Satellite-Based Monitoring of Decadal Soil Salinization and Climate Effects in a Semi-arid Region of China

Soil salinization is a common phenomenon that affects both the environment and the socio-economy in arid and semi-arid regions; it is also an important aspect of land cover change. In this study, we integrated multi-sensor remote sensing data with a field survey to analyze processes of soil salinization in a semi-arid area in China from 1979 to 2009. Generally, the area of salt-affected soils increased by 0.28% per year with remarkable acceleration from 1999 to 2009 （0.42% increase per year）. In contrast, the area of surface water bodies showed a decreasing trend （-0.08% per year） in the same period. Decreases in precipitation and increases in aridity due to annual （especially summer） warming provided a favorable condition for soil salinization. The relatively flat terrain favored waterlogging at the surface, and continuous drought facilitated upward movement of soil water and accumulation of surface saline and calcium. Meanwhile, land-use practices also played a crucial role in accelerating soil salinization. The conversion to cropland from natural vegetation greatly increased the demand for groundwater irrigation and aggravated the process of soil salinization. Furthermore, there are potential feedbacks of soil salinization to regional climate. The salinization of soils can limit the efficiency of plant water use as well as photosynthesis; therefore, it reduces the amount of carbon sequestrated by terrestrial ecosystem. Soil salinization also reduces the absorbed solar radiation by increasing land surface albedo. Such conversions of land cover significantly change the energy and water balance between land and atmosphere.

Study on Soil Salinization Information in Arid Region Using Remote Sensing Technique

Extracting information about saline soils from remote sensing data is useful, particularly given the environmental significance and changing nature of these areas in arid environments. One interesting case study to consider is the delta oasis of the Weigan and Kuqa rivers, China, which was studied using a Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus （ETM＋） image collected in August 2001. In recent years, decision tree classifiers have been successfully used for land cover classification from remote sensing data. Principal component analysis （PCA） is a popular data reduction technique used to help build a decision tree; it reduces complexity and can help the classification precision of a decision tree to be improved. A decision tree approach was used to determine the key variables to be used for classification and ultimately extract salinized soil from other cover and soil types within the study area. According to the research, the third principal component （PC3） is an effective variable in the decision tree classification for salinized soil information extraction. The research demonstrated that the PC3 was the best band to identify areas of severely salinized soil; the blue spectral band from the ETM＋ sensor （TM1） was the best band to identify salinized soil with the salt-tolerant vegetation of tamarisk （Tamarix chinensis Lour）; and areas comprising mixed water bodies and vegetation can be identified using the spectral indices MNDWI （modified normalized difference water index） and NDVI （normalized difference vegetation index）. Based upon this analysis, a decision tree classifier was applied to classify landcover types with different levels of soil saline. The results were checked using a statistical accuracy assessment. The overall accuracy of the classification was 94.80%, which suggested that the decision tree model is a simple and effective method with relatively high precision.

Soil salinization increases the stability of fungal not bacterial communities in the Taklamakan desert

●Bacterial richness declined but fungal richness increased under salinization.●Bacteria did not become interactively compact or facilitative under salinization.●Fungi exhibited more compartmentalized and competitive patterns under salinization.●Fungal stability showed steeper increases under salinization than bacterial stability.Soil salinization is a typical environmental challenge in arid regions worldwide.Salinity stress increases plant convergent adaptations and facilitative interactions and thus destabilizes communities.Soil bacteria and fungi have smaller body mass than plants and are often efficient against soil salinization,but how the stability of bacterial and fungal communities change with a wide range of soil salinity gradient remains unclear.Here,we assessed the interactions within both bacterial and fungal communities along a soil salinity gradient in the Taklamakan desert to examine(i)whether the stability of bacterial and fungal communities decreased with soil salinity,and(ii)the stability of which community decreased more with soil salinity,bacteria or fungi.Our results showed that the species richness of soil fungi increased but that of soil bacteria decreased with increasing salinity in topsoils.Fungal communities became more stable under soil salinization,with increasing compartmentalization(i.e.,modularity)and proportion of competitions(i.e.,negative:positive cohesion)as salinity increased.Bacterial communities exhibited no changes in modularity with increasing salinity and smaller increases in negative:positive cohesion under soil salinization compared to fungal communities.Our results suggest that,by altering interspecific interactions,soil salinization increases the stability of fungal not bacterial communities in extreme environments.

