Abstract
Although the dredging of ports is a necessary management activity, it generates immense quantities of sediments, that are defined by the European Union as residues. On the other hand, the relevant peat demand for plant cultivation compromises its availability worldwide. In this context, the present work wanted to find an alternative substrate in order to replace and/or reduce the use of peat in agriculture, through the study of the suitability, concerning the exchange of substrate–plant–water pollutants, of the dredged remediated sediments as a fruit-growing media. Forty-five pomegranate trees (Punica granatum L. cv “Purple Queen”) were cultivated in three types of substrates (100% peat as a control, 100% dredged remediated sediments and 50% both mixed). The metal ion content and pesticide residues were analysed in the different plant parts (root, stem, leaves and fruits) and in drainage water. The results showed a limited transfer of pollutants. All the pollutants were below the legal limits, confirming that the dredged sediments could be used as a growing media, alone or mixed with other substrates. Thus, the results point out the need to open a European debate on the reuse and reconsideration of this residue from a circular economy point of view.
Highlights
Each year, important quantities of sediments are dredged in maritime ports
The most common pollutants identified on dredged port sediments are heavy metals [3] and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) [4], and due to this, the European legislation defines them as contaminated residues, thereby restricting their use [5]
Small differences in irrigation needs were observed at the beginning of the summer of the second year, highlighting the different behaviour of the substrates
Summary
Important quantities of sediments are dredged in maritime ports. The dredged activity can be defined as the operations set needed for the extraction, transport and dumping of underwater materials, either in the sea, rivers or lakes. Recent studies indicated that the vast majority of the amounts of sediment, around 90%, are not contaminated [6]. In these cases, the dredged sediment could be considered a resource rather than a residue able to reuse and revalorise from the circular economy perspective [7]. Recent multidisciplinary scientific studies have reported, demonstrated and confirmed the viability of obtaining a new safe substrate from the treated dredged sediments related to the amounts of contaminants present in it [6,8,9,10]
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