mountainWed effluent
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interestregarding the publication of this paper
References
[1] E Corcoran C Nellemann E Baker R Bos D Osborn andHSavelli ick Water The central role of wastewater managementin sustainable development A rapid response assessment UnitedNations Environment Programme UN-HABITAT ArendalNorway 2010
[2] F Hiouani H Messadia A Masmoudi D Madani and C TirldquoInfluence des eaux residuaires de tannerie sur le poids de lamatiere secherdquo in Proceedings of the Revue des Regions Arides-Actes du 4eme Meeting International - Numero Special - n∘35(32014) pp 1023ndash1319 2013
[3] B Jimenez and T Asano ldquoWater reclamation and reuse aroundthe Worldrdquo inWater Reuse An International Survey of CurrentPractice Issues and Needs pp 3ndash26 IWA Publishing LondonUK 2008
[4] Z S Burak ldquoWater wetlands and climate change build-ings linkages for their integrated managementrdquo MediterraneanRegional Roundtable pp 10-11 2002
[5] H Bouzerzour L Tamrabet and M Kribaa ldquoReponse de deuxgraminees fourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee
et de boue residuairerdquo in Proceedings Seminaire InternationalBiologie et Environnement 71 Univ Mentouri ConstantineAlgeria 2002
[6] L Tamrabet H Bouzerzour M Kribaa et and D Golea ldquoLedevenir des eaux usees traitees Reponse de deux gramineesfourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee traiteerdquo inProceedings of the Actes du Colloque international Oasis Eau etPopulation Universite Khider Biskra Algerie 2003
[7] M B Pescod Wastewater Treatment and Use in AgricultureFAO Irrigation and Drainage Rome Italy 1992
[8] A Coppola A Santini P Botti S Vacca V Comegna andG Severino ldquoMethodological approach for evaluating the re-sponse of soil hydrological behavior to irrigation with treatedmunicipal wastewaterrdquo Journal of Hydrology vol 292 no 1-4pp 114ndash134 2004
[9] I Nadav J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoWater repellency inducedby organic matter (OM) in treated wastewater (TWW) infiltra-tion ponds and irrigationrdquo Functions of Natural Organic Matterin Changing Environment pp 883ndash887 2013
[10] M B Bouche Lombriciens de France Ecologie et SystematiqueINRA Publication 72-2 Institut national de la rechercheagronomique Paris France 1972
[11] G Bachelier ldquoLes vers annelesrdquo in La faune du sol IDT n∘38pp 127ndash183 ORSTOM Paris France 1978
[12] K E Lee EarthwormsTheir Ecology and Relationship with Soilsand Land Use Academic Press Sydney Australia 1985
[13] P Lavelle C Lattaud D Trigo and I Barois ldquoMutualism andbiodiversity in soilsrdquo Plant and Soil vol 170 no 1 pp 23ndash331995
[14] T Kautz C Stumm R Kosters andU Kopke ldquoEffects of peren-nial fodder crops on soil structure in agricultural headlandsrdquoJournal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science vol 173 no 4 pp490ndash501 2010
[15] L A Schipper J C Williamson H A Kettles and T W SpeirldquoImpact of land-applied tertiary-treated effluent on soil bio-chemical propertiesrdquo Journal of Environmental Quality vol 25no 5 pp 1073ndash1077 1996
[16] A Lemtiri G Colinet T Alabi et al ldquoImpacts of earthwormson soil components and dynamics A reviewrdquo BiotechnologyAgronomy and Society and Environment vol 18 no 1 pp 121ndash133 2014
[17] K Bazri G Ouahrani Z Gheribi-Aoulmi et D J and D CosinldquoLa diversite des lombriciens dans lrsquoest algerien depuis la cotejusqursquoau desertrdquo EcologiaMediterranea vol 39 no 2 p 17 2013
[18] R Rougerie T Decaens L Deharveng et al ldquoDNAbarcodes forsoil animal taxonomyrdquoPesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira vol 44no 8 pp 789ndash802 2009
[19] T Decaens ldquoMacroecological patterns in soil communitiesrdquoGlobal Ecology and Biogeography vol 19 no 3 pp 287ndash3022010
[20] L Tamrabet M Kribaa B Hamidi S Alalata W Berkani andA Hamdoudi ldquoEvaluation de lrsquoaptitude des effluents drsquoOued ElGourzi (Batna Nord Est drsquoAlgerie) a lrsquoirrigation et leur impactsur le sol et la qualite des cultures maraıcheres et fourrageresrdquoin Actes du congres international lsquoEau et Dechets UniversiteMohamed I Oujda Maroco 2007
[21] Office National de lrsquoAssainissement (ONA) Situation actuelledes stations de traitement drsquoeaux usees en Algerie MRE AlgerAlgerie 7 p 2006
[22] S Maalem and N Ghanem ldquoLa caracterisation physico-chim-iques des eaux usees de Oued El Gourzirdquo In Actes de ColloqueNational de Biologie de lrsquouniversite de Batna 2016
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 15
[23] M Bournaud and C Amoros ldquoDes indicateurs biologiques auxdescripteurs de fonctionnement Quelques exemples dans lesysteme fluvialrdquo Bull Ecol vol 15 no 1 pp 57ndash66 1984
[24] H Marschner Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants vol 78Academic press New York NY USA 2nd edition 1995
[25] Z Alouni ldquoFlux de la charge parasitaire dans cinq stationsdrsquoepuration en Tunisierdquo Revue des sciences de lrsquoeau vol 6 no 4pp 453ndash462 1993
[26] A Mussy et and M Soutter Physique du sol ISBN 1st edition1991
[27] D BaizeGuide des analyses courantes en pedologie INRR 1988[28] P Duchaufour Pedologie I Pedogenese et classificationMasson
Paris France 1977[29] B Blakemore Cosmopolitan Earthworms An Eco-Taxonomic
Guide to the Peregrine Species of the World 2nd Ed 656 p2007
[30] M B Bouche ldquoStrategies Lombriciennes Soil organism ascomponents of ecosystemsrdquo in Proceedings of the 6th Int CollSoil Zool Ecol Bull U Lohm and T Persson Eds pp 122ndash132Stockholm Sweden 1977
[31] K Bazri ldquoEtude de la biodiversite des lombriciens et leursrelations avec les proprietes du sol dans differents etagesbioclimatiques dans lrsquoEst Algerienrdquo in These doctorat p 188Constantine University 2015
[32] J BlondelBiogeographie et ecologieMasson Paris France 1979[33] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 505 Dunod Paris France 1985[34] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 434 Dunod Paris France 1975[35] M A Mojid and G C L Wyseure ldquoImplications of municipal
wastewater irrigation on soil health froma study inBangladeshrdquoSoil Use and Management vol 29 no 3 pp 384ndash396 2013
[36] M A Gharaibeh T A Ghezzehei A A Albalasmeh andM ZAlghzawi ldquoAlteration of physical and chemical characteristicsof clayey soils by irrigationwith treatedwaste waterrdquoGeodermavol 276 pp 33ndash40 2016
[37] A Mojiri ldquoEffects of municipal wastewater on physical andchemical properties of saline soilrdquo Journal of Biodiversity andEnvironmental Sciences vol 5 pp 71ndash76 2011
[38] I Vogeler ldquoEffect of long-term wastewater application onphysical soil propertiesrdquoWater Air and Soil Pollution vol 196no 1-4 pp 385ndash392 2009
[39] J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoRheology of sodium-montmoril-lonite suspensions Effects of humic substances and pHrdquo SoilScience Society of America Journal vol 66 no 2 pp 406ndash4122002
[40] Z Wang A C Chang L Wu and D Crowley ldquoAssessingthe soil quality of long-term reclaimed wastewater-irrigatedcroplandrdquo Geoderma vol 114 no 3-4 pp 261ndash278 2003
[41] A Kunhikrishnan N S Bolan K Muller S Laurenson RNaidu and W-I Kim ldquoThe influence of wastewater irrigationon the transformation and bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)sin soilrdquo Advances in Agronomy vol 115 pp 215ndash297 2012
[42] B Kirkham Isposal of sludge on land Effects on soils plants andground water compost Sc pp 6-10 1974
[43] D E Miller andW D Kemper ldquoWater stability of aggregates oftwo soils as in fluenced by incorporation of alfalfardquoAgron J vol54 no 6 pp 494ndash496 1962
[44] S M F Rabbi B R Roy M M Miah M S Amin and TKhandakar ldquoSpatial variability of physical soil quality index ofan agricultural fieldrdquo Applied and Environmental Soil Sciencevol 2014 Article ID 379012 10 pages 2014
[45] G Bardhan D Russo D Goldstein and G J Levy ldquoChanges inthe hydraulic properties of a clay soil under long-term irrigationwith treated wastewaterrdquo Geoderma vol 264 pp 1ndash9 2016
[46] G Viviani and M Iovino ldquoWastewater reuse effects on soilhydraulic conductivityrdquo Journal of Irrigation and DrainageEngineering vol 130 no 6 pp 476ndash484 2004
[47] J L Morel A Guikart and H Sedgo ldquoEffet de lrsquoepandage desboues urbaines sur lrsquoetat physique des sols communsrdquo in XIcongres de lrsquoAISS Ed lA I S S XI congrΦs de Ed pp 12ndash19 Canada Mouton Canada 1978
[48] U Sahin O Anapali and S Ercisli ldquoPhysico-chemical andphysical properties of some substrates used in horticulturerdquoGartenbau wissen schaft 67 pp 55ndash60 2002
[49] M J Mohammad and N Mazahreh ldquoChanges in soil fertilityparameters in response to irrigation of forage crops withsecondary treated wastewaterrdquo Communications in Soil Scienceand Plant Analysis vol 34 no 9-10 pp 1281ndash1294 2003
[50] OVazquez-Montiel N JHoran andDDMara ldquoManagementof domestic wastewater for reuse in irrigationrdquo Water Scienceand Technology vol 33 no 10-11 pp 355ndash362 1996
[51] A R Hayes C F Mancino and I L Pepper ldquoIrrigation ofTurfgrass with Secondary Sewage Effluent I Soil and LeachateWater Qualityrdquo Agronomy Journal vol 82 no 5 p 939 1990
[52] K El Oumlouki R Moussadek A Zouahri H Dakak MChati and M El Amrani ldquoStudy of physic-chemical quality ofwater and soil in the region SoussMassa (Case perimeter Issen)Moroccordquo Journal of Materials and Environmental Science vol5 pp 2365ndash2374 2014
[53] M Galavi A Jalali M Ramroodi S R Mousavi andH GalavildquoEffects of Treated Municipal Wastewater on Soil ChemicalProperties and Heavy Metal Uptake by Sorghum (sorghumbicolor L)rdquo Journal of Agricultural Science vol 2 no 3 2010
[54] M A Gharaibeh N I Eltaif and B Al-Abdullah ldquoImpact offield application of treated wastewater on hydraulic propertiesof vertisolsrdquo Water Air and Soil Pollution vol 184 no 1-4 pp347ndash353 2007
[55] P Omodeo and G Martinucci Earthworms of MaghrebSelected Symposya andMonographsUZI 2MucchiModenapp 235-250 1987
[56] A Edwards and P J Bohlen Biology et Ecology of earthwormsvol 3 Springer Science amp Business Media 1996
[57] P Lavelle and A V Spain Soil Ecology Springer Science ampBusiness Media 2001
[58] P Lavelle GMelendez B Pashanasi andR Schaefer ldquoNitrogenmineralization and reorganization in casts of the geophagoustropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscoleci-dae)rdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 14 no 1 pp 49ndash53 1992
[59] R A Goncalves T V Gloaguen M V Folegatti P L Libardi YLucas andC RMontes ldquoPore size distribution in soils irrigatedwith sodic water and wastewaterrdquo Revista Brasileira de Cienciado Solo vol 34 no 3 pp 701ndash707 2010
[60] J Iqbal J A Thomasson J N Jenkins P R Owens and F DWhisler ldquoSpatial variability analysis of soil physical propertiesof alluvial soilsrdquo Soil Science Society of America Journal vol 69no 4 pp 1338ndash1350 2005
[61] U Sahin I Angin and F M Kiziloglu ldquoEffect of freezing andthawing processes on some physical properties of saline-sodicsoils mixed with sewage sludge or fly ashrdquo Soil and TillageResearch vol 99 no 2 pp 254ndash260 2008
[62] R Lal and M K Shukla Principles of Soil Physics MarcelDekker New York NY USA 2004
16 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[63] G S Francis and P M Fraser ldquoThe effects of three earthwormspecies on soil macroporosity and hydraulic conductivityrdquoApplied Soil Ecology vol 10 no 1-2 pp 11ndash19 1998
[64] Y Capowiez S Cadoux P Bouchant et al ldquoThe effect oftillage type and cropping system on earthworm communitiesmacroporosity and water infiltrationrdquo Soil and Tillage Researchvol 105 no 2 pp 209ndash216 2009
[65] N Bottinelli T Henry-des-Tureaux V Hallaire et al ldquoEarth-worms accelerate soil porosity turnover under watering condi-tionsrdquo Geoderma vol 156 no 1-2 pp 43ndash47 2010
[66] G Peres D Cluzeau P Curmi and V Hallaire ldquoEarthwormactivity and soil structure changes due to organic enrichmentsin vineyard systemsrdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 27 no 4pp 417ndash424 1998
[67] H Supersperg tilisation de la boue a lrsquoetat liquide sur les solslourds BERICHETE Der ATV 28p1977
[68] P S Minhas and J S Samra Wastewater use in peri-urbanagriculture impacts and opportunities Central Soil salinityResearch Institute Karnal 132001 India Tech Bull N562 p2004
[69] N Ababsa M Kribaa D Addad L Tamrabet and M BahaldquoDoes earthworms density really modify soilrsquos hydrodynamicproperties in irrigated systems with recycled waterrdquo Journal ofFundamental and Applied Sciences vol 8 no 2 p 627 2016
[70] H Molahoseini ldquoLong-term effects of municipal wastewaterirrigation on some properties of a semiarid region soil of IranrdquoInternational Journal of Science Engineering and Technologyvol 3 no 4 pp 444ndash449 2014
[71] G Callot and M Dupuis ldquoLe calcaire actif des sols et sa signifi-cationrdquo Science du sol vol 1 pp 17ndash27 1980
[72] H Ben Hassine T Aloui T Gallali T Bouzid S El amri andR Ben Hassen ldquoValuation quantitative et roles de la matiereorganique dans les sols cultives en zones subhumides et semi-arides mediterraneennes de la Tunisierdquo Agro-Solutions vol 17no 2 pp 4ndash17 2008
Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 201
International Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
Ap tAp rAp CAmOc
E tP an
0050
100150200250300
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alG
2)
Figure 9 Earthwormsrsquo specific abundance average in study sites
dominant species was not previously quoted by other authorsworking on Algerian lumbricoid fauna Possible explanationsinclude identification problems in this complex group ofspecies recent introduction and posterior expansion orolder introduction as suggested by the large geographicdistribution of the species In the semiarid regions the taxonA molleri is important it locates preferentially in wet points(notably at the edge of effluents) In mountains of semiaridregions the species O complanatus dominates As for Aprosea it is the only one observed in arid bioclimatic stage atpoints where there is sufficient water