Experimental investigation into the salinity effect on the physicomechanical properties of carbonate saline soil

For engineering structures with saline soil as a filling material,such as channel slope,road subgrade,etc.,the rich soluble salt in the soil is an important potential factor affecting their safety performance.This study examines the Atterberg limits,shear strength,and compressibility of carbonate saline soil samples with different NaHCO3 contents in Northeast China.The mechanism underlying the influence of salt content on soil macroscopic properties was investigated based on a volumetric flask test,a mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)test,and a scanning electron microscopic(SEM)test.The results demonstrated that when NaHCO3 contents were lower than the threshold value of 1.5%,the bound water film adsorbed on the surface of clay particles thickened continuously,and correspondingly,the Atterberg limits and plasticity index increased rapidly as the increase of sodium ion content.Meanwhile,the bonding force between particles was weakened,the dispersion of large aggregates was enhanced,and the soil structure became looser.Macroscopically,the compressibility increased and the shear strength(mainly cohesion)decreased by 28.64%.However,when the NaHCO3 content exceeded the threshold value of 1.5%,the salt gradually approached solubility and filled the pores between particles in the form of crystals,resulting in a decrease in soil porosity.The cementation effect generated by salt crystals increased the bonding force between soil particles,leading to a decrease in plasticity index and an improvement in soil mechanical properties.Moreover,this work provides valuable suggestions and theoretical guidance for the scientific utilization of carbonate saline soil in backfill engineering projects.

Soil Salinization and Its Improvement in Arid Hetao Plain,Inner Mongolia:Irrigation Roles

This paper analyzes the impacts of physical background and human activities on secondary soil salinization in arid Hetao Plain,overviews the adopted amelioration strategies,and suggests the corresponding strategies dealing with water shortage in the Yellow River.

Effects of Groundwater with Various Salinities on Evaporation and Redistribution of Water and Salt in Saline-sodic Soils in Songnen Plain,Northeast China

Groundwater mineralization is one of the main factors affecting the transport of soil water and salt in saline-sodic areas.To investigate the effects of groundwater with different levels of salinity on evaporation and distributions of soil water and salt in Songnen Plain,Northeast China,five levels of groundwater sodium adsorption ration of water(SARw)and total salt content(TSC mmol/L)were conducted in an oil column lysimeters.The five treated groundwater labeled as ST0:0,ST0:10,ST5:40,ST10:70 and ST20:100,were prepared with NaCl and CaCl2 in proportion,respectively.The results showed the groundwater evaporation(GWE)and soil evaporation(SE)increased firstly and then decreased with the increase of groundwater salinity.The values of GWE and SE in ST10:70 treatment were the highest,which were 2.09 and 1.84 times the values in the ST0:0 treatment with the lowest GWE and SE.There was a positive linear correlation between GWE and the Ca^(2+)content in groundwater,with R^(2)=0.998.The soil water content(SWC)of ST0:0 treatment was significantly(P<0.05)less than those of other treatments during the test.The SWC of the ST0:0 and ST0:10 treatments increased with the increase of soil depth,while the other treatments showed the opposite trend.Statistical analysis indicated the SWC in the 0–60 cm soil layer was positively correlated with the groundwater TSC and its ion contents during the test.Salt accumulation occurred in the topsoil and the salt accumulation in the 0–20 cm soil layer was significantly(P<0.05)greater than that in the subsoil.This study revealed the effects of the salinity level of groundwater,especially the Ca^(2+)content and TSC of groundwater,on the GWE and distributions of soil water and salt,which provided important support for the prevention and reclamation of soil salinization and sodificaton in shallow groundwater regions.

Soil salinization research in China： Advances and prospects

With the environmental deterioration caused by the advance of climate change, soil salinization is a serious and growing global problem. Currently about 7% of the world＇s land surface is threatened by salinization. China is a country whose soils are severely affected by this problem, which, due to its extensive area, and wide distribution poses a serious threat to regional agricultural development. In this review, we summarize the framework for soil salinization research in China over the past 70 years, assess the weaknesses of existing research in both a domestic and international context, highlight the trends and key findings of global research about saline soils over the past 30 years, and propose six major fields and directions for future research on saline soil.

