Effects of Subsurface Drainage on Soil Salinity and Groundwater Table in Drip Irrigated Cotton Fields in Oasis Regions of Tarim Basin

Yuhui Yang, Dongwei Li, Weixiong Huang, Xinguo Zhou, Zhaoyang Li, Xiaomei Dong and Xingpeng Wang ()
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Yuhui Yang: College of Hydraulic and Architectural Engineering, Tarim University, Alaer 843300, China
Dongwei Li: Farmland Irrigation Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Xinxiang 453002, China
Weixiong Huang: College of Hydraulic and Architectural Engineering, Tarim University, Alaer 843300, China
Xinguo Zhou: Farmland Irrigation Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Xinxiang 453002, China
Zhaoyang Li: College of Hydraulic and Architectural Engineering, Tarim University, Alaer 843300, China
Xiaomei Dong: College of Hydraulic and Architectural Engineering, Tarim University, Alaer 843300, China
Xingpeng Wang: College of Hydraulic and Architectural Engineering, Tarim University, Alaer 843300, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: As one global issue, soil salinization has caused soil degradation, thus affecting the sustainable development of irrigated agriculture. A two-year study was conducted in 2018 and 2019 to identify the effects of subsurface drainage spacing on soil salinity and groundwater level, the latter of which is in a high-water table in drip irrigation cotton fields in the Tarim Basin oasis in southern Xinjiang, China. Three subsurface drainage treatments, with a drain spacing of 10 m (W10), 20 m (W20), and 30 m (W30), respectively, and a drainage-absent treatment (CK), are tested. With CK, soil salinity in the 0–60 cm layer was accumulated within a year. In contrast, the subsurface drainage reduced the soil salinity at a leaching rate of 10–25%. When decreasing the drain spacing, it was found that the soil desalination rate increased significantly ( p < 0.05) with good repeatability. Experimental results showed that the fitting equation of the soil salinity leaching curve could accurately describe the soil salinity leaching pattern of drip irrigation, and thus could be further used to inversely determine the theoretical drip irrigation leaching quota for those soils with different salinity degrees. As such, subsurface drainage could effectively control the groundwater table. Compared with CK, subsurface drainage deepened the groundwater table and mitigated the fluctuation of the groundwater level. These effects were strengthened by reducing the drain spacing. Correspondingly, the influence of the fluctuation of the groundwater table was reduced.

Keywords: subsurface drainage; soil salinity; groundwater table; drip irrigation; soil salinity leaching curve (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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