Among the 7 species inventoried (Figure 10) the endo-geic species accounted for 62 (Ap rosea A molleri Pantipai and Ap caliginosa) epigeic species for 3 (E tetrae-dra) and anecic species for 22 (O complanatus and Aptrapezoides) the latter may be considered as anecic endogeicor endoanecic because it varies according to the strain
Bouche [10] separated earthworms into three categoriesbased on morphological and behavioral characteristicsEpigeic species are consumer litter living and feeding on orsurface soil Anecic earthworms live in permanent verticalburrows within the soil and may emerge to feed on surfacelayer endogeic species live in temporary horizontal burrowsand feed on the soil This species is geophagous since itgains its nutrients by eating the soil and the green morph ischaracterized by Bouche [10] as more epigeic
Endogeic abundance is much higher in S4 at edgesupstream of the El Gourzi effluent which is without culturalpractices (Figure 11) However S7 at edges of El Kochbi efflu-ent from natural waters without cultural practices is betterrepresented by an anecic population The epigeic populationis important only on S4 and S6 upstream of the wastewatereffluent Endogeic earthworms are a major component of soilfauna communities in most natural ecosystems of the humidtropics [58]
The Shannon diversity index of different study sites is thelowest at S7 corresponding to edges of Kochbi effluent It isthe highest at S4 characterized by wastewaters upstream of ElGourzi effluent and any cultural practices This result allows
62Abd endo
3Abd epig
35Abd anec
Individualsm2
Figure 10 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance average
Abd endoAbd epigAbd anec
00
100
200
300
400
500
600
S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9S1
Sites irrigated by wastewatersdownstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by wastewatersupstream of El Gourzi effluentSites irrigated by natural water ofEl Kochbi effluent
(Indi
vidu
alsG
2)
Figure 11 Earthwormsrsquo ecologic categories abundance in studiedsoil sites
us to deduce that wastewater loaded with organic matterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
33 ANOVA Statistical analysis with the Newman-Keulsmultiple comparison posttest at 119875 le 005 (Table 5) revealeda highly significant effect of different irrigation practices andcultural practices on soilrsquos physical parameters (Is Cr PK 005 K 03 K 06 and K 1) Water retention infiltrationand hydraulic conductivity are among the soilrsquos hydraulicproperties affected by soil porosity and pore size distribution[40 59] Spatial variability of soilrsquos physical properties withinor among agricultural fields is inherent in nature due togeologic and pedologic soil forming factors but some of thevariability may be induced by tillage and other managementpracticesThese factors interact with each other across spatialand temporal scales and are further modified locally byerosion and deposition processes [60] In the regions witha cool climate soils are exposed to freeze-thaw cyclesespecially in the spring period Aggregation and therefore soilstructure may be either positively or negatively affected byfreeze-thaw cycles [61] Therefore the impacts of wastewater
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S1S2
S3S4
S5
S6
S7
S8S9
IsCr
Da
PK (005)
K (03)
K (06)K (1)
MO
CE
Ctot
CactifPH
Abt tot
Abd adult
Abd juv
Abd Ap t
Abd Ap r
Abd Ap CAbd Am
Abd Oc
Abd E t
Abd P an
Bio tot
Abd endoAbd epig
Abd anec
IDS
Biplot (axes F1 and F2 6186)
minus5
minus4
minus3
minus2
minus1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
F2 (1
996
)
minus7 minus6 minus5 minus4 minus3 minus2 minus1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8minus8F1 (4190)
Figure 12 PCA graph of interaction between studied soil properties
irrigation on main soil properties in agricultural areas undercool climate conditions may be different
ANOVA reveals highlight at very highly significant effectof different irrigation practices and cultural practices onstudied chemical parameters of soil (MO CE CaCO3 totCaCO3 act and pH) Effectively the soilrsquos physical propertiesare associated with nutrient applied and environmental soilscience availability solute andpollutantmovementmicrobialactivity and soil organic matter stabilization [62]
On parameters of earthworm characteristics (Table 6)ANOVA revealed a significant effect of study sites differencesexcept for Ap caliginosa and E tetraedra tetraedra speciesrsquoabundance The significant effect of sites has been wellrevealed on endogeic and anecic abundance However thereis no significant effect of different irrigation and croppingpractices on epigeic abundance
34 PCA In order to study interaction between physico-chemical soil parameters and earthworm communities ofstudied sites Principal Component Analysis (PCA)was usedThis procedure makes it possible to group or distributethe sampling sites around principal axes in function of thephysicochemical and earthwormparameters thus facilitatingobservation of possible links between variables and placeswhere they are most represented (Figure 12)
Contribution of principal axes to total variation is 4190for axis 1 and 1996 for axis 2 which makes a total of6186 which is well acceptable On variables distributiongraph both axes 1 and 2 contrast two groups of variablesbiological parameters of earthworms (total biomass totalabundance and adult wormsrsquo abundance) and physical infil-tration parameters (infiltration at saturation K 005 kPa K03 kPa K 06 kPa and K 1 kPa) The first group of biologicalvariables is represented by S5 site characterized by irrigationswith wastewaters upstream of El Gourzi effluent and by cereal
crop (wheatalfalfa) The group of infiltration characteristicsis represented by S2 and S3 sites These sites are irrigatedwith downstream wastewaters and characterized by cerealand arboreal crops This group includes physicochemicalcharacteristics pH and EC Axis 1 is intensely correlatedwith structural stability index and water retention capacityIt divides the characteristics of earthworms studied into twosubgroups One of them is well represented by S4 and S6 withirrigation by wastewater at upstream This group includesOM and active CaCO3 as well as Shannon Biodiversity Index
Francis and Fraser [63] and Capowiez et al [64] reportedthat galleries excavated by terrestrial bioturbation activitycontributed to water transfers Also Bottinelli et al [65]and Peres et al [66] reported that earthworms contribute toimproving soil porosity Indeed the PCA groups the S4 S5and S6 sites with abundance and biomass of earthworms andsoil porosity For his part Supersperg [67] found that annualapplications of liquid sludge cause an increase in compactnessof a heavy soil by clogging and a decrease in pores volume
By this PCA it can be deduced that very high organiccharge of partially treated waters has negative repercus-sions on hydraulic conductivity if this load exceeds certaindoses because the PCA rallied the hydraulic conductivityat saturation by different pressures applied to S1 S2 and S3sites downstream of El Gourzi effluent as well as S8 andS9 sites irrigated with natural waters of El Kochbi effluentThis is contradictory to the results of Minhas and Samra[68] and Ababsa et al [69] who have worked on the effectof earthworms on hydraulic conductivity in soils irrigatedby wastewaters Meanwhile our findings concur with theworks of some authors Wang et al Viviani and Iovino andMolahoseini [40 46 70] who have to work on the same axisof research
This opposition of results can be explained bymore or lessrapid duration of organic matter evolution of wastewaters
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 13
This change in state of OM from pores plugging form tosoil stabilizing and structuring form is closely related to soilphysicochemical parameters (pH active CaCO3 and EC)Indeed Callot and Dupuis [71] assume the role of activeCaCO3 in protection and conservation of organic matterin carbonate soils Active CaCO3 thus acts as a protectoragainst biological degradation of organic matter of these soilsto make it a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition[72] All the soils being studied are carbonate soils theiractiveCaCO3should play an important role in humificationprocess by rapidly sequestering lignified organic compoundsas inherited or residual humus [28]
4 Conclusion
Our objective was to study interaction between earthwormcommunity characteristics and physicochemical propertiesof soils characterized by irrigation with wastewaters andwell waters in conditions of different topography (upstreamand downstream) and cropping practices (natural vegetationcereal cultivation and arboriculture) in two regions of Batnadepartment
The results show that the maximum water retentioncapacity is better explained by the fine texture of the soilat the effluent border The porosity and rates of infiltrationat saturation are higher in sites characterized by irrigationwith wastewaters downstream of effluent This was explainedby clogging of soil pores by suspended materials presentin the wastewaters However structural stability is better insite characterized by irrigation with wastewaters upstreamof El Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This is due on onehand to input of organic matter and calcium ions whichplay the role of cements and cause improvement of particlessoil aggregation according to Kirkham [42] On the otherhand at cereal crop that effect increases production ofcementing substances through microbial activity by fungaland actinomycete mycelia that provide substrates to stabilizesoil aggregates according to Miller and Kemper [43]
The pH levels are more alkaline in downstream sitesthan upstream sites of wastewater effluent The pH of soilsirrigated with wastewater decreases following oxidation oforganic compounds and nitrification of ammonium Electri-cal conductivity values are the lowest at sampling points ofsite characterized by irrigation with wastewater upstream ofEl Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This could probably bedue to the level of organic matter which acts as a buffer Theorganicmatter is highest at site upstreamof El Gourzi effluentborder characterized by natural vegetation which is certainlyexplained by an important load of organic matter from thewastewater upstream of the effluent and high clay content ofsoil may physically protect the OM from the decompositionThe average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is higher atKochbi natural water effluent border while it showed lowvalues at downstream sites However the active CaCO3rate is the lowest at downstream site of El Gourzi effluentborder But it presents the highest values at S6 site irrigatedby wastewaters upstream of effluentThis result appears to berelated to soil pH
The total abundance and biomass average of earthwormsat different sampling points of study sites are the lowestat site irrigated by natural waters of El Kochbi effluentwhich is cultivated by cereal On the contrary they are thehighest at upstream site irrigated by El Gourzi wastewaterand cereal growing This result explains that abundance andbiomass of earthworms are related to wastewaters irrigationEarthworms are muchmore present where irrigation water isheavily loaded with organic materials
Taxonomic study allowed classification of 7 species ofLumbricidae Percentage of overall specific abundance showsdominance of Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrec-todea rosea The result shows that wastewaters have intenseeffect on development of earthwormrsquos biodiversity SpeciesAp rosea was the most concerned by this improvementAmong the 7 species inventoried the endogeic earthwormsrepresent the majority Endogeic abundance is much higherin site at edges upstream of the El Gourzi effluent which iswithout cultural practices However site at edges of El Kochbieffluent from natural waters without cultural practices isbetter represented by an anecic population The Shannondiversity index of different study sites shows that wastewaterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
ANOVA revealed a highly significant effect of differentirrigation types as well as different cultivation practices onall physicochemical properties of soil and on endogeic andanecic population This was not the case for the epigeicpopulation
The PCA allowed characterizing two major groups Thefirst group is defined by sites that are explained by the hydro-dynamic infiltration These sites are irrigated by wastewaterthey are located downstream of effluent (lowest load oforganic matter) and characterized by cereal and arborealcrops This group includes other chemical characteristicspH and EC The second group formed by upstream sitesirrigated by wastewaters encompasses the characteristics ofearthworms explained by highest load of organic matter Itincludes chemical characteristics OM and active limestoneIt also includes the ShannonBiodiversity IndexWe explainedthis by active CaCO3 which acts as a protector againstbiological degradation of organicmatter of these soils tomakeit a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition
Overall the results of the PCA show us that the effectof wastewater is positive on improvement of abundance andbiomass and biodiversity of earthworms population On thecontrary the wastewaters are unfavorable for the infiltrationphysical parameters of water into soil This will surelyhave long-term repercussions on the physical and biologicalparameters of soil and will induce a new organization ofmacro- and mesoporosity due to improvement of biologicalparameters of earthworms
Finally we propose complementing these results in thefield and in the laboratory to see the evolution of infiltrationparameters of soil water in parallel with the dynamics ofearthworm community in soil irrigated by wastewaters Thebiodiversity of earthworms may induce an improvement ininfiltration and reduce the problems of clogging pores and
14 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