Information extraction and dynamic evaluation of soil salinization with a remote sensing method in a typical county on the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of China

Monitoring the dynamics of soil salinization is of great importance for agricultural production.This study selected Yucheng County,a typical county on the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain(HHHP)of China,as the study area and evaluated the spatial and temporal variation of soil salinization.Three methods,consisting of principal component analysis(PCA)transformation,tasseled cap(TC)transformation,and optimal band combination(OBC),were used to extract information from an early Landsat multispectral scanner(MSS)image from 1984,and their advantages were compared.In addition,OBC was used on a thematic mapper(TM)image from 2009.An iteratively self-organizing data analysis algorithm was used together with prior knowledge of likely classifications to interpret the MSS and TM images for data classification.Finally,a transfer matrix method was used to assess the spatial and temporal variability of soil salinization and analyze the driving factors of soil salinization.Compared to PCA transformation and OBC,TC transformation was a more effective method for extracting soil salinization information from the MSS sensor.The results indicate that a soil area of approximately 298 km^2was affected by salinity in 1984 in Yucheng County,of which 5.40%,11.96%,and 12.75%were classified as being subject to slight,moderate,and severe salinization,respectively.In 2009,the saline area was reduced to only 146 km^2,of which 10.70%and 3.75%were characterized by slight to moderate salinization and no severe salinization,respectively.The saline land decreased at an average rate of 6 km^2per year.This decrease was probably a result of lower groundwater depth,increased organic fertilizer or crop straw in soil,changed land use type,and increased vegetation coverage.

Thermal-water-salt coupling process of unsaturated saline soil under unidirectional freezing

Salinization and desertification are closely related to water-salt migration caused by a temperature gradient.Based on the Darcy Law of unsaturated soils,the law of energy conservation and the law of mass conservation,the thermal-water-salt coupling mathematical model of unsaturated frozen saline soil was established.The model considered the latent heat of phase change,crystallization impedance,crystallization consumption and complete precipitation of solute crystallization in ice.In order to verify the rationality of the model,the unidirectional freezing test of unsaturated saline soil was carried out in an open system with no-pressure water supplement to obtain the spatial distribution of temperature,moisture and salt in the saline soil.Finally,numerical simulations are implemented with the assistance of COMSOL Multiphysics.Validation of the model is illustrated by comparisons between the simulation and experimental data.The results demonstrated that the temperature within saline soil changes with time and can be divided into three stages,namely quick freezing stage,transitional stage and stable stage.The water and salt contents in the freezing zone are layered,with peak values at the freezing front.The coupled model could reveal the heat-mass migration mechanism of unsaturated frozen saline soil and dynamically describe the freezing depth and the movement law of the freezing front,ice and salt crystal formation mechanism,and the change law of thermal conductivity and permeability coefficient.

Prevention and Management of Soil Secondary Salinization in Paddy Field Irrigation Area

By analyzing the process of soil salt accumulation in irrigation area, and discussing the change of irrigation and drainage methods for drought transformed into water, the control scheme of soil secondary salinization in Wujiazi Irrigation Area was analyzed concretely, and the experience was summarized. After in-depth discussion, the importance of irrigation and drainage methods in the prevention and control of soil secondary salinization in irrigation areas was analyzed.

Accelerated Deterioration Mechanism and Reliability Evaluation of Concrete in Saline Soil Area

To reveal the deterioration mechanism and service life of concrete durability in the western saline soil area,the indoor accelerated test of the concrete specimen was simulated in the coupled environment of salt erosion and dry-wet cycles in the west saline soil area of China.The deterioration mechanism of concrete durability was revealed through the relative dynamic elastic modulus,relative quality evaluation parameters,SEM,and XRD evaluation indexes.Random Wiener distribution function was used for modeling life prediction.The results show that the relative dynamic elastic modulus evaluation parameter as an evaluation index of concrete durability under various environmental coupling effects is more reliable than the relative quality,there were holes and cracks in the concrete,and needle-like and layered crystals grow from the internal cracks.The corrosion products include ettringite,gypsum and other expansive crystals and non-gelling Mg(OH)_(2);the expansion stress caused by physical,chemical reaction,and temperature change under the action of drywet cycle aggravates the formation and development of cracks.The random Wiener distribution function can describe the degradation process of concrete specimen durability,and the established concrete reliability function can intuitively reflect the service life of concrete specimens.

