Assessment of heavy metal contamination in agricultural soil in the Hebron Governorate
Supervisor Name
Sharaf Al-Tardeh
Supervisor Email
sharaft@ppu.edu
University
Applied Biology, Palestine Polytechnic University
Research field
Agricultural Science
Bio
Dr Sharaf Al-Tardeh, is the head of Department of Applied achemistry and Biology, the coordinator of applied biology program at Palestine polytechnic university (PPU) (since 2017) and chairman of Palestinian Society for Biological Sciences (PSBS) (since 2020). He has a PhD in plant Physiology and anatomy from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GREECE (2003- 2008). He has MSc. in Food Quality Management from Mediterranean.Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAIC), A constitute Institute of the International Center of Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) (200-2002) and BSc. Biological Sciences/ Yarmouk University, Jordan (1996-2000). Al-Tardeh is a member of renewable energy & environment research unit (REERU) / (PPU) (since 2017), member of the national team to restore research priorities for the water, environment and agriculture sectors, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Palestine (since 2022). He has published numerous publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals and conferences. He was the Chairman of the Annual Conference of Palestinian Society for Biological sciences (4-5th, 2021). He is/was a supervisor and member of examination committees of more than 60 undergraduate students; one master student, four PhD student and one Post doc. Dr Al-Tardeh participated in many national and international workshops, visits and scientific activities. He holds many funded research projects i.e., Palestinian German Ccooperation (PALGER) program, Germany Palestinian Scientific bridge (GPSB), EUPI Research Grants, and Palestinian American Research Center (PARC). He has taught different courses for undergraduates. His research interests include but are not limited to plant stress physiology, anatomy and nutrition, soil amendments, wastewater treatment, Rehabilitation of the quarries and environmental pollutions.
Heavy metals in agricultural soils can originate from various sources, including industrial activities, fertilizers and pesticides, sewage sludge, atmospheric depositions, landfill leachate, historical land use, irrigation water, and natural sources. In Palestine, there is almost 133 types of chemical pesticides are being use in both of the irrigated lands (96.6 %) and rainfed lands (87.0 %). The average seasonal consumption of pesticides was found to be 4 kg per dunum in irrigated fields and 6.5 kg per dunum in irrigated fields. The used pesticides are insecticides contribute at 49.4 %, fungicides 33.7 %, herbicides 12.8 % and others 4.1 %. Therefore, the farmers are extensively use the chemicals in the form of fertilizers and pesticides. After applying such chemicals, their residues may accumulate in the soil as heavy metals which later on transferred to healthy plants and to consumers. Indeed, disease causing agents will reach to human body and leads to diseases. In this research, we will assess the spatial distribution of the accumulated heavy metals, i.e., Cd, Pb, and Cr in the agriculture lands by the means of spectrophotometer and some pollution indices. In addition, the applicants will investigate the prospective relations pertaining to human health diseases and increase the awareness of farmers about the consequences of abuse of the heavy-metals rich agricultural chemicals. Start date Start date March - 2025 July – 2025 10-15 The project is designed for students with strong background in applied biology, chemistry and/ or ecology as well as who reveal interest in Agriculture. The candidate must be very good in English Contacts: Dr. Sharaf Al-Tardeh, PPU
