Restoring soil health from dredged sediments through electrokinetic remediation for zucchini cultivation
Abstract
Dredged sediments are rich in organic matter and nutrients, but their agricultural reuse is limited by high salinity. Electrokinetic remediation (EKR) can remove salts, yet its effect on overall soil health, including microbial function and plant nutrient dynamics, remains poorly understood. This study evaluated the agronomic potential of EKR-treated dredged sediments for zucchini (Cucurbita pepo 'Zelia') cultivation in a controlled greenhouse pot experiment. Five growth media were evaluated: 100% EKR-treated sediment (M1), 100% untreated sediment (M3), 30% EKR-treated sediment blended with 70% agricultural soil (M2), 30% untreated sediment blended with 70% agricultural soil (M4), and 100% agricultural soil control (ctr). Each treatment had four replicate pots. Post-harvest analysis included plant biomass, elemental uptake, soil physicochemical properties, microbial respiration, enzymatic activities, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction-based functional gene abundance. EKR reduced sodium uptake by 68% compared to untreated sediment. Pure treated sediment (M1) produced the highest plant biomass (22.5 g), 32% greater than the control.The 30% EKR blend (M2) supported microbial abundance that was two orders of magnitude higher than in the control soil (9.6 × 10 9 vs. 8.9 × 10 7 gene copies/g), with a 1000-fold enrichment of the nitrogen fixation gene (nifH). Water holding capacity in treated sediments (0.43 g/g) was 34% higher than the control. We concluded that EKR effectively desalinates dredged sediments while preserving their fertility and that a 30% blend with agricultural soil offers an optimal, low-risk strategy for reconstructing productive, biologically active soil.
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BibTeX
@article{ahmad2026restoring,
title = {{Restoring soil health from dredged sediments through electrokinetic remediation for zucchini cultivation}},
author = {Zulfiqar Ahmad and Hussein J Kanbar and Jennifer Harris and Mohamed‐tahar Ammami and Catherine Joulian and Jeanne Simon and Ahmed Benamar},
journal = {Agronomy Journal},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/agj2.70567},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05785430v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Restoring soil health from dredged sediments through electrokinetic remediation for zucchini cultivation
AU - Zulfiqar Ahmad
AU - Hussein J Kanbar
AU - Jennifer Harris
AU - Mohamed‐tahar Ammami
AU - Catherine Joulian
AU - Jeanne Simon
AU - Ahmed Benamar
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
JO - Agronomy Journal
DO - 10.1002/agj2.70567
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05785430v1
AB - Dredged sediments are rich in organic matter and nutrients, but their agricultural reuse is limited by high salinity. Electrokinetic remediation (EKR) can remove salts, yet its effect on overall soil health, including microbial function and plant nutrient dynamics, remains poorly understood. This study evaluated the agronomic potential of EKR-treated dredged sediments for zucchini (Cucurbita pepo 'Zelia') cultivation in a controlled greenhouse pot experiment. Five growth media were evaluated: 100% EKR-treated sediment (M1), 100% untreated sediment (M3), 30% EKR-treated sediment blended with 70% agricultural soil (M2), 30% untreated sediment blended with 70% agricultural soil (M4), and 100% agricultural soil control (ctr). Each treatment had four replicate pots. Post-harvest analysis included plant biomass, elemental uptake, soil physicochemical properties, microbial respiration, enzymatic activities, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction-based functional gene abundance. EKR reduced sodium uptake by 68% compared to untreated sediment. Pure treated sediment (M1) produced the highest plant biomass (22.5 g), 32% greater than the control.The 30% EKR blend (M2) supported microbial abundance that was two orders of magnitude higher than in the control soil (9.6 × 10 9 vs. 8.9 × 10 7 gene copies/g), with a 1000-fold enrichment of the nitrogen fixation gene (nifH). Water holding capacity in treated sediments (0.43 g/g) was 34% higher than the control. We concluded that EKR effectively desalinates dredged sediments while preserving their fertility and that a 30% blend with agricultural soil offers an optimal, low-risk strategy for reconstructing productive, biologically active soil.
SN - 0002-1962
ER -