Approach of water-salt regulation using micro-sprinkler irrigation in two coastal saline soils

This study aimed to investigate whether saline silt and sandy loam coastal soils could be reclaimed by micro-sprinkler irrigation.The experiments were run using moderately salt-tolerant tall fescue grass.Micro-sprinkler irrigation in three stages was used to regulate soil matric potential at a 20-cm soil depth.Continued regulation of soil water and salt through micro-sprinkler irrigation consistently resulted in an increasingly large low-salinity region.The application of the three stages of soil wateresalt regulation resulted in an absence of salt accumulation throughout the soil profile and the conversion of highly saline soils into moderately saline soils.There were increases in the plant height,leaf width,leaf length,and tiller numbers of tall fescue throughout the leaching process.The results showed that micro-sprinkler irrigation in three soil water and salt regulation stages can be used to successfully cultivate tall festuca in highly saline coastal soil.This approach achieved better effects in sandy loam soil than in silt soil.Tall fescue showed greater survival rates in sandy loam soil due to the rapid reclamation process,whereas plant growth was higher in silt soil because of effective water conservation.In sandy loam,soil moisture should be maintained during soil reclamation,and in silt soil,soil root-zone environments optimal for the emergence of plants should be quickly established.Micro-sprinkler irrigation can be successfully applied to the cultivation of tall fescue in coastal heavy saline soils under a three-stage soil wateresalt regulation regime.

Evaluation of Corrosion Degradation Law of Recycled Reinforced Concrete in Saline Soil Under Electrified Environment

In order to investigate the corrosion mechanism of recycled reinforced concrete (RRC) under harsh environments,four recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) contents were selected,and saline soil was used as an electrolyte to perform electrified accelerated corrosion experiments.The relative dynamic elastic modulus and relative corrosion current density were considered to describe the deterioration law of the RRC in saline soil.The results indicated that as the energization time increased,the corrosion current density,corrosion potential,and polarization resistance of the steel bar decreased gradually.Compared with ordinary reinforced concrete,when the RCA content was 30%,the ability of the RRC to resist corrosion was improved slightly;however,when the RCA content exceeded 30%,the corrosion resistance of the RRC deteriorated rapidly.Scanning electron microscopy revealed that for a dense RRC,less corrosion products were generated in the pores inside the concrete and on the surface of the steel bar.X-ray diffraction results indicated that SO_(4)^(2-) can generate ettringite and other corrosion products,along with volume expansion.The main corrosion products generated on the surface of the steel bars included Fe_(2)O_(3),Fe_(3)O_(4) and FeO(OH),which were the corrosion products generated by steel bars under natural environments.Therefore,using saline soil as an electrolyte is more consistent with the actual service environments of RRC.Both the relative dynamic mode and relative corrosion current density of the degradation parameters conform to the Weibull distribution;furthermore,the relative dynamic mode is more sensitive and the corresponding reliability curve can better describe the degradation law of RRC under saline soil environments.

Maize straw application as an interlayer improves organic carbon and total nitrogen concentrations in the soil profile: A four-year experiment in a saline soil

Soil salinization is a critical environmental issue restricting agricultural production.Deep return of straw to the soil as an interlayer (at 40 cm depth) has been a popular practice to alleviate salt stress.However,the legacy effects of straw added as an interlayer at different rates on soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in saline soils still remain inconclusive.Therefore,a four-year (2015–2018) field experiment was conducted with four levels (i.e.,0,6,12and 18 Mg ha~(–1)) of straw returned as an interlayer.Compared with no straw interlayer (CK),straw addition increased SOC concentration by 14–32 and 11–57%in the 20–40 and 40–60 cm soil layers,respectively.The increases in soil TN concentration (8–22 and 6–34%in the 20–40 and 40–60 cm soil layers,respectively) were lower than that for SOC concentration,which led to increased soil C:N ratio in the 20–60 cm soil depth.Increases in SOC and TN concentrations in the 20–60 cm soil layer with straw addition led to a decrease in stratification ratios (0–20 cm:20–60 cm),which promoted uniform distributions of SOC and TN in the soil profile.Increases in SOC and TN concentrations were associated with soil salinity and moisture regulation and improved sunflower yield.Generally,compared with other treatments,the application of 12 Mg ha~(–1) straw had higher SOC,TN and C:N ratio,and lower soil stratification ratio in the2015–2017 period.The results highlighted that legacy effects of straw application as an interlayer were maintained for at least four years,and demonstrated that deep soil straw application had a great potential for improving subsoil fertility in salt-affected soils.

