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Sustainable Use of Wastewater in Agriculture: A Bibliometric Analysis of Worldwide Research

Department of Economy and Business, Research Centre on Mediterranean Intensive Agrosystems and Agrifood Biotechnology, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
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Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 8948; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218948
Received: 9 October 2020 / Revised: 21 October 2020 / Accepted: 26 October 2020 / Published: 28 October 2020
It is estimated that at least one quarter of the world’s population will be affected by water shortages in the coming years and by 2030 there will be a global water deficit of 40% if urgent action is not taken. Currently, the main consumer of water globally is agriculture. In addition, it has been estimated that to meet the demand for food by 2050, the water available for agricultural irrigation would have to increase by 70%. In this context, wastewater could become a relevant water resource to meet this growing demand. This article aims to show the state of the global research on sustainable use of wastewater in agriculture. To this end, a systematic qualitative analysis and a quantitative bibliometric analysis were conducted. The search was carried out for the period 2000–2019, and the analyzed sample comprised 1986 articles. The results show that this line of research is one of the most outstanding within agriculture and has gained special relevance during the last five years. Research has improved significantly at a technical level, but problems such as energy consumption, and the elimination of heavy metals and elements of chemical and pharmacological products, still need to be refined. There is a particular lack of contributions covering social aspects. This article can serve as a reference for both researchers and stakeholders interested in this topic. View Full-Text
Keywords: water scarcity; water supply-demand; irrigation; non-conventional water resources; systematic review water scarcity; water supply-demand; irrigation; non-conventional water resources; systematic review
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MDPI and ACS Style

López-Serrano, M.J.; Velasco-Muñoz, J.F.; Aznar-Sánchez, J.A.; Román-Sánchez, I.M. Sustainable Use of Wastewater in Agriculture: A Bibliometric Analysis of Worldwide Research. Sustainability 2020, 12, 8948. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218948

AMA Style

López-Serrano MJ, Velasco-Muñoz JF, Aznar-Sánchez JA, Román-Sánchez IM. Sustainable Use of Wastewater in Agriculture: A Bibliometric Analysis of Worldwide Research. Sustainability. 2020; 12(21):8948. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218948

Chicago/Turabian Style

López-Serrano, María J., Juan F. Velasco-Muñoz, José A. Aznar-Sánchez, and Isabel M. Román-Sánchez 2020. "Sustainable Use of Wastewater in Agriculture: A Bibliometric Analysis of Worldwide Research" Sustainability 12, no. 21: 8948. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218948

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