solve other problems that wastewaters can introduce intosoils
Abbreviations
Cr Water retention capacityIs Structural instability indexDa Bulk density119875 Porosity119870 (h) sat Saturated hydraulic conductivity at
potential differenceCE Electric conductivityMO Organic matterTEM Trace Element MetalsMES Suspended matterBOD5 5-Day biological oxygen demandCOD Chemical oxygen demandAbd AbundanceJuv JuvenileAdt AdultBiom BiomassEndo EndogeicEpig EpigeicAnec AnecicAp t Aporrectodea trapezoidesAp r Aporrectodea roseaAp c Aporrectodea caliginosaAm Allolobophora molleriP ant Proctodrilus antipai antipaiOc Octodrilus complanatusE t Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedraSDI Shannon Biodiversity IndexDj Djebel or mountainWed effluent
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interestregarding the publication of this paper
References
[1] E Corcoran C Nellemann E Baker R Bos D Osborn andHSavelli ick Water The central role of wastewater managementin sustainable development A rapid response assessment UnitedNations Environment Programme UN-HABITAT ArendalNorway 2010
[2] F Hiouani H Messadia A Masmoudi D Madani and C TirldquoInfluence des eaux residuaires de tannerie sur le poids de lamatiere secherdquo in Proceedings of the Revue des Regions Arides-Actes du 4eme Meeting International - Numero Special - n∘35(32014) pp 1023ndash1319 2013
[3] B Jimenez and T Asano ldquoWater reclamation and reuse aroundthe Worldrdquo inWater Reuse An International Survey of CurrentPractice Issues and Needs pp 3ndash26 IWA Publishing LondonUK 2008
[4] Z S Burak ldquoWater wetlands and climate change build-ings linkages for their integrated managementrdquo MediterraneanRegional Roundtable pp 10-11 2002
[5] H Bouzerzour L Tamrabet and M Kribaa ldquoReponse de deuxgraminees fourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee
et de boue residuairerdquo in Proceedings Seminaire InternationalBiologie et Environnement 71 Univ Mentouri ConstantineAlgeria 2002
[6] L Tamrabet H Bouzerzour M Kribaa et and D Golea ldquoLedevenir des eaux usees traitees Reponse de deux gramineesfourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee traiteerdquo inProceedings of the Actes du Colloque international Oasis Eau etPopulation Universite Khider Biskra Algerie 2003
[7] M B Pescod Wastewater Treatment and Use in AgricultureFAO Irrigation and Drainage Rome Italy 1992
[8] A Coppola A Santini P Botti S Vacca V Comegna andG Severino ldquoMethodological approach for evaluating the re-sponse of soil hydrological behavior to irrigation with treatedmunicipal wastewaterrdquo Journal of Hydrology vol 292 no 1-4pp 114ndash134 2004
[9] I Nadav J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoWater repellency inducedby organic matter (OM) in treated wastewater (TWW) infiltra-tion ponds and irrigationrdquo Functions of Natural Organic Matterin Changing Environment pp 883ndash887 2013
[10] M B Bouche Lombriciens de France Ecologie et SystematiqueINRA Publication 72-2 Institut national de la rechercheagronomique Paris France 1972
[11] G Bachelier ldquoLes vers annelesrdquo in La faune du sol IDT n∘38pp 127ndash183 ORSTOM Paris France 1978
[12] K E Lee EarthwormsTheir Ecology and Relationship with Soilsand Land Use Academic Press Sydney Australia 1985
[13] P Lavelle C Lattaud D Trigo and I Barois ldquoMutualism andbiodiversity in soilsrdquo Plant and Soil vol 170 no 1 pp 23ndash331995
[14] T Kautz C Stumm R Kosters andU Kopke ldquoEffects of peren-nial fodder crops on soil structure in agricultural headlandsrdquoJournal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science vol 173 no 4 pp490ndash501 2010
[15] L A Schipper J C Williamson H A Kettles and T W SpeirldquoImpact of land-applied tertiary-treated effluent on soil bio-chemical propertiesrdquo Journal of Environmental Quality vol 25no 5 pp 1073ndash1077 1996
[16] A Lemtiri G Colinet T Alabi et al ldquoImpacts of earthwormson soil components and dynamics A reviewrdquo BiotechnologyAgronomy and Society and Environment vol 18 no 1 pp 121ndash133 2014
[17] K Bazri G Ouahrani Z Gheribi-Aoulmi et D J and D CosinldquoLa diversite des lombriciens dans lrsquoest algerien depuis la cotejusqursquoau desertrdquo EcologiaMediterranea vol 39 no 2 p 17 2013
[18] R Rougerie T Decaens L Deharveng et al ldquoDNAbarcodes forsoil animal taxonomyrdquoPesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira vol 44no 8 pp 789ndash802 2009
[19] T Decaens ldquoMacroecological patterns in soil communitiesrdquoGlobal Ecology and Biogeography vol 19 no 3 pp 287ndash3022010
[20] L Tamrabet M Kribaa B Hamidi S Alalata W Berkani andA Hamdoudi ldquoEvaluation de lrsquoaptitude des effluents drsquoOued ElGourzi (Batna Nord Est drsquoAlgerie) a lrsquoirrigation et leur impactsur le sol et la qualite des cultures maraıcheres et fourrageresrdquoin Actes du congres international lsquoEau et Dechets UniversiteMohamed I Oujda Maroco 2007
[21] Office National de lrsquoAssainissement (ONA) Situation actuelledes stations de traitement drsquoeaux usees en Algerie MRE AlgerAlgerie 7 p 2006
[22] S Maalem and N Ghanem ldquoLa caracterisation physico-chim-iques des eaux usees de Oued El Gourzirdquo In Actes de ColloqueNational de Biologie de lrsquouniversite de Batna 2016
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 15
[23] M Bournaud and C Amoros ldquoDes indicateurs biologiques auxdescripteurs de fonctionnement Quelques exemples dans lesysteme fluvialrdquo Bull Ecol vol 15 no 1 pp 57ndash66 1984
[24] H Marschner Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants vol 78Academic press New York NY USA 2nd edition 1995
[25] Z Alouni ldquoFlux de la charge parasitaire dans cinq stationsdrsquoepuration en Tunisierdquo Revue des sciences de lrsquoeau vol 6 no 4pp 453ndash462 1993
[26] A Mussy et and M Soutter Physique du sol ISBN 1st edition1991
[27] D BaizeGuide des analyses courantes en pedologie INRR 1988[28] P Duchaufour Pedologie I Pedogenese et classificationMasson
Paris France 1977[29] B Blakemore Cosmopolitan Earthworms An Eco-Taxonomic
Guide to the Peregrine Species of the World 2nd Ed 656 p2007
[30] M B Bouche ldquoStrategies Lombriciennes Soil organism ascomponents of ecosystemsrdquo in Proceedings of the 6th Int CollSoil Zool Ecol Bull U Lohm and T Persson Eds pp 122ndash132Stockholm Sweden 1977
[31] K Bazri ldquoEtude de la biodiversite des lombriciens et leursrelations avec les proprietes du sol dans differents etagesbioclimatiques dans lrsquoEst Algerienrdquo in These doctorat p 188Constantine University 2015
[32] J BlondelBiogeographie et ecologieMasson Paris France 1979[33] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 505 Dunod Paris France 1985[34] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 434 Dunod Paris France 1975[35] M A Mojid and G C L Wyseure ldquoImplications of municipal
wastewater irrigation on soil health froma study inBangladeshrdquoSoil Use and Management vol 29 no 3 pp 384ndash396 2013
[36] M A Gharaibeh T A Ghezzehei A A Albalasmeh andM ZAlghzawi ldquoAlteration of physical and chemical characteristicsof clayey soils by irrigationwith treatedwaste waterrdquoGeodermavol 276 pp 33ndash40 2016
[37] A Mojiri ldquoEffects of municipal wastewater on physical andchemical properties of saline soilrdquo Journal of Biodiversity andEnvironmental Sciences vol 5 pp 71ndash76 2011
[38] I Vogeler ldquoEffect of long-term wastewater application onphysical soil propertiesrdquoWater Air and Soil Pollution vol 196no 1-4 pp 385ndash392 2009
[39] J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoRheology of sodium-montmoril-lonite suspensions Effects of humic substances and pHrdquo SoilScience Society of America Journal vol 66 no 2 pp 406ndash4122002
[40] Z Wang A C Chang L Wu and D Crowley ldquoAssessingthe soil quality of long-term reclaimed wastewater-irrigatedcroplandrdquo Geoderma vol 114 no 3-4 pp 261ndash278 2003
[41] A Kunhikrishnan N S Bolan K Muller S Laurenson RNaidu and W-I Kim ldquoThe influence of wastewater irrigationon the transformation and bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)sin soilrdquo Advances in Agronomy vol 115 pp 215ndash297 2012
[42] B Kirkham Isposal of sludge on land Effects on soils plants andground water compost Sc pp 6-10 1974
[43] D E Miller andW D Kemper ldquoWater stability of aggregates oftwo soils as in fluenced by incorporation of alfalfardquoAgron J vol54 no 6 pp 494ndash496 1962
[44] S M F Rabbi B R Roy M M Miah M S Amin and TKhandakar ldquoSpatial variability of physical soil quality index ofan agricultural fieldrdquo Applied and Environmental Soil Sciencevol 2014 Article ID 379012 10 pages 2014
[45] G Bardhan D Russo D Goldstein and G J Levy ldquoChanges inthe hydraulic properties of a clay soil under long-term irrigationwith treated wastewaterrdquo Geoderma vol 264 pp 1ndash9 2016
[46] G Viviani and M Iovino ldquoWastewater reuse effects on soilhydraulic conductivityrdquo Journal of Irrigation and DrainageEngineering vol 130 no 6 pp 476ndash484 2004
[47] J L Morel A Guikart and H Sedgo ldquoEffet de lrsquoepandage desboues urbaines sur lrsquoetat physique des sols communsrdquo in XIcongres de lrsquoAISS Ed lA I S S XI congrΦs de Ed pp 12ndash19 Canada Mouton Canada 1978
[48] U Sahin O Anapali and S Ercisli ldquoPhysico-chemical andphysical properties of some substrates used in horticulturerdquoGartenbau wissen schaft 67 pp 55ndash60 2002
[49] M J Mohammad and N Mazahreh ldquoChanges in soil fertilityparameters in response to irrigation of forage crops withsecondary treated wastewaterrdquo Communications in Soil Scienceand Plant Analysis vol 34 no 9-10 pp 1281ndash1294 2003
[50] OVazquez-Montiel N JHoran andDDMara ldquoManagementof domestic wastewater for reuse in irrigationrdquo Water Scienceand Technology vol 33 no 10-11 pp 355ndash362 1996
[51] A R Hayes C F Mancino and I L Pepper ldquoIrrigation ofTurfgrass with Secondary Sewage Effluent I Soil and LeachateWater Qualityrdquo Agronomy Journal vol 82 no 5 p 939 1990
[52] K El Oumlouki R Moussadek A Zouahri H Dakak MChati and M El Amrani ldquoStudy of physic-chemical quality ofwater and soil in the region SoussMassa (Case perimeter Issen)Moroccordquo Journal of Materials and Environmental Science vol5 pp 2365ndash2374 2014
[53] M Galavi A Jalali M Ramroodi S R Mousavi andH GalavildquoEffects of Treated Municipal Wastewater on Soil ChemicalProperties and Heavy Metal Uptake by Sorghum (sorghumbicolor L)rdquo Journal of Agricultural Science vol 2 no 3 2010
[54] M A Gharaibeh N I Eltaif and B Al-Abdullah ldquoImpact offield application of treated wastewater on hydraulic propertiesof vertisolsrdquo Water Air and Soil Pollution vol 184 no 1-4 pp347ndash353 2007
[55] P Omodeo and G Martinucci Earthworms of MaghrebSelected Symposya andMonographsUZI 2MucchiModenapp 235-250 1987
[56] A Edwards and P J Bohlen Biology et Ecology of earthwormsvol 3 Springer Science amp Business Media 1996
[57] P Lavelle and A V Spain Soil Ecology Springer Science ampBusiness Media 2001
[58] P Lavelle GMelendez B Pashanasi andR Schaefer ldquoNitrogenmineralization and reorganization in casts of the geophagoustropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscoleci-dae)rdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 14 no 1 pp 49ndash53 1992
[59] R A Goncalves T V Gloaguen M V Folegatti P L Libardi YLucas andC RMontes ldquoPore size distribution in soils irrigatedwith sodic water and wastewaterrdquo Revista Brasileira de Cienciado Solo vol 34 no 3 pp 701ndash707 2010
[60] J Iqbal J A Thomasson J N Jenkins P R Owens and F DWhisler ldquoSpatial variability analysis of soil physical propertiesof alluvial soilsrdquo Soil Science Society of America Journal vol 69no 4 pp 1338ndash1350 2005
[61] U Sahin I Angin and F M Kiziloglu ldquoEffect of freezing andthawing processes on some physical properties of saline-sodicsoils mixed with sewage sludge or fly ashrdquo Soil and TillageResearch vol 99 no 2 pp 254ndash260 2008
[62] R Lal and M K Shukla Principles of Soil Physics MarcelDekker New York NY USA 2004
16 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[63] G S Francis and P M Fraser ldquoThe effects of three earthwormspecies on soil macroporosity and hydraulic conductivityrdquoApplied Soil Ecology vol 10 no 1-2 pp 11ndash19 1998
[64] Y Capowiez S Cadoux P Bouchant et al ldquoThe effect oftillage type and cropping system on earthworm communitiesmacroporosity and water infiltrationrdquo Soil and Tillage Researchvol 105 no 2 pp 209ndash216 2009
[65] N Bottinelli T Henry-des-Tureaux V Hallaire et al ldquoEarth-worms accelerate soil porosity turnover under watering condi-tionsrdquo Geoderma vol 156 no 1-2 pp 43ndash47 2010
[66] G Peres D Cluzeau P Curmi and V Hallaire ldquoEarthwormactivity and soil structure changes due to organic enrichmentsin vineyard systemsrdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 27 no 4pp 417ndash424 1998
[67] H Supersperg tilisation de la boue a lrsquoetat liquide sur les solslourds BERICHETE Der ATV 28p1977
[68] P S Minhas and J S Samra Wastewater use in peri-urbanagriculture impacts and opportunities Central Soil salinityResearch Institute Karnal 132001 India Tech Bull N562 p2004
[69] N Ababsa M Kribaa D Addad L Tamrabet and M BahaldquoDoes earthworms density really modify soilrsquos hydrodynamicproperties in irrigated systems with recycled waterrdquo Journal ofFundamental and Applied Sciences vol 8 no 2 p 627 2016
[70] H Molahoseini ldquoLong-term effects of municipal wastewaterirrigation on some properties of a semiarid region soil of IranrdquoInternational Journal of Science Engineering and Technologyvol 3 no 4 pp 444ndash449 2014
[71] G Callot and M Dupuis ldquoLe calcaire actif des sols et sa signifi-cationrdquo Science du sol vol 1 pp 17ndash27 1980
[72] H Ben Hassine T Aloui T Gallali T Bouzid S El amri andR Ben Hassen ldquoValuation quantitative et roles de la matiereorganique dans les sols cultives en zones subhumides et semi-arides mediterraneennes de la Tunisierdquo Agro-Solutions vol 17no 2 pp 4ndash17 2008
Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 201
International Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
S1S2
S3S4
S5
S6
S7
S8S9
IsCr
Da
PK (005)
K (03)
K (06)K (1)
MO
CE
Ctot
CactifPH
Abt tot
Abd adult
Abd juv
Abd Ap t
Abd Ap r
Abd Ap CAbd Am
Abd Oc
Abd E t
Abd P an
Bio tot
Abd endoAbd epig
Abd anec
IDS
Biplot (axes F1 and F2 6186)
minus5
minus4
minus3
minus2
minus1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
F2 (1
996
)
minus7 minus6 minus5 minus4 minus3 minus2 minus1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8minus8F1 (4190)
Figure 12 PCA graph of interaction between studied soil properties
irrigation on main soil properties in agricultural areas undercool climate conditions may be different
ANOVA reveals highlight at very highly significant effectof different irrigation practices and cultural practices onstudied chemical parameters of soil (MO CE CaCO3 totCaCO3 act and pH) Effectively the soilrsquos physical propertiesare associated with nutrient applied and environmental soilscience availability solute andpollutantmovementmicrobialactivity and soil organic matter stabilization [62]
On parameters of earthworm characteristics (Table 6)ANOVA revealed a significant effect of study sites differencesexcept for Ap caliginosa and E tetraedra tetraedra speciesrsquoabundance The significant effect of sites has been wellrevealed on endogeic and anecic abundance However thereis no significant effect of different irrigation and croppingpractices on epigeic abundance
34 PCA In order to study interaction between physico-chemical soil parameters and earthworm communities ofstudied sites Principal Component Analysis (PCA)was usedThis procedure makes it possible to group or distributethe sampling sites around principal axes in function of thephysicochemical and earthwormparameters thus facilitatingobservation of possible links between variables and placeswhere they are most represented (Figure 12)
Contribution of principal axes to total variation is 4190for axis 1 and 1996 for axis 2 which makes a total of6186 which is well acceptable On variables distributiongraph both axes 1 and 2 contrast two groups of variablesbiological parameters of earthworms (total biomass totalabundance and adult wormsrsquo abundance) and physical infil-tration parameters (infiltration at saturation K 005 kPa K03 kPa K 06 kPa and K 1 kPa) The first group of biologicalvariables is represented by S5 site characterized by irrigationswith wastewaters upstream of El Gourzi effluent and by cereal
crop (wheatalfalfa) The group of infiltration characteristicsis represented by S2 and S3 sites These sites are irrigatedwith downstream wastewaters and characterized by cerealand arboreal crops This group includes physicochemicalcharacteristics pH and EC Axis 1 is intensely correlatedwith structural stability index and water retention capacityIt divides the characteristics of earthworms studied into twosubgroups One of them is well represented by S4 and S6 withirrigation by wastewater at upstream This group includesOM and active CaCO3 as well as Shannon Biodiversity Index
Francis and Fraser [63] and Capowiez et al [64] reportedthat galleries excavated by terrestrial bioturbation activitycontributed to water transfers Also Bottinelli et al [65]and Peres et al [66] reported that earthworms contribute toimproving soil porosity Indeed the PCA groups the S4 S5and S6 sites with abundance and biomass of earthworms andsoil porosity For his part Supersperg [67] found that annualapplications of liquid sludge cause an increase in compactnessof a heavy soil by clogging and a decrease in pores volume
By this PCA it can be deduced that very high organiccharge of partially treated waters has negative repercus-sions on hydraulic conductivity if this load exceeds certaindoses because the PCA rallied the hydraulic conductivityat saturation by different pressures applied to S1 S2 and S3sites downstream of El Gourzi effluent as well as S8 andS9 sites irrigated with natural waters of El Kochbi effluentThis is contradictory to the results of Minhas and Samra[68] and Ababsa et al [69] who have worked on the effectof earthworms on hydraulic conductivity in soils irrigatedby wastewaters Meanwhile our findings concur with theworks of some authors Wang et al Viviani and Iovino andMolahoseini [40 46 70] who have to work on the same axisof research
This opposition of results can be explained bymore or lessrapid duration of organic matter evolution of wastewaters
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 13
This change in state of OM from pores plugging form tosoil stabilizing and structuring form is closely related to soilphysicochemical parameters (pH active CaCO3 and EC)Indeed Callot and Dupuis [71] assume the role of activeCaCO3 in protection and conservation of organic matterin carbonate soils Active CaCO3 thus acts as a protectoragainst biological degradation of organic matter of these soilsto make it a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition[72] All the soils being studied are carbonate soils theiractiveCaCO3should play an important role in humificationprocess by rapidly sequestering lignified organic compoundsas inherited or residual humus [28]
4 Conclusion
Our objective was to study interaction between earthwormcommunity characteristics and physicochemical propertiesof soils characterized by irrigation with wastewaters andwell waters in conditions of different topography (upstreamand downstream) and cropping practices (natural vegetationcereal cultivation and arboriculture) in two regions of Batnadepartment
The results show that the maximum water retentioncapacity is better explained by the fine texture of the soilat the effluent border The porosity and rates of infiltrationat saturation are higher in sites characterized by irrigationwith wastewaters downstream of effluent This was explainedby clogging of soil pores by suspended materials presentin the wastewaters However structural stability is better insite characterized by irrigation with wastewaters upstreamof El Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This is due on onehand to input of organic matter and calcium ions whichplay the role of cements and cause improvement of particlessoil aggregation according to Kirkham [42] On the otherhand at cereal crop that effect increases production ofcementing substances through microbial activity by fungaland actinomycete mycelia that provide substrates to stabilizesoil aggregates according to Miller and Kemper [43]
The pH levels are more alkaline in downstream sitesthan upstream sites of wastewater effluent The pH of soilsirrigated with wastewater decreases following oxidation oforganic compounds and nitrification of ammonium Electri-cal conductivity values are the lowest at sampling points ofsite characterized by irrigation with wastewater upstream ofEl Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This could probably bedue to the level of organic matter which acts as a buffer Theorganicmatter is highest at site upstreamof El Gourzi effluentborder characterized by natural vegetation which is certainlyexplained by an important load of organic matter from thewastewater upstream of the effluent and high clay content ofsoil may physically protect the OM from the decompositionThe average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is higher atKochbi natural water effluent border while it showed lowvalues at downstream sites However the active CaCO3rate is the lowest at downstream site of El Gourzi effluentborder But it presents the highest values at S6 site irrigatedby wastewaters upstream of effluentThis result appears to berelated to soil pH
The total abundance and biomass average of earthwormsat different sampling points of study sites are the lowestat site irrigated by natural waters of El Kochbi effluentwhich is cultivated by cereal On the contrary they are thehighest at upstream site irrigated by El Gourzi wastewaterand cereal growing This result explains that abundance andbiomass of earthworms are related to wastewaters irrigationEarthworms are muchmore present where irrigation water isheavily loaded with organic materials
Taxonomic study allowed classification of 7 species ofLumbricidae Percentage of overall specific abundance showsdominance of Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrec-todea rosea The result shows that wastewaters have intenseeffect on development of earthwormrsquos biodiversity SpeciesAp rosea was the most concerned by this improvementAmong the 7 species inventoried the endogeic earthwormsrepresent the majority Endogeic abundance is much higherin site at edges upstream of the El Gourzi effluent which iswithout cultural practices However site at edges of El Kochbieffluent from natural waters without cultural practices isbetter represented by an anecic population The Shannondiversity index of different study sites shows that wastewaterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
ANOVA revealed a highly significant effect of differentirrigation types as well as different cultivation practices onall physicochemical properties of soil and on endogeic andanecic population This was not the case for the epigeicpopulation
The PCA allowed characterizing two major groups Thefirst group is defined by sites that are explained by the hydro-dynamic infiltration These sites are irrigated by wastewaterthey are located downstream of effluent (lowest load oforganic matter) and characterized by cereal and arborealcrops This group includes other chemical characteristicspH and EC The second group formed by upstream sitesirrigated by wastewaters encompasses the characteristics ofearthworms explained by highest load of organic matter Itincludes chemical characteristics OM and active limestoneIt also includes the ShannonBiodiversity IndexWe explainedthis by active CaCO3 which acts as a protector againstbiological degradation of organicmatter of these soils tomakeit a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition
Overall the results of the PCA show us that the effectof wastewater is positive on improvement of abundance andbiomass and biodiversity of earthworms population On thecontrary the wastewaters are unfavorable for the infiltrationphysical parameters of water into soil This will surelyhave long-term repercussions on the physical and biologicalparameters of soil and will induce a new organization ofmacro- and mesoporosity due to improvement of biologicalparameters of earthworms
Finally we propose complementing these results in thefield and in the laboratory to see the evolution of infiltrationparameters of soil water in parallel with the dynamics ofearthworm community in soil irrigated by wastewaters Thebiodiversity of earthworms may induce an improvement ininfiltration and reduce the problems of clogging pores and
14 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
solve other problems that wastewaters can introduce intosoils
Abbreviations
Cr Water retention capacityIs Structural instability indexDa Bulk density119875 Porosity119870 (h) sat Saturated hydraulic conductivity at
potential differenceCE Electric conductivityMO Organic matterTEM Trace Element MetalsMES Suspended matterBOD5 5-Day biological oxygen demandCOD Chemical oxygen demandAbd AbundanceJuv JuvenileAdt AdultBiom BiomassEndo EndogeicEpig EpigeicAnec AnecicAp t Aporrectodea trapezoidesAp r Aporrectodea roseaAp c Aporrectodea caliginosaAm Allolobophora molleriP ant Proctodrilus antipai antipaiOc Octodrilus complanatusE t Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedraSDI Shannon Biodiversity IndexDj Djebel or mountainWed effluent
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interestregarding the publication of this paper
References
[1] E Corcoran C Nellemann E Baker R Bos D Osborn andHSavelli ick Water The central role of wastewater managementin sustainable development A rapid response assessment UnitedNations Environment Programme UN-HABITAT ArendalNorway 2010
[2] F Hiouani H Messadia A Masmoudi D Madani and C TirldquoInfluence des eaux residuaires de tannerie sur le poids de lamatiere secherdquo in Proceedings of the Revue des Regions Arides-Actes du 4eme Meeting International - Numero Special - n∘35(32014) pp 1023ndash1319 2013
[3] B Jimenez and T Asano ldquoWater reclamation and reuse aroundthe Worldrdquo inWater Reuse An International Survey of CurrentPractice Issues and Needs pp 3ndash26 IWA Publishing LondonUK 2008
[4] Z S Burak ldquoWater wetlands and climate change build-ings linkages for their integrated managementrdquo MediterraneanRegional Roundtable pp 10-11 2002
[5] H Bouzerzour L Tamrabet and M Kribaa ldquoReponse de deuxgraminees fourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee
et de boue residuairerdquo in Proceedings Seminaire InternationalBiologie et Environnement 71 Univ Mentouri ConstantineAlgeria 2002
[6] L Tamrabet H Bouzerzour M Kribaa et and D Golea ldquoLedevenir des eaux usees traitees Reponse de deux gramineesfourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee traiteerdquo inProceedings of the Actes du Colloque international Oasis Eau etPopulation Universite Khider Biskra Algerie 2003
[7] M B Pescod Wastewater Treatment and Use in AgricultureFAO Irrigation and Drainage Rome Italy 1992
[8] A Coppola A Santini P Botti S Vacca V Comegna andG Severino ldquoMethodological approach for evaluating the re-sponse of soil hydrological behavior to irrigation with treatedmunicipal wastewaterrdquo Journal of Hydrology vol 292 no 1-4pp 114ndash134 2004
[9] I Nadav J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoWater repellency inducedby organic matter (OM) in treated wastewater (TWW) infiltra-tion ponds and irrigationrdquo Functions of Natural Organic Matterin Changing Environment pp 883ndash887 2013
[10] M B Bouche Lombriciens de France Ecologie et SystematiqueINRA Publication 72-2 Institut national de la rechercheagronomique Paris France 1972
[11] G Bachelier ldquoLes vers annelesrdquo in La faune du sol IDT n∘38pp 127ndash183 ORSTOM Paris France 1978
[12] K E Lee EarthwormsTheir Ecology and Relationship with Soilsand Land Use Academic Press Sydney Australia 1985
