Soil Salinity Type Effects on the Relationship between the Electrical Conductivity and Salt Content for 1:5 Soil-to-Water Extract

Amin I. Ismayilov, Amrakh I. Mamedov, Haruyuki Fujimaki, Atsushi Tsunekawa and Guy J. Levy
Additional contact information
Amin I. Ismayilov: Institute of Soil Science and Agrichemistry, Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), Baku AZ1073, Azerbaijan
Amrakh I. Mamedov: Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, Tottori 680-0001, Japan
Haruyuki Fujimaki: Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, Tottori 680-0001, Japan
Atsushi Tsunekawa: Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, Tottori 680-0001, Japan
Guy J. Levy: Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, ARO, Rishon LeZion 7505101, Israel

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 6, 1-11

Abstract: Soil salinity severely affects soil ecosystem quality and crop production in semi-arid and arid regions. A vast quantity of data on soil salinity has been collected by research organizations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS, formerly USSR) and many other countries over the last 70 years, but using them in the current international network (irrigation and reclamation strategy) is complicated. This is because in the CIS countries salinity was expressed by total soluble salts as a percentage on a dry-weight basis (total soluble salts, TSS, %) and eight salinity types (chemistry) determined by the ratios of the anions and cations (Cl − , SO 4 2− , HCO 3 − , and Na + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ ) in diluted soil water extract (soil/water = 1:5) without assessing electrical conductivity (EC). Measuring the EC (1:5) is more convenient, yet EC is not only affected by the concentration but also characteristics of the ions and the salinity chemistry. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between EC and TSS of soils in a diluted extract (1:5) for eight classic salinity types. We analyzed extracts (1:5) of 1100 samples of a clayey soil (0–20 cm) collected from cultivated semi-arid and arid regions for EC, TSS, soluble cations (Na + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ ), and anions (HCO 3 − , Cl − , SO 4 2− ). Results revealed that (i) the variation in the proportional relationships (R 2 ≥ 0.91–0.98) between EC (0.12–5.6 dS m −1 ) and TSS (0.05–2.5%) could be related to salinity type, and (ii) the proportionality coefficient of the relationships (2.2 2–3.16) decreased in the following order of salinity type: SO 4 < Cl(SO 4 )–HCO 3 < Cl(HCO 3 )–SO 4 < SO 4 (HCO 3 )–Cl < Cl. The findings suggest that once the salinity type of the soil is established, EC (1:5) values can be safely used for the evaluation of the soil salinity degree in the irrigated land in the context of sustainable soil and crop management.

Keywords: total dissolved salts; salinity chemistry; irrigation; dryland; salinity stress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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