  
Department of Environmental
Physics and Irrigation
 
Department of Soil Chemistry and
Plant Nutrition
Phone Book
National
Water Quality Laboratory
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Head: Dr. David Russo,
Business Office Administrator: Tirza Friedman
Business Office: Etty Dadush , Yizchak Gershon
Tel: 972-3 9683640, or 972-3 9683625, Fax: 972-3-9604017
Email: Etty@volcani.agri.gov.il
The Institute of Soil, Water & Environmental Sciences
is one of seven research institutes comprising the Agricultural
Research Organization of Israel and includes two departments.
As of September 2004, our staff includes 25 scientists, 29 engineers,
technicians and visiting scientists and more than 20 students.
The annual research budget in the Institute is about $ 1.2
million all from local and international competitive grants.
The Institute’s main task is to carry out research to ensure
optimal use of two of Israel's limited natural resources: soil
and water. In recent years the growing public concern for preserving
our environment has led scientists in our Institute to study
the role agriculture plays in preserving our environment.
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A team of soil scientists, physiologists
and chemists study economically and environmentally sound
irrigation and fertilization management in open fields, greenhouses
and screen-houses. The aim of the team is both improving water
use efficiency in agriculture and minimizing groundwater contaminations.
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Intensive effort has been made to develop
safe irrigation practices with wastewater to control transport
of solutes and pesticides in the soil. This work aims to create
methods and hydrological models for evaluating soil and ground
water contamination risk by toxic components of industrial
and urban wastewater used in agriculture
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New technologies are used to apply a closed-loop
use of irrigation water in greenhouses to minimize environmental
pollution and concomitantly reduce nutrient application.
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Models developed in the Institute are used
to quantify the spatial variability in hydraulic and mechanical
soil properties on the field scale.
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Organic input to the soil has become a major
concern when treated effluent is used for irrigation. Studies
are conducted in the Institute on microbial processes of organic
compounds, the transport and fate of organic contaminants
and sorption and transportation of microelements in the fields.
More details on these topics may be seen in the description
of research activities of the departments.
Scientists of the Institute assist the Water Commission of
Israel to operate the National Water Quality Laboratory whose
main goal is to monitor Israel's water resources.
The academic-staff in the Institute maintains close contact with
the Extension Service of the Ministry of Agriculture and with
local farmers, and teach advanced courses in soil science, irrigation
and soil contamination at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Scientists in our Institute supervise students for MSc. and PhD
degrees in cooperation with scientists from universities in Israel
and abroad.
The Institute conducts, in Bet-Dagan, an international course
on impact of agriculture on environmental quality, in cooperation
with “Mashav”, the Center for International Cooperation at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel.
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