[13] P Lavelle C Lattaud D Trigo and I Barois ldquoMutualism andbiodiversity in soilsrdquo Plant and Soil vol 170 no 1 pp 23ndash331995
[14] T Kautz C Stumm R Kosters andU Kopke ldquoEffects of peren-nial fodder crops on soil structure in agricultural headlandsrdquoJournal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science vol 173 no 4 pp490ndash501 2010
[15] L A Schipper J C Williamson H A Kettles and T W SpeirldquoImpact of land-applied tertiary-treated effluent on soil bio-chemical propertiesrdquo Journal of Environmental Quality vol 25no 5 pp 1073ndash1077 1996
[16] A Lemtiri G Colinet T Alabi et al ldquoImpacts of earthwormson soil components and dynamics A reviewrdquo BiotechnologyAgronomy and Society and Environment vol 18 no 1 pp 121ndash133 2014
[17] K Bazri G Ouahrani Z Gheribi-Aoulmi et D J and D CosinldquoLa diversite des lombriciens dans lrsquoest algerien depuis la cotejusqursquoau desertrdquo EcologiaMediterranea vol 39 no 2 p 17 2013
[18] R Rougerie T Decaens L Deharveng et al ldquoDNAbarcodes forsoil animal taxonomyrdquoPesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira vol 44no 8 pp 789ndash802 2009
[19] T Decaens ldquoMacroecological patterns in soil communitiesrdquoGlobal Ecology and Biogeography vol 19 no 3 pp 287ndash3022010
[20] L Tamrabet M Kribaa B Hamidi S Alalata W Berkani andA Hamdoudi ldquoEvaluation de lrsquoaptitude des effluents drsquoOued ElGourzi (Batna Nord Est drsquoAlgerie) a lrsquoirrigation et leur impactsur le sol et la qualite des cultures maraıcheres et fourrageresrdquoin Actes du congres international lsquoEau et Dechets UniversiteMohamed I Oujda Maroco 2007
[21] Office National de lrsquoAssainissement (ONA) Situation actuelledes stations de traitement drsquoeaux usees en Algerie MRE AlgerAlgerie 7 p 2006
[22] S Maalem and N Ghanem ldquoLa caracterisation physico-chim-iques des eaux usees de Oued El Gourzirdquo In Actes de ColloqueNational de Biologie de lrsquouniversite de Batna 2016
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 15
[23] M Bournaud and C Amoros ldquoDes indicateurs biologiques auxdescripteurs de fonctionnement Quelques exemples dans lesysteme fluvialrdquo Bull Ecol vol 15 no 1 pp 57ndash66 1984
[24] H Marschner Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants vol 78Academic press New York NY USA 2nd edition 1995
[25] Z Alouni ldquoFlux de la charge parasitaire dans cinq stationsdrsquoepuration en Tunisierdquo Revue des sciences de lrsquoeau vol 6 no 4pp 453ndash462 1993
[26] A Mussy et and M Soutter Physique du sol ISBN 1st edition1991
[27] D BaizeGuide des analyses courantes en pedologie INRR 1988[28] P Duchaufour Pedologie I Pedogenese et classificationMasson
Paris France 1977[29] B Blakemore Cosmopolitan Earthworms An Eco-Taxonomic
Guide to the Peregrine Species of the World 2nd Ed 656 p2007
[30] M B Bouche ldquoStrategies Lombriciennes Soil organism ascomponents of ecosystemsrdquo in Proceedings of the 6th Int CollSoil Zool Ecol Bull U Lohm and T Persson Eds pp 122ndash132Stockholm Sweden 1977
[31] K Bazri ldquoEtude de la biodiversite des lombriciens et leursrelations avec les proprietes du sol dans differents etagesbioclimatiques dans lrsquoEst Algerienrdquo in These doctorat p 188Constantine University 2015
[32] J BlondelBiogeographie et ecologieMasson Paris France 1979[33] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 505 Dunod Paris France 1985[34] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 434 Dunod Paris France 1975[35] M A Mojid and G C L Wyseure ldquoImplications of municipal
wastewater irrigation on soil health froma study inBangladeshrdquoSoil Use and Management vol 29 no 3 pp 384ndash396 2013
[36] M A Gharaibeh T A Ghezzehei A A Albalasmeh andM ZAlghzawi ldquoAlteration of physical and chemical characteristicsof clayey soils by irrigationwith treatedwaste waterrdquoGeodermavol 276 pp 33ndash40 2016
[37] A Mojiri ldquoEffects of municipal wastewater on physical andchemical properties of saline soilrdquo Journal of Biodiversity andEnvironmental Sciences vol 5 pp 71ndash76 2011
[38] I Vogeler ldquoEffect of long-term wastewater application onphysical soil propertiesrdquoWater Air and Soil Pollution vol 196no 1-4 pp 385ndash392 2009
[39] J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoRheology of sodium-montmoril-lonite suspensions Effects of humic substances and pHrdquo SoilScience Society of America Journal vol 66 no 2 pp 406ndash4122002
[40] Z Wang A C Chang L Wu and D Crowley ldquoAssessingthe soil quality of long-term reclaimed wastewater-irrigatedcroplandrdquo Geoderma vol 114 no 3-4 pp 261ndash278 2003
[41] A Kunhikrishnan N S Bolan K Muller S Laurenson RNaidu and W-I Kim ldquoThe influence of wastewater irrigationon the transformation and bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)sin soilrdquo Advances in Agronomy vol 115 pp 215ndash297 2012
[42] B Kirkham Isposal of sludge on land Effects on soils plants andground water compost Sc pp 6-10 1974
[43] D E Miller andW D Kemper ldquoWater stability of aggregates oftwo soils as in fluenced by incorporation of alfalfardquoAgron J vol54 no 6 pp 494ndash496 1962
[44] S M F Rabbi B R Roy M M Miah M S Amin and TKhandakar ldquoSpatial variability of physical soil quality index ofan agricultural fieldrdquo Applied and Environmental Soil Sciencevol 2014 Article ID 379012 10 pages 2014
[45] G Bardhan D Russo D Goldstein and G J Levy ldquoChanges inthe hydraulic properties of a clay soil under long-term irrigationwith treated wastewaterrdquo Geoderma vol 264 pp 1ndash9 2016
[46] G Viviani and M Iovino ldquoWastewater reuse effects on soilhydraulic conductivityrdquo Journal of Irrigation and DrainageEngineering vol 130 no 6 pp 476ndash484 2004
[47] J L Morel A Guikart and H Sedgo ldquoEffet de lrsquoepandage desboues urbaines sur lrsquoetat physique des sols communsrdquo in XIcongres de lrsquoAISS Ed lA I S S XI congrΦs de Ed pp 12ndash19 Canada Mouton Canada 1978
[48] U Sahin O Anapali and S Ercisli ldquoPhysico-chemical andphysical properties of some substrates used in horticulturerdquoGartenbau wissen schaft 67 pp 55ndash60 2002
[49] M J Mohammad and N Mazahreh ldquoChanges in soil fertilityparameters in response to irrigation of forage crops withsecondary treated wastewaterrdquo Communications in Soil Scienceand Plant Analysis vol 34 no 9-10 pp 1281ndash1294 2003
[50] OVazquez-Montiel N JHoran andDDMara ldquoManagementof domestic wastewater for reuse in irrigationrdquo Water Scienceand Technology vol 33 no 10-11 pp 355ndash362 1996
[51] A R Hayes C F Mancino and I L Pepper ldquoIrrigation ofTurfgrass with Secondary Sewage Effluent I Soil and LeachateWater Qualityrdquo Agronomy Journal vol 82 no 5 p 939 1990
[52] K El Oumlouki R Moussadek A Zouahri H Dakak MChati and M El Amrani ldquoStudy of physic-chemical quality ofwater and soil in the region SoussMassa (Case perimeter Issen)Moroccordquo Journal of Materials and Environmental Science vol5 pp 2365ndash2374 2014
[53] M Galavi A Jalali M Ramroodi S R Mousavi andH GalavildquoEffects of Treated Municipal Wastewater on Soil ChemicalProperties and Heavy Metal Uptake by Sorghum (sorghumbicolor L)rdquo Journal of Agricultural Science vol 2 no 3 2010
[54] M A Gharaibeh N I Eltaif and B Al-Abdullah ldquoImpact offield application of treated wastewater on hydraulic propertiesof vertisolsrdquo Water Air and Soil Pollution vol 184 no 1-4 pp347ndash353 2007
[55] P Omodeo and G Martinucci Earthworms of MaghrebSelected Symposya andMonographsUZI 2MucchiModenapp 235-250 1987
[56] A Edwards and P J Bohlen Biology et Ecology of earthwormsvol 3 Springer Science amp Business Media 1996
[57] P Lavelle and A V Spain Soil Ecology Springer Science ampBusiness Media 2001
[58] P Lavelle GMelendez B Pashanasi andR Schaefer ldquoNitrogenmineralization and reorganization in casts of the geophagoustropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscoleci-dae)rdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 14 no 1 pp 49ndash53 1992
[59] R A Goncalves T V Gloaguen M V Folegatti P L Libardi YLucas andC RMontes ldquoPore size distribution in soils irrigatedwith sodic water and wastewaterrdquo Revista Brasileira de Cienciado Solo vol 34 no 3 pp 701ndash707 2010
[60] J Iqbal J A Thomasson J N Jenkins P R Owens and F DWhisler ldquoSpatial variability analysis of soil physical propertiesof alluvial soilsrdquo Soil Science Society of America Journal vol 69no 4 pp 1338ndash1350 2005
[61] U Sahin I Angin and F M Kiziloglu ldquoEffect of freezing andthawing processes on some physical properties of saline-sodicsoils mixed with sewage sludge or fly ashrdquo Soil and TillageResearch vol 99 no 2 pp 254ndash260 2008
[62] R Lal and M K Shukla Principles of Soil Physics MarcelDekker New York NY USA 2004
16 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[63] G S Francis and P M Fraser ldquoThe effects of three earthwormspecies on soil macroporosity and hydraulic conductivityrdquoApplied Soil Ecology vol 10 no 1-2 pp 11ndash19 1998
[64] Y Capowiez S Cadoux P Bouchant et al ldquoThe effect oftillage type and cropping system on earthworm communitiesmacroporosity and water infiltrationrdquo Soil and Tillage Researchvol 105 no 2 pp 209ndash216 2009
[65] N Bottinelli T Henry-des-Tureaux V Hallaire et al ldquoEarth-worms accelerate soil porosity turnover under watering condi-tionsrdquo Geoderma vol 156 no 1-2 pp 43ndash47 2010
[66] G Peres D Cluzeau P Curmi and V Hallaire ldquoEarthwormactivity and soil structure changes due to organic enrichmentsin vineyard systemsrdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 27 no 4pp 417ndash424 1998
[67] H Supersperg tilisation de la boue a lrsquoetat liquide sur les solslourds BERICHETE Der ATV 28p1977
[68] P S Minhas and J S Samra Wastewater use in peri-urbanagriculture impacts and opportunities Central Soil salinityResearch Institute Karnal 132001 India Tech Bull N562 p2004
[69] N Ababsa M Kribaa D Addad L Tamrabet and M BahaldquoDoes earthworms density really modify soilrsquos hydrodynamicproperties in irrigated systems with recycled waterrdquo Journal ofFundamental and Applied Sciences vol 8 no 2 p 627 2016
[70] H Molahoseini ldquoLong-term effects of municipal wastewaterirrigation on some properties of a semiarid region soil of IranrdquoInternational Journal of Science Engineering and Technologyvol 3 no 4 pp 444ndash449 2014
[71] G Callot and M Dupuis ldquoLe calcaire actif des sols et sa signifi-cationrdquo Science du sol vol 1 pp 17ndash27 1980
[72] H Ben Hassine T Aloui T Gallali T Bouzid S El amri andR Ben Hassen ldquoValuation quantitative et roles de la matiereorganique dans les sols cultives en zones subhumides et semi-arides mediterraneennes de la Tunisierdquo Agro-Solutions vol 17no 2 pp 4ndash17 2008
Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 201
International Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 13
This change in state of OM from pores plugging form tosoil stabilizing and structuring form is closely related to soilphysicochemical parameters (pH active CaCO3 and EC)Indeed Callot and Dupuis [71] assume the role of activeCaCO3 in protection and conservation of organic matterin carbonate soils Active CaCO3 thus acts as a protectoragainst biological degradation of organic matter of these soilsto make it a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition[72] All the soils being studied are carbonate soils theiractiveCaCO3should play an important role in humificationprocess by rapidly sequestering lignified organic compoundsas inherited or residual humus [28]
4 Conclusion
Our objective was to study interaction between earthwormcommunity characteristics and physicochemical propertiesof soils characterized by irrigation with wastewaters andwell waters in conditions of different topography (upstreamand downstream) and cropping practices (natural vegetationcereal cultivation and arboriculture) in two regions of Batnadepartment
The results show that the maximum water retentioncapacity is better explained by the fine texture of the soilat the effluent border The porosity and rates of infiltrationat saturation are higher in sites characterized by irrigationwith wastewaters downstream of effluent This was explainedby clogging of soil pores by suspended materials presentin the wastewaters However structural stability is better insite characterized by irrigation with wastewaters upstreamof El Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This is due on onehand to input of organic matter and calcium ions whichplay the role of cements and cause improvement of particlessoil aggregation according to Kirkham [42] On the otherhand at cereal crop that effect increases production ofcementing substances through microbial activity by fungaland actinomycete mycelia that provide substrates to stabilizesoil aggregates according to Miller and Kemper [43]
The pH levels are more alkaline in downstream sitesthan upstream sites of wastewater effluent The pH of soilsirrigated with wastewater decreases following oxidation oforganic compounds and nitrification of ammonium Electri-cal conductivity values are the lowest at sampling points ofsite characterized by irrigation with wastewater upstream ofEl Gourzi effluent and cereal crop This could probably bedue to the level of organic matter which acts as a buffer Theorganicmatter is highest at site upstreamof El Gourzi effluentborder characterized by natural vegetation which is certainlyexplained by an important load of organic matter from thewastewater upstream of the effluent and high clay content ofsoil may physically protect the OM from the decompositionThe average percentage rate of total CaCO3 is higher atKochbi natural water effluent border while it showed lowvalues at downstream sites However the active CaCO3rate is the lowest at downstream site of El Gourzi effluentborder But it presents the highest values at S6 site irrigatedby wastewaters upstream of effluentThis result appears to berelated to soil pH
