Hydrogeology and Examination of Soil Fertility

The primary mission of the hydro-geochemistry laboratory is to study problems and provide solutions in the field of environmental geochemistry.

Prof. Michael (Iggy) Litaor

Title
About

At present, several projects are underway:

  • Evaluation of the use of aluminum and iron water treatment residuals (Al/Fe-WTR) to recapture phosphorous from agro-industrial wastewaters (WW) and reapply it as fertilizer in selected crops.
  • Development of new technologies that involve integrated systems, including the use of halophytes to treat dairy WW by removing sodium, enabling use of the WW for irrigation.
  • Testing the combined application of compost and zeolites to improve the nutrient status of selected crops (we recently introduced this idea of improving initial planting conditions in a re-afforestation study of semi-arid and Mediterranean watersheds).
  • A study of specialized wetland techniques of nutrient removal from soil leachates in intensive farming settings.
  • Evaluation of the impact of eco-tourism practices on the fate and transport of N and P in reconstructed wetland complexes.

Most recently, we have begun exploring an integrated system of proximal soil survey techniques and advanced geo-statistical methodologies, coupled with advanced computations, to evaluate the spatial variations of soil fertility in the context of precision agriculture.

The research in the hydro-geochemistry lab is currently supported by grants from the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture, the US-Israel BARD project, and the BRIGAID project of Horizon 2020.

Principal Researcher

Latest Publications

The impact of olive mill wastewater spreading on soils using integrated approach of proximal soil survey, spatial, and multivariate analyses

M. Iggy Litaor & Nanak Khadya
Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2018 Volume 25 Pages 7469?7478
2018

Trend Analysis of Alpine Catena Response to Nitrogen Deposition.

Litaor, M.I., K. Suding, S.P. Anderson, G. Litus, N. Caine.
Catena 2018 Volume 170 Pages 108-118
2018

Phosphorus Sorption Characteristics in Aluminum-Based Water Treatment Residuals Reacted with Dairy Wastewater, Part I: Isotherms, XRD, and SEM-EDS Analysis

Zohar, I., M. S. Massey, J.A. Ippolito, and M. I. Litaor.
Journal Environemental Quality 2018 Volume 47 Issue 3 Pages 538-545
2018

Phosphorus sorption to aluminum-based water treatment residuals reacted with dairy wastewa¬ter, Part II: X-ray adsorption spectroscopy.

Massey, M.S., I. Zohar, J.A. Ippolito, and M.I. Litaor.
Journal Environmental Quality 2018 Volume 47 Issue 3 Pages 546-553
2018

Contact Information

Research Group Leader
Prof. Michael (Iggy) Litaor
972-54-6780076
litaori@telhai.ac.il