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Minimizing Nitrate Seepage from the Hula Valley into Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee): I. Enhancement of Nitrate Reduction by Sprinkling and Flooding¹

ABSTRACT

Decomposition of organic matter in the drained soils of the Hula Valley leads to the accumulation of nitrates. These are leached during the rainy season to the Jordan River and endanger Lake Kinneret. Field studies have shown that nitrates can be reduced through the use of the irrigation systems exisitng in the area. A treatment of either sprinkling or flooding by raising the water table reduced the nitrate concentration to about half of its original amount. Both treatments induced anaerobic conditions in the soil and reduced the nitrate contents, probably by denitrification. The efficiency of the reduction depends on the existence of labile organic substrates in the soil.

Key Words: denitrification • organic soils • redox potential

¹ Contribution from the Soil and Fertilizers Lab., Technion, Israel Inst. of Technol., Haifa, Israel. This work was supported by grants from the Lake Kinneret Authority and the National Council for Research and Development.

² Soil Chemist and Senior Lecturer, respectively.

Received for publication July 18, 1972.