The total abundance and biomass average of earthwormsat different sampling points of study sites are the lowestat site irrigated by natural waters of El Kochbi effluentwhich is cultivated by cereal On the contrary they are thehighest at upstream site irrigated by El Gourzi wastewaterand cereal growing This result explains that abundance andbiomass of earthworms are related to wastewaters irrigationEarthworms are muchmore present where irrigation water isheavily loaded with organic materials
Taxonomic study allowed classification of 7 species ofLumbricidae Percentage of overall specific abundance showsdominance of Aporrectodea trapezoides followed by Aporrec-todea rosea The result shows that wastewaters have intenseeffect on development of earthwormrsquos biodiversity SpeciesAp rosea was the most concerned by this improvementAmong the 7 species inventoried the endogeic earthwormsrepresent the majority Endogeic abundance is much higherin site at edges upstream of the El Gourzi effluent which iswithout cultural practices However site at edges of El Kochbieffluent from natural waters without cultural practices isbetter represented by an anecic population The Shannondiversity index of different study sites shows that wastewaterpromotes considerably the inheritance of the population ofearthworms
ANOVA revealed a highly significant effect of differentirrigation types as well as different cultivation practices onall physicochemical properties of soil and on endogeic andanecic population This was not the case for the epigeicpopulation
The PCA allowed characterizing two major groups Thefirst group is defined by sites that are explained by the hydro-dynamic infiltration These sites are irrigated by wastewaterthey are located downstream of effluent (lowest load oforganic matter) and characterized by cereal and arborealcrops This group includes other chemical characteristicspH and EC The second group formed by upstream sitesirrigated by wastewaters encompasses the characteristics ofearthworms explained by highest load of organic matter Itincludes chemical characteristics OM and active limestoneIt also includes the ShannonBiodiversity IndexWe explainedthis by active CaCO3 which acts as a protector againstbiological degradation of organicmatter of these soils tomakeit a stable phase not sensitive to decomposition
Overall the results of the PCA show us that the effectof wastewater is positive on improvement of abundance andbiomass and biodiversity of earthworms population On thecontrary the wastewaters are unfavorable for the infiltrationphysical parameters of water into soil This will surelyhave long-term repercussions on the physical and biologicalparameters of soil and will induce a new organization ofmacro- and mesoporosity due to improvement of biologicalparameters of earthworms
Finally we propose complementing these results in thefield and in the laboratory to see the evolution of infiltrationparameters of soil water in parallel with the dynamics ofearthworm community in soil irrigated by wastewaters Thebiodiversity of earthworms may induce an improvement ininfiltration and reduce the problems of clogging pores and
14 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
solve other problems that wastewaters can introduce intosoils
Abbreviations
Cr Water retention capacityIs Structural instability indexDa Bulk density119875 Porosity119870 (h) sat Saturated hydraulic conductivity at
potential differenceCE Electric conductivityMO Organic matterTEM Trace Element MetalsMES Suspended matterBOD5 5-Day biological oxygen demandCOD Chemical oxygen demandAbd AbundanceJuv JuvenileAdt AdultBiom BiomassEndo EndogeicEpig EpigeicAnec AnecicAp t Aporrectodea trapezoidesAp r Aporrectodea roseaAp c Aporrectodea caliginosaAm Allolobophora molleriP ant Proctodrilus antipai antipaiOc Octodrilus complanatusE t Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedraSDI Shannon Biodiversity IndexDj Djebel or mountainWed effluent
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interestregarding the publication of this paper
References
[1] E Corcoran C Nellemann E Baker R Bos D Osborn andHSavelli ick Water The central role of wastewater managementin sustainable development A rapid response assessment UnitedNations Environment Programme UN-HABITAT ArendalNorway 2010
[2] F Hiouani H Messadia A Masmoudi D Madani and C TirldquoInfluence des eaux residuaires de tannerie sur le poids de lamatiere secherdquo in Proceedings of the Revue des Regions Arides-Actes du 4eme Meeting International - Numero Special - n∘35(32014) pp 1023ndash1319 2013
[3] B Jimenez and T Asano ldquoWater reclamation and reuse aroundthe Worldrdquo inWater Reuse An International Survey of CurrentPractice Issues and Needs pp 3ndash26 IWA Publishing LondonUK 2008
[4] Z S Burak ldquoWater wetlands and climate change build-ings linkages for their integrated managementrdquo MediterraneanRegional Roundtable pp 10-11 2002
[5] H Bouzerzour L Tamrabet and M Kribaa ldquoReponse de deuxgraminees fourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee
et de boue residuairerdquo in Proceedings Seminaire InternationalBiologie et Environnement 71 Univ Mentouri ConstantineAlgeria 2002
[6] L Tamrabet H Bouzerzour M Kribaa et and D Golea ldquoLedevenir des eaux usees traitees Reponse de deux gramineesfourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee traiteerdquo inProceedings of the Actes du Colloque international Oasis Eau etPopulation Universite Khider Biskra Algerie 2003
[7] M B Pescod Wastewater Treatment and Use in AgricultureFAO Irrigation and Drainage Rome Italy 1992
[8] A Coppola A Santini P Botti S Vacca V Comegna andG Severino ldquoMethodological approach for evaluating the re-sponse of soil hydrological behavior to irrigation with treatedmunicipal wastewaterrdquo Journal of Hydrology vol 292 no 1-4pp 114ndash134 2004
[9] I Nadav J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoWater repellency inducedby organic matter (OM) in treated wastewater (TWW) infiltra-tion ponds and irrigationrdquo Functions of Natural Organic Matterin Changing Environment pp 883ndash887 2013
[10] M B Bouche Lombriciens de France Ecologie et SystematiqueINRA Publication 72-2 Institut national de la rechercheagronomique Paris France 1972
[11] G Bachelier ldquoLes vers annelesrdquo in La faune du sol IDT n∘38pp 127ndash183 ORSTOM Paris France 1978
[12] K E Lee EarthwormsTheir Ecology and Relationship with Soilsand Land Use Academic Press Sydney Australia 1985
[13] P Lavelle C Lattaud D Trigo and I Barois ldquoMutualism andbiodiversity in soilsrdquo Plant and Soil vol 170 no 1 pp 23ndash331995
[14] T Kautz C Stumm R Kosters andU Kopke ldquoEffects of peren-nial fodder crops on soil structure in agricultural headlandsrdquoJournal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science vol 173 no 4 pp490ndash501 2010
[15] L A Schipper J C Williamson H A Kettles and T W SpeirldquoImpact of land-applied tertiary-treated effluent on soil bio-chemical propertiesrdquo Journal of Environmental Quality vol 25no 5 pp 1073ndash1077 1996
[16] A Lemtiri G Colinet T Alabi et al ldquoImpacts of earthwormson soil components and dynamics A reviewrdquo BiotechnologyAgronomy and Society and Environment vol 18 no 1 pp 121ndash133 2014
[17] K Bazri G Ouahrani Z Gheribi-Aoulmi et D J and D CosinldquoLa diversite des lombriciens dans lrsquoest algerien depuis la cotejusqursquoau desertrdquo EcologiaMediterranea vol 39 no 2 p 17 2013
[18] R Rougerie T Decaens L Deharveng et al ldquoDNAbarcodes forsoil animal taxonomyrdquoPesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira vol 44no 8 pp 789ndash802 2009
[19] T Decaens ldquoMacroecological patterns in soil communitiesrdquoGlobal Ecology and Biogeography vol 19 no 3 pp 287ndash3022010
[20] L Tamrabet M Kribaa B Hamidi S Alalata W Berkani andA Hamdoudi ldquoEvaluation de lrsquoaptitude des effluents drsquoOued ElGourzi (Batna Nord Est drsquoAlgerie) a lrsquoirrigation et leur impactsur le sol et la qualite des cultures maraıcheres et fourrageresrdquoin Actes du congres international lsquoEau et Dechets UniversiteMohamed I Oujda Maroco 2007
[21] Office National de lrsquoAssainissement (ONA) Situation actuelledes stations de traitement drsquoeaux usees en Algerie MRE AlgerAlgerie 7 p 2006
[22] S Maalem and N Ghanem ldquoLa caracterisation physico-chim-iques des eaux usees de Oued El Gourzirdquo In Actes de ColloqueNational de Biologie de lrsquouniversite de Batna 2016
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 15
[23] M Bournaud and C Amoros ldquoDes indicateurs biologiques auxdescripteurs de fonctionnement Quelques exemples dans lesysteme fluvialrdquo Bull Ecol vol 15 no 1 pp 57ndash66 1984
[24] H Marschner Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants vol 78Academic press New York NY USA 2nd edition 1995
[25] Z Alouni ldquoFlux de la charge parasitaire dans cinq stationsdrsquoepuration en Tunisierdquo Revue des sciences de lrsquoeau vol 6 no 4pp 453ndash462 1993
[26] A Mussy et and M Soutter Physique du sol ISBN 1st edition1991
[27] D BaizeGuide des analyses courantes en pedologie INRR 1988[28] P Duchaufour Pedologie I Pedogenese et classificationMasson
Paris France 1977[29] B Blakemore Cosmopolitan Earthworms An Eco-Taxonomic
Guide to the Peregrine Species of the World 2nd Ed 656 p2007
[30] M B Bouche ldquoStrategies Lombriciennes Soil organism ascomponents of ecosystemsrdquo in Proceedings of the 6th Int CollSoil Zool Ecol Bull U Lohm and T Persson Eds pp 122ndash132Stockholm Sweden 1977
[31] K Bazri ldquoEtude de la biodiversite des lombriciens et leursrelations avec les proprietes du sol dans differents etagesbioclimatiques dans lrsquoEst Algerienrdquo in These doctorat p 188Constantine University 2015
[32] J BlondelBiogeographie et ecologieMasson Paris France 1979[33] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 505 Dunod Paris France 1985[34] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 434 Dunod Paris France 1975[35] M A Mojid and G C L Wyseure ldquoImplications of municipal
wastewater irrigation on soil health froma study inBangladeshrdquoSoil Use and Management vol 29 no 3 pp 384ndash396 2013
[36] M A Gharaibeh T A Ghezzehei A A Albalasmeh andM ZAlghzawi ldquoAlteration of physical and chemical characteristicsof clayey soils by irrigationwith treatedwaste waterrdquoGeodermavol 276 pp 33ndash40 2016
[37] A Mojiri ldquoEffects of municipal wastewater on physical andchemical properties of saline soilrdquo Journal of Biodiversity andEnvironmental Sciences vol 5 pp 71ndash76 2011
[38] I Vogeler ldquoEffect of long-term wastewater application onphysical soil propertiesrdquoWater Air and Soil Pollution vol 196no 1-4 pp 385ndash392 2009
[39] J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoRheology of sodium-montmoril-lonite suspensions Effects of humic substances and pHrdquo SoilScience Society of America Journal vol 66 no 2 pp 406ndash4122002
[40] Z Wang A C Chang L Wu and D Crowley ldquoAssessingthe soil quality of long-term reclaimed wastewater-irrigatedcroplandrdquo Geoderma vol 114 no 3-4 pp 261ndash278 2003
[41] A Kunhikrishnan N S Bolan K Muller S Laurenson RNaidu and W-I Kim ldquoThe influence of wastewater irrigationon the transformation and bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)sin soilrdquo Advances in Agronomy vol 115 pp 215ndash297 2012
[42] B Kirkham Isposal of sludge on land Effects on soils plants andground water compost Sc pp 6-10 1974
[43] D E Miller andW D Kemper ldquoWater stability of aggregates oftwo soils as in fluenced by incorporation of alfalfardquoAgron J vol54 no 6 pp 494ndash496 1962
[44] S M F Rabbi B R Roy M M Miah M S Amin and TKhandakar ldquoSpatial variability of physical soil quality index ofan agricultural fieldrdquo Applied and Environmental Soil Sciencevol 2014 Article ID 379012 10 pages 2014
[45] G Bardhan D Russo D Goldstein and G J Levy ldquoChanges inthe hydraulic properties of a clay soil under long-term irrigationwith treated wastewaterrdquo Geoderma vol 264 pp 1ndash9 2016
[46] G Viviani and M Iovino ldquoWastewater reuse effects on soilhydraulic conductivityrdquo Journal of Irrigation and DrainageEngineering vol 130 no 6 pp 476ndash484 2004
[47] J L Morel A Guikart and H Sedgo ldquoEffet de lrsquoepandage desboues urbaines sur lrsquoetat physique des sols communsrdquo in XIcongres de lrsquoAISS Ed lA I S S XI congrΦs de Ed pp 12ndash19 Canada Mouton Canada 1978
[48] U Sahin O Anapali and S Ercisli ldquoPhysico-chemical andphysical properties of some substrates used in horticulturerdquoGartenbau wissen schaft 67 pp 55ndash60 2002
[49] M J Mohammad and N Mazahreh ldquoChanges in soil fertilityparameters in response to irrigation of forage crops withsecondary treated wastewaterrdquo Communications in Soil Scienceand Plant Analysis vol 34 no 9-10 pp 1281ndash1294 2003
[50] OVazquez-Montiel N JHoran andDDMara ldquoManagementof domestic wastewater for reuse in irrigationrdquo Water Scienceand Technology vol 33 no 10-11 pp 355ndash362 1996
[51] A R Hayes C F Mancino and I L Pepper ldquoIrrigation ofTurfgrass with Secondary Sewage Effluent I Soil and LeachateWater Qualityrdquo Agronomy Journal vol 82 no 5 p 939 1990
[52] K El Oumlouki R Moussadek A Zouahri H Dakak MChati and M El Amrani ldquoStudy of physic-chemical quality ofwater and soil in the region SoussMassa (Case perimeter Issen)Moroccordquo Journal of Materials and Environmental Science vol5 pp 2365ndash2374 2014
[53] M Galavi A Jalali M Ramroodi S R Mousavi andH GalavildquoEffects of Treated Municipal Wastewater on Soil ChemicalProperties and Heavy Metal Uptake by Sorghum (sorghumbicolor L)rdquo Journal of Agricultural Science vol 2 no 3 2010
[54] M A Gharaibeh N I Eltaif and B Al-Abdullah ldquoImpact offield application of treated wastewater on hydraulic propertiesof vertisolsrdquo Water Air and Soil Pollution vol 184 no 1-4 pp347ndash353 2007
[55] P Omodeo and G Martinucci Earthworms of MaghrebSelected Symposya andMonographsUZI 2MucchiModenapp 235-250 1987
[56] A Edwards and P J Bohlen Biology et Ecology of earthwormsvol 3 Springer Science amp Business Media 1996
[57] P Lavelle and A V Spain Soil Ecology Springer Science ampBusiness Media 2001
