Spatiotemporal Patterns and Key Driving Factors of Soil Salinity in Dry and Wet Years in an Arid Agricultural Area with Shallow Groundwater Table

Guanfang Sun, Yan Zhu (), Zhaoliang Gao, Jinzhong Yang, Zhongyi Qu, Wei Mao and Jingwei Wu
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Guanfang Sun: Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Yan Zhu: Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Zhaoliang Gao: Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Jinzhong Yang: Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Zhongyi Qu: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China
Wei Mao: Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Jingwei Wu: Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-17

Abstract: Soil salinization is a major eco-environmental problem in irrigated agro-ecosystems. Understanding regional soil salinity spatial patterns and seasonal dynamics and their driving factors under changing environments is beneficial to managing soil salinity to maintain agricultural production in arid agricultural areas. To better investigate this topic, soil salinity was measured, ranging from topsoil to the depth of 1.8 m in an irrigation district with 68 sampling sites before and after the crop growing seasons of the dry year of 2017 and wet year of 2018. Soil texture, groundwater table depth, groundwater salinity, and crop type were monitored. The results indicated that an increase in soil salinity in the root zone (0–0.6 m) was accompanied by a decrease in soil salinity in the deep soil (0.6–1.8 m) through the crop growing season due to water movement from the deep layer to shallow layer, whereas the opposite trend was observed during the fallow seasons. During the dry year, the area with soil desalted was measured to be 19.89%, 14.42%, and 2.78% lower at depths of 0–0.6 m, 0.6–1.2 m, and 1.2–1.8 m than that during the wet year. The groundwater table depth in the crop growing season had the least impact on the change in root zone soil salinity ( p > 0.05). Interactions between crop types and groundwater table depth had a significant effect on the change of soil salinity in the root zone during the growing season of the dry year, but were insignificant during the wet year. Crop types, groundwater table depth, and climate conditions determined the contribution of shallow groundwater to crop water consumption and, to a greater extent, soil salinity. Regression tree analysis showed that groundwater salinity and soil texture had a greater influence on soil salinity than groundwater table depth and land elevation. The effect of groundwater on soil salinity is strongly related to soil texture, and the salinity of fine-textured soil was 36–54% greater than that of coarse-textured soil due to large capillary action. Therefore, we suggest strengthening groundwater management in areas with fine-textured soil to relieve soil salinization, particularly during dry years.

Keywords: soil salinity; spatiotemporal dynamics; Hetao Irrigation District; groundwater table depth; soil texture; impact factor (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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