Reclamation of Coastal Soil Salinity towards Sustainable Rice Production and Mitigating Global Warming Potentials in the Changing Climate

Soil salinity has become a major constraint to rice productivity in the coastal region of Bangladesh, which threatened food security. Therefore, field experiment was conducted at salt stressed Shyamnagor Upazilla of Satkhira district to improve the soil salinity status, sustainable rice production and suppression of global warming potentials. Selected soil amendments viz. trichocompost, tea waste compost, azolla compost and phospho-gypsum (PG) were applied in the field plots one week prior to rice transplanting. In addition, proline solution (25 mM) was applied on the transplanted rice plants at active vegetative stage. Gas samples from the paddy field were collected by Closed Chamber technique and analyzed in by Gas Chromatograph. The 25% replacement of chemical fertilizer (i.e., 75% NPKS) with trichocompost, tea waste compost, Azolla compost and Phospho-gypsum amendments increased grain yield by 4.7% - 7.0%, 2.3% - 7.1% 11.9% - 16.6% and 9.5% - 14.2% during dry boro rice cultivation, while grain yield increments of 5.0% - 7.6%, 2.3% - 10.2%, 12.8% - 15.3% and 10.2% - 15.3% were recorded in wet Aman season respectively, compared to chemically fertilized (100% NPKS) field plot. The least GWPs 3575 and 3650 kg CO2 eq./ha were found in PG Cyanobacterial mixture with proline (T10) and tea waste compost with proline (T8) amended rice field, while the maximum GWPs 4725 and 4500 kg CO2 eq./ha were recorded in NPKS fertilized (100%, T2) and NPKS (75%) with Azolla compost (T5) amended plots during dry boro rice cultivation. The overall soil properties improved significantly with the selected soil amendments, while soil electrical conductivity (EC), soil pH and Na+ cation in the amended soil decreased, eventually improved the soil salinity status. Conclusively, phospho-gypsum amendments with cyanobacteria inoculation and proline solution (25 mM) application could be an effective option to reclaim coastal saline soils, sustaining rice productivity and reducing global warming potentials.

Leaching Fraction (LF) of Irrigation Water for Saline Soils Using Machine Learning

Soil salinity is a serious land degradation issue in agriculture.It is a major threat to agriculture productivity.Extra irrigation water is applied to leach down the salts from the root zone of the plants in the form of a Leaching fraction(LF)of irrigation water.For the leaching process to be effective,the LF of irriga-tion water needs to be adjusted according to the environmental conditions and soil salinity level in the form of Evapotranspiration(ET)rate.The relationship between environmental conditions and ET rate is hard to be defined by a linear relationship and data-driven Machine learning(ML)based decisions are required to determine the calibrated Evapotranspiration(ETc)rate.ML-assisted ETc is pro-posed to adjust the LF according to the ETc and soil salinity level.A regression model is proposed to determine the ETc rate according to the prevailing tempera-ture,humidity,and sunshine,which would be used to determine the smart LF according to the ETc and soil salinity level.The proposed model is trained and tested against the Blaney Criddle method of Reference evapotranspiration(ETo)determination.The validation of the model from the test dataset reveals the accu-racy of the ML model in terms of Root mean squared errors(RMSE)are 0.41,Mean absolute errors(MAE)are 0.34,and Mean squared errors(MSE)are 0.28 mm day-1.The applications of the proposed solution in a real-time environ-ment show that the LF by the proposed solution is more effective in reducing the soil salinity as compared to the traditional process of leaching.

Ecological problems and ecological restoration zoning of the Aral Sea

The Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake in the world but it has shrunk dramatically as a result of irrational human activities, triggering the "Aral Sea ecological crisis". The ecological problems of the Aral Sea have attracted widespread attention, and the alleviation of the Aral Sea ecological crisis has reached a consensus among the five Central Asian countries(Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan). In the past decades, many ecological management measures have been implemented for the ecological restoration of the Aral Sea. However, due to the lack of regional planning and zoning, the results are not ideal. In this study, we mapped the ecological zoning of the Aral Sea from the perspective of ecological restoration based on soil type, soil salinity, surface water, groundwater table, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI), land cover, and aerosol optical depth(AOD) data. Soil salinization and salt dust are the most prominent ecological problems in the Aral Sea. We divided the Aral Sea into 7 first-level ecological restoration subregions(North Aral Sea catchment area in the downstream