[58] P Lavelle GMelendez B Pashanasi andR Schaefer ldquoNitrogenmineralization and reorganization in casts of the geophagoustropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscoleci-dae)rdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 14 no 1 pp 49ndash53 1992
[59] R A Goncalves T V Gloaguen M V Folegatti P L Libardi YLucas andC RMontes ldquoPore size distribution in soils irrigatedwith sodic water and wastewaterrdquo Revista Brasileira de Cienciado Solo vol 34 no 3 pp 701ndash707 2010
[60] J Iqbal J A Thomasson J N Jenkins P R Owens and F DWhisler ldquoSpatial variability analysis of soil physical propertiesof alluvial soilsrdquo Soil Science Society of America Journal vol 69no 4 pp 1338ndash1350 2005
[61] U Sahin I Angin and F M Kiziloglu ldquoEffect of freezing andthawing processes on some physical properties of saline-sodicsoils mixed with sewage sludge or fly ashrdquo Soil and TillageResearch vol 99 no 2 pp 254ndash260 2008
[62] R Lal and M K Shukla Principles of Soil Physics MarcelDekker New York NY USA 2004
16 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[63] G S Francis and P M Fraser ldquoThe effects of three earthwormspecies on soil macroporosity and hydraulic conductivityrdquoApplied Soil Ecology vol 10 no 1-2 pp 11ndash19 1998
[64] Y Capowiez S Cadoux P Bouchant et al ldquoThe effect oftillage type and cropping system on earthworm communitiesmacroporosity and water infiltrationrdquo Soil and Tillage Researchvol 105 no 2 pp 209ndash216 2009
[65] N Bottinelli T Henry-des-Tureaux V Hallaire et al ldquoEarth-worms accelerate soil porosity turnover under watering condi-tionsrdquo Geoderma vol 156 no 1-2 pp 43ndash47 2010
[66] G Peres D Cluzeau P Curmi and V Hallaire ldquoEarthwormactivity and soil structure changes due to organic enrichmentsin vineyard systemsrdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 27 no 4pp 417ndash424 1998
[67] H Supersperg tilisation de la boue a lrsquoetat liquide sur les solslourds BERICHETE Der ATV 28p1977
[68] P S Minhas and J S Samra Wastewater use in peri-urbanagriculture impacts and opportunities Central Soil salinityResearch Institute Karnal 132001 India Tech Bull N562 p2004
[69] N Ababsa M Kribaa D Addad L Tamrabet and M BahaldquoDoes earthworms density really modify soilrsquos hydrodynamicproperties in irrigated systems with recycled waterrdquo Journal ofFundamental and Applied Sciences vol 8 no 2 p 627 2016
[70] H Molahoseini ldquoLong-term effects of municipal wastewaterirrigation on some properties of a semiarid region soil of IranrdquoInternational Journal of Science Engineering and Technologyvol 3 no 4 pp 444ndash449 2014
[71] G Callot and M Dupuis ldquoLe calcaire actif des sols et sa signifi-cationrdquo Science du sol vol 1 pp 17ndash27 1980
[72] H Ben Hassine T Aloui T Gallali T Bouzid S El amri andR Ben Hassen ldquoValuation quantitative et roles de la matiereorganique dans les sols cultives en zones subhumides et semi-arides mediterraneennes de la Tunisierdquo Agro-Solutions vol 17no 2 pp 4ndash17 2008
Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 201
International Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
14 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
solve other problems that wastewaters can introduce intosoils
Abbreviations
Cr Water retention capacityIs Structural instability indexDa Bulk density119875 Porosity119870 (h) sat Saturated hydraulic conductivity at
potential differenceCE Electric conductivityMO Organic matterTEM Trace Element MetalsMES Suspended matterBOD5 5-Day biological oxygen demandCOD Chemical oxygen demandAbd AbundanceJuv JuvenileAdt AdultBiom BiomassEndo EndogeicEpig EpigeicAnec AnecicAp t Aporrectodea trapezoidesAp r Aporrectodea roseaAp c Aporrectodea caliginosaAm Allolobophora molleriP ant Proctodrilus antipai antipaiOc Octodrilus complanatusE t Eiseniella tetraedra tetraedraSDI Shannon Biodiversity IndexDj Djebel or mountainWed effluent
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interestregarding the publication of this paper
References
[1] E Corcoran C Nellemann E Baker R Bos D Osborn andHSavelli ick Water The central role of wastewater managementin sustainable development A rapid response assessment UnitedNations Environment Programme UN-HABITAT ArendalNorway 2010
[2] F Hiouani H Messadia A Masmoudi D Madani and C TirldquoInfluence des eaux residuaires de tannerie sur le poids de lamatiere secherdquo in Proceedings of the Revue des Regions Arides-Actes du 4eme Meeting International - Numero Special - n∘35(32014) pp 1023ndash1319 2013
[3] B Jimenez and T Asano ldquoWater reclamation and reuse aroundthe Worldrdquo inWater Reuse An International Survey of CurrentPractice Issues and Needs pp 3ndash26 IWA Publishing LondonUK 2008
[4] Z S Burak ldquoWater wetlands and climate change build-ings linkages for their integrated managementrdquo MediterraneanRegional Roundtable pp 10-11 2002
[5] H Bouzerzour L Tamrabet and M Kribaa ldquoReponse de deuxgraminees fourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee
et de boue residuairerdquo in Proceedings Seminaire InternationalBiologie et Environnement 71 Univ Mentouri ConstantineAlgeria 2002
[6] L Tamrabet H Bouzerzour M Kribaa et and D Golea ldquoLedevenir des eaux usees traitees Reponse de deux gramineesfourrageres lrsquoorge et lrsquoavoine aux apports drsquoeau usee traiteerdquo inProceedings of the Actes du Colloque international Oasis Eau etPopulation Universite Khider Biskra Algerie 2003
[7] M B Pescod Wastewater Treatment and Use in AgricultureFAO Irrigation and Drainage Rome Italy 1992
[8] A Coppola A Santini P Botti S Vacca V Comegna andG Severino ldquoMethodological approach for evaluating the re-sponse of soil hydrological behavior to irrigation with treatedmunicipal wastewaterrdquo Journal of Hydrology vol 292 no 1-4pp 114ndash134 2004
[9] I Nadav J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoWater repellency inducedby organic matter (OM) in treated wastewater (TWW) infiltra-tion ponds and irrigationrdquo Functions of Natural Organic Matterin Changing Environment pp 883ndash887 2013
[10] M B Bouche Lombriciens de France Ecologie et SystematiqueINRA Publication 72-2 Institut national de la rechercheagronomique Paris France 1972
[11] G Bachelier ldquoLes vers annelesrdquo in La faune du sol IDT n∘38pp 127ndash183 ORSTOM Paris France 1978
[12] K E Lee EarthwormsTheir Ecology and Relationship with Soilsand Land Use Academic Press Sydney Australia 1985
[13] P Lavelle C Lattaud D Trigo and I Barois ldquoMutualism andbiodiversity in soilsrdquo Plant and Soil vol 170 no 1 pp 23ndash331995
[14] T Kautz C Stumm R Kosters andU Kopke ldquoEffects of peren-nial fodder crops on soil structure in agricultural headlandsrdquoJournal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science vol 173 no 4 pp490ndash501 2010
[15] L A Schipper J C Williamson H A Kettles and T W SpeirldquoImpact of land-applied tertiary-treated effluent on soil bio-chemical propertiesrdquo Journal of Environmental Quality vol 25no 5 pp 1073ndash1077 1996
[16] A Lemtiri G Colinet T Alabi et al ldquoImpacts of earthwormson soil components and dynamics A reviewrdquo BiotechnologyAgronomy and Society and Environment vol 18 no 1 pp 121ndash133 2014
[17] K Bazri G Ouahrani Z Gheribi-Aoulmi et D J and D CosinldquoLa diversite des lombriciens dans lrsquoest algerien depuis la cotejusqursquoau desertrdquo EcologiaMediterranea vol 39 no 2 p 17 2013
[18] R Rougerie T Decaens L Deharveng et al ldquoDNAbarcodes forsoil animal taxonomyrdquoPesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira vol 44no 8 pp 789ndash802 2009
[19] T Decaens ldquoMacroecological patterns in soil communitiesrdquoGlobal Ecology and Biogeography vol 19 no 3 pp 287ndash3022010
[20] L Tamrabet M Kribaa B Hamidi S Alalata W Berkani andA Hamdoudi ldquoEvaluation de lrsquoaptitude des effluents drsquoOued ElGourzi (Batna Nord Est drsquoAlgerie) a lrsquoirrigation et leur impactsur le sol et la qualite des cultures maraıcheres et fourrageresrdquoin Actes du congres international lsquoEau et Dechets UniversiteMohamed I Oujda Maroco 2007
[21] Office National de lrsquoAssainissement (ONA) Situation actuelledes stations de traitement drsquoeaux usees en Algerie MRE AlgerAlgerie 7 p 2006
[22] S Maalem and N Ghanem ldquoLa caracterisation physico-chim-iques des eaux usees de Oued El Gourzirdquo In Actes de ColloqueNational de Biologie de lrsquouniversite de Batna 2016
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 15
[23] M Bournaud and C Amoros ldquoDes indicateurs biologiques auxdescripteurs de fonctionnement Quelques exemples dans lesysteme fluvialrdquo Bull Ecol vol 15 no 1 pp 57ndash66 1984
[24] H Marschner Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants vol 78Academic press New York NY USA 2nd edition 1995
[25] Z Alouni ldquoFlux de la charge parasitaire dans cinq stationsdrsquoepuration en Tunisierdquo Revue des sciences de lrsquoeau vol 6 no 4pp 453ndash462 1993
[26] A Mussy et and M Soutter Physique du sol ISBN 1st edition1991
[27] D BaizeGuide des analyses courantes en pedologie INRR 1988[28] P Duchaufour Pedologie I Pedogenese et classificationMasson
Paris France 1977[29] B Blakemore Cosmopolitan Earthworms An Eco-Taxonomic
Guide to the Peregrine Species of the World 2nd Ed 656 p2007
[30] M B Bouche ldquoStrategies Lombriciennes Soil organism ascomponents of ecosystemsrdquo in Proceedings of the 6th Int CollSoil Zool Ecol Bull U Lohm and T Persson Eds pp 122ndash132Stockholm Sweden 1977
[31] K Bazri ldquoEtude de la biodiversite des lombriciens et leursrelations avec les proprietes du sol dans differents etagesbioclimatiques dans lrsquoEst Algerienrdquo in These doctorat p 188Constantine University 2015
[32] J BlondelBiogeographie et ecologieMasson Paris France 1979[33] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 505 Dunod Paris France 1985[34] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 434 Dunod Paris France 1975[35] M A Mojid and G C L Wyseure ldquoImplications of municipal
wastewater irrigation on soil health froma study inBangladeshrdquoSoil Use and Management vol 29 no 3 pp 384ndash396 2013
[36] M A Gharaibeh T A Ghezzehei A A Albalasmeh andM ZAlghzawi ldquoAlteration of physical and chemical characteristicsof clayey soils by irrigationwith treatedwaste waterrdquoGeodermavol 276 pp 33ndash40 2016
[37] A Mojiri ldquoEffects of municipal wastewater on physical andchemical properties of saline soilrdquo Journal of Biodiversity andEnvironmental Sciences vol 5 pp 71ndash76 2011
[38] I Vogeler ldquoEffect of long-term wastewater application onphysical soil propertiesrdquoWater Air and Soil Pollution vol 196no 1-4 pp 385ndash392 2009
[39] J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoRheology of sodium-montmoril-lonite suspensions Effects of humic substances and pHrdquo SoilScience Society of America Journal vol 66 no 2 pp 406ndash4122002
[40] Z Wang A C Chang L Wu and D Crowley ldquoAssessingthe soil quality of long-term reclaimed wastewater-irrigatedcroplandrdquo Geoderma vol 114 no 3-4 pp 261ndash278 2003
[41] A Kunhikrishnan N S Bolan K Muller S Laurenson RNaidu and W-I Kim ldquoThe influence of wastewater irrigationon the transformation and bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)sin soilrdquo Advances in Agronomy vol 115 pp 215ndash297 2012
[42] B Kirkham Isposal of sludge on land Effects on soils plants andground water compost Sc pp 6-10 1974
[43] D E Miller andW D Kemper ldquoWater stability of aggregates oftwo soils as in fluenced by incorporation of alfalfardquoAgron J vol54 no 6 pp 494ndash496 1962
[44] S M F Rabbi B R Roy M M Miah M S Amin and TKhandakar ldquoSpatial variability of physical soil quality index ofan agricultural fieldrdquo Applied and Environmental Soil Sciencevol 2014 Article ID 379012 10 pages 2014
[45] G Bardhan D Russo D Goldstein and G J Levy ldquoChanges inthe hydraulic properties of a clay soil under long-term irrigationwith treated wastewaterrdquo Geoderma vol 264 pp 1ndash9 2016
[46] G Viviani and M Iovino ldquoWastewater reuse effects on soilhydraulic conductivityrdquo Journal of Irrigation and DrainageEngineering vol 130 no 6 pp 476ndash484 2004
[47] J L Morel A Guikart and H Sedgo ldquoEffet de lrsquoepandage desboues urbaines sur lrsquoetat physique des sols communsrdquo in XIcongres de lrsquoAISS Ed lA I S S XI congrΦs de Ed pp 12ndash19 Canada Mouton Canada 1978
[48] U Sahin O Anapali and S Ercisli ldquoPhysico-chemical andphysical properties of some substrates used in horticulturerdquoGartenbau wissen schaft 67 pp 55ndash60 2002
[49] M J Mohammad and N Mazahreh ldquoChanges in soil fertilityparameters in response to irrigation of forage crops withsecondary treated wastewaterrdquo Communications in Soil Scienceand Plant Analysis vol 34 no 9-10 pp 1281ndash1294 2003
[50] OVazquez-Montiel N JHoran andDDMara ldquoManagementof domestic wastewater for reuse in irrigationrdquo Water Scienceand Technology vol 33 no 10-11 pp 355ndash362 1996
[51] A R Hayes C F Mancino and I L Pepper ldquoIrrigation ofTurfgrass with Secondary Sewage Effluent I Soil and LeachateWater Qualityrdquo Agronomy Journal vol 82 no 5 p 939 1990
[52] K El Oumlouki R Moussadek A Zouahri H Dakak MChati and M El Amrani ldquoStudy of physic-chemical quality ofwater and soil in the region SoussMassa (Case perimeter Issen)Moroccordquo Journal of Materials and Environmental Science vol5 pp 2365ndash2374 2014
[53] M Galavi A Jalali M Ramroodi S R Mousavi andH GalavildquoEffects of Treated Municipal Wastewater on Soil ChemicalProperties and Heavy Metal Uptake by Sorghum (sorghumbicolor L)rdquo Journal of Agricultural Science vol 2 no 3 2010
[54] M A Gharaibeh N I Eltaif and B Al-Abdullah ldquoImpact offield application of treated wastewater on hydraulic propertiesof vertisolsrdquo Water Air and Soil Pollution vol 184 no 1-4 pp347ndash353 2007
[55] P Omodeo and G Martinucci Earthworms of MaghrebSelected Symposya andMonographsUZI 2MucchiModenapp 235-250 1987
[56] A Edwards and P J Bohlen Biology et Ecology of earthwormsvol 3 Springer Science amp Business Media 1996
[57] P Lavelle and A V Spain Soil Ecology Springer Science ampBusiness Media 2001
[58] P Lavelle GMelendez B Pashanasi andR Schaefer ldquoNitrogenmineralization and reorganization in casts of the geophagoustropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscoleci-dae)rdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 14 no 1 pp 49ndash53 1992
[59] R A Goncalves T V Gloaguen M V Folegatti P L Libardi YLucas andC RMontes ldquoPore size distribution in soils irrigatedwith sodic water and wastewaterrdquo Revista Brasileira de Cienciado Solo vol 34 no 3 pp 701ndash707 2010
[60] J Iqbal J A Thomasson J N Jenkins P R Owens and F DWhisler ldquoSpatial variability analysis of soil physical propertiesof alluvial soilsrdquo Soil Science Society of America Journal vol 69no 4 pp 1338ndash1350 2005
[61] U Sahin I Angin and F M Kiziloglu ldquoEffect of freezing andthawing processes on some physical properties of saline-sodicsoils mixed with sewage sludge or fly ashrdquo Soil and TillageResearch vol 99 no 2 pp 254ndash260 2008
[62] R Lal and M K Shukla Principles of Soil Physics MarcelDekker New York NY USA 2004
16 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[63] G S Francis and P M Fraser ldquoThe effects of three earthwormspecies on soil macroporosity and hydraulic conductivityrdquoApplied Soil Ecology vol 10 no 1-2 pp 11ndash19 1998
[64] Y Capowiez S Cadoux P Bouchant et al ldquoThe effect oftillage type and cropping system on earthworm communitiesmacroporosity and water infiltrationrdquo Soil and Tillage Researchvol 105 no 2 pp 209ndash216 2009
[65] N Bottinelli T Henry-des-Tureaux V Hallaire et al ldquoEarth-worms accelerate soil porosity turnover under watering condi-tionsrdquo Geoderma vol 156 no 1-2 pp 43ndash47 2010
[66] G Peres D Cluzeau P Curmi and V Hallaire ldquoEarthwormactivity and soil structure changes due to organic enrichmentsin vineyard systemsrdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 27 no 4pp 417ndash424 1998
[67] H Supersperg tilisation de la boue a lrsquoetat liquide sur les solslourds BERICHETE Der ATV 28p1977
[68] P S Minhas and J S Samra Wastewater use in peri-urbanagriculture impacts and opportunities Central Soil salinityResearch Institute Karnal 132001 India Tech Bull N562 p2004
[69] N Ababsa M Kribaa D Addad L Tamrabet and M BahaldquoDoes earthworms density really modify soilrsquos hydrodynamicproperties in irrigated systems with recycled waterrdquo Journal ofFundamental and Applied Sciences vol 8 no 2 p 627 2016
[70] H Molahoseini ldquoLong-term effects of municipal wastewaterirrigation on some properties of a semiarid region soil of IranrdquoInternational Journal of Science Engineering and Technologyvol 3 no 4 pp 444ndash449 2014
[71] G Callot and M Dupuis ldquoLe calcaire actif des sols et sa signifi-cationrdquo Science du sol vol 1 pp 17ndash27 1980
[72] H Ben Hassine T Aloui T Gallali T Bouzid S El amri andR Ben Hassen ldquoValuation quantitative et roles de la matiereorganique dans les sols cultives en zones subhumides et semi-arides mediterraneennes de la Tunisierdquo Agro-Solutions vol 17no 2 pp 4ndash17 2008
Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 201
International Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 15
[23] M Bournaud and C Amoros ldquoDes indicateurs biologiques auxdescripteurs de fonctionnement Quelques exemples dans lesysteme fluvialrdquo Bull Ecol vol 15 no 1 pp 57ndash66 1984
[24] H Marschner Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants vol 78Academic press New York NY USA 2nd edition 1995
[25] Z Alouni ldquoFlux de la charge parasitaire dans cinq stationsdrsquoepuration en Tunisierdquo Revue des sciences de lrsquoeau vol 6 no 4pp 453ndash462 1993
[26] A Mussy et and M Soutter Physique du sol ISBN 1st edition1991
[27] D BaizeGuide des analyses courantes en pedologie INRR 1988[28] P Duchaufour Pedologie I Pedogenese et classificationMasson
Paris France 1977[29] B Blakemore Cosmopolitan Earthworms An Eco-Taxonomic
Guide to the Peregrine Species of the World 2nd Ed 656 p2007
[30] M B Bouche ldquoStrategies Lombriciennes Soil organism ascomponents of ecosystemsrdquo in Proceedings of the 6th Int CollSoil Zool Ecol Bull U Lohm and T Persson Eds pp 122ndash132Stockholm Sweden 1977
[31] K Bazri ldquoEtude de la biodiversite des lombriciens et leursrelations avec les proprietes du sol dans differents etagesbioclimatiques dans lrsquoEst Algerienrdquo in These doctorat p 188Constantine University 2015
[32] J BlondelBiogeographie et ecologieMasson Paris France 1979[33] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 505 Dunod Paris France 1985[34] R Dajoz Precis drsquoecologie vol 434 Dunod Paris France 1975[35] M A Mojid and G C L Wyseure ldquoImplications of municipal
wastewater irrigation on soil health froma study inBangladeshrdquoSoil Use and Management vol 29 no 3 pp 384ndash396 2013
[36] M A Gharaibeh T A Ghezzehei A A Albalasmeh andM ZAlghzawi ldquoAlteration of physical and chemical characteristicsof clayey soils by irrigationwith treatedwaste waterrdquoGeodermavol 276 pp 33ndash40 2016
[37] A Mojiri ldquoEffects of municipal wastewater on physical andchemical properties of saline soilrdquo Journal of Biodiversity andEnvironmental Sciences vol 5 pp 71ndash76 2011
[38] I Vogeler ldquoEffect of long-term wastewater application onphysical soil propertiesrdquoWater Air and Soil Pollution vol 196no 1-4 pp 385ndash392 2009
[39] J Tarchitzky and Y Chen ldquoRheology of sodium-montmoril-lonite suspensions Effects of humic substances and pHrdquo SoilScience Society of America Journal vol 66 no 2 pp 406ndash4122002
[40] Z Wang A C Chang L Wu and D Crowley ldquoAssessingthe soil quality of long-term reclaimed wastewater-irrigatedcroplandrdquo Geoderma vol 114 no 3-4 pp 261ndash278 2003
[41] A Kunhikrishnan N S Bolan K Muller S Laurenson RNaidu and W-I Kim ldquoThe influence of wastewater irrigationon the transformation and bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)sin soilrdquo Advances in Agronomy vol 115 pp 215ndash297 2012
[42] B Kirkham Isposal of sludge on land Effects on soils plants andground water compost Sc pp 6-10 1974
[43] D E Miller andW D Kemper ldquoWater stability of aggregates oftwo soils as in fluenced by incorporation of alfalfardquoAgron J vol54 no 6 pp 494ndash496 1962
[44] S M F Rabbi B R Roy M M Miah M S Amin and TKhandakar ldquoSpatial variability of physical soil quality index ofan agricultural fieldrdquo Applied and Environmental Soil Sciencevol 2014 Article ID 379012 10 pages 2014
[45] G Bardhan D Russo D Goldstein and G J Levy ldquoChanges inthe hydraulic properties of a clay soil under long-term irrigationwith treated wastewaterrdquo Geoderma vol 264 pp 1ndash9 2016
[46] G Viviani and M Iovino ldquoWastewater reuse effects on soilhydraulic conductivityrdquo Journal of Irrigation and DrainageEngineering vol 130 no 6 pp 476ndash484 2004
[47] J L Morel A Guikart and H Sedgo ldquoEffet de lrsquoepandage desboues urbaines sur lrsquoetat physique des sols communsrdquo in XIcongres de lrsquoAISS Ed lA I S S XI congrΦs de Ed pp 12ndash19 Canada Mouton Canada 1978
[48] U Sahin O Anapali and S Ercisli ldquoPhysico-chemical andphysical properties of some substrates used in horticulturerdquoGartenbau wissen schaft 67 pp 55ndash60 2002
[49] M J Mohammad and N Mazahreh ldquoChanges in soil fertilityparameters in response to irrigation of forage crops withsecondary treated wastewaterrdquo Communications in Soil Scienceand Plant Analysis vol 34 no 9-10 pp 1281ndash1294 2003
[50] OVazquez-Montiel N JHoran andDDMara ldquoManagementof domestic wastewater for reuse in irrigationrdquo Water Scienceand Technology vol 33 no 10-11 pp 355ndash362 1996
[51] A R Hayes C F Mancino and I L Pepper ldquoIrrigation ofTurfgrass with Secondary Sewage Effluent I Soil and LeachateWater Qualityrdquo Agronomy Journal vol 82 no 5 p 939 1990
[52] K El Oumlouki R Moussadek A Zouahri H Dakak MChati and M El Amrani ldquoStudy of physic-chemical quality ofwater and soil in the region SoussMassa (Case perimeter Issen)Moroccordquo Journal of Materials and Environmental Science vol5 pp 2365ndash2374 2014
[53] M Galavi A Jalali M Ramroodi S R Mousavi andH GalavildquoEffects of Treated Municipal Wastewater on Soil ChemicalProperties and Heavy Metal Uptake by Sorghum (sorghumbicolor L)rdquo Journal of Agricultural Science vol 2 no 3 2010
[54] M A Gharaibeh N I Eltaif and B Al-Abdullah ldquoImpact offield application of treated wastewater on hydraulic propertiesof vertisolsrdquo Water Air and Soil Pollution vol 184 no 1-4 pp347ndash353 2007
[55] P Omodeo and G Martinucci Earthworms of MaghrebSelected Symposya andMonographsUZI 2MucchiModenapp 235-250 1987
[56] A Edwards and P J Bohlen Biology et Ecology of earthwormsvol 3 Springer Science amp Business Media 1996
[57] P Lavelle and A V Spain Soil Ecology Springer Science ampBusiness Media 2001
[58] P Lavelle GMelendez B Pashanasi andR Schaefer ldquoNitrogenmineralization and reorganization in casts of the geophagoustropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscoleci-dae)rdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 14 no 1 pp 49ndash53 1992
[59] R A Goncalves T V Gloaguen M V Folegatti P L Libardi YLucas andC RMontes ldquoPore size distribution in soils irrigatedwith sodic water and wastewaterrdquo Revista Brasileira de Cienciado Solo vol 34 no 3 pp 701ndash707 2010
[60] J Iqbal J A Thomasson J N Jenkins P R Owens and F DWhisler ldquoSpatial variability analysis of soil physical propertiesof alluvial soilsrdquo Soil Science Society of America Journal vol 69no 4 pp 1338ndash1350 2005
[61] U Sahin I Angin and F M Kiziloglu ldquoEffect of freezing andthawing processes on some physical properties of saline-sodicsoils mixed with sewage sludge or fly ashrdquo Soil and TillageResearch vol 99 no 2 pp 254ndash260 2008
[62] R Lal and M K Shukla Principles of Soil Physics MarcelDekker New York NY USA 2004
16 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[63] G S Francis and P M Fraser ldquoThe effects of three earthwormspecies on soil macroporosity and hydraulic conductivityrdquoApplied Soil Ecology vol 10 no 1-2 pp 11ndash19 1998
[64] Y Capowiez S Cadoux P Bouchant et al ldquoThe effect oftillage type and cropping system on earthworm communitiesmacroporosity and water infiltrationrdquo Soil and Tillage Researchvol 105 no 2 pp 209ndash216 2009
[65] N Bottinelli T Henry-des-Tureaux V Hallaire et al ldquoEarth-worms accelerate soil porosity turnover under watering condi-tionsrdquo Geoderma vol 156 no 1-2 pp 43ndash47 2010
[66] G Peres D Cluzeau P Curmi and V Hallaire ldquoEarthwormactivity and soil structure changes due to organic enrichmentsin vineyard systemsrdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 27 no 4pp 417ndash424 1998
[67] H Supersperg tilisation de la boue a lrsquoetat liquide sur les solslourds BERICHETE Der ATV 28p1977
[68] P S Minhas and J S Samra Wastewater use in peri-urbanagriculture impacts and opportunities Central Soil salinityResearch Institute Karnal 132001 India Tech Bull N562 p2004
[69] N Ababsa M Kribaa D Addad L Tamrabet and M BahaldquoDoes earthworms density really modify soilrsquos hydrodynamicproperties in irrigated systems with recycled waterrdquo Journal ofFundamental and Applied Sciences vol 8 no 2 p 627 2016
[70] H Molahoseini ldquoLong-term effects of municipal wastewaterirrigation on some properties of a semiarid region soil of IranrdquoInternational Journal of Science Engineering and Technologyvol 3 no 4 pp 444ndash449 2014
[71] G Callot and M Dupuis ldquoLe calcaire actif des sols et sa signifi-cationrdquo Science du sol vol 1 pp 17ndash27 1980
[72] H Ben Hassine T Aloui T Gallali T Bouzid S El amri andR Ben Hassen ldquoValuation quantitative et roles de la matiereorganique dans les sols cultives en zones subhumides et semi-arides mediterraneennes de la Tunisierdquo Agro-Solutions vol 17no 2 pp 4ndash17 2008
Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 201
International Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
16 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[63] G S Francis and P M Fraser ldquoThe effects of three earthwormspecies on soil macroporosity and hydraulic conductivityrdquoApplied Soil Ecology vol 10 no 1-2 pp 11ndash19 1998
[64] Y Capowiez S Cadoux P Bouchant et al ldquoThe effect oftillage type and cropping system on earthworm communitiesmacroporosity and water infiltrationrdquo Soil and Tillage Researchvol 105 no 2 pp 209ndash216 2009
[65] N Bottinelli T Henry-des-Tureaux V Hallaire et al ldquoEarth-worms accelerate soil porosity turnover under watering condi-tionsrdquo Geoderma vol 156 no 1-2 pp 43ndash47 2010
[66] G Peres D Cluzeau P Curmi and V Hallaire ldquoEarthwormactivity and soil structure changes due to organic enrichmentsin vineyard systemsrdquo Biology and Fertility of Soils vol 27 no 4pp 417ndash424 1998
[67] H Supersperg tilisation de la boue a lrsquoetat liquide sur les solslourds BERICHETE Der ATV 28p1977
[68] P S Minhas and J S Samra Wastewater use in peri-urbanagriculture impacts and opportunities Central Soil salinityResearch Institute Karnal 132001 India Tech Bull N562 p2004
[69] N Ababsa M Kribaa D Addad L Tamrabet and M BahaldquoDoes earthworms density really modify soilrsquos hydrodynamicproperties in irrigated systems with recycled waterrdquo Journal ofFundamental and Applied Sciences vol 8 no 2 p 627 2016
[70] H Molahoseini ldquoLong-term effects of municipal wastewaterirrigation on some properties of a semiarid region soil of IranrdquoInternational Journal of Science Engineering and Technologyvol 3 no 4 pp 444ndash449 2014
[71] G Callot and M Dupuis ldquoLe calcaire actif des sols et sa signifi-cationrdquo Science du sol vol 1 pp 17ndash27 1980
[72] H Ben Hassine T Aloui T Gallali T Bouzid S El amri andR Ben Hassen ldquoValuation quantitative et roles de la matiereorganique dans les sols cultives en zones subhumides et semi-arides mediterraneennes de la Tunisierdquo Agro-Solutions vol 17no 2 pp 4ndash17 2008
Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 201
International Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 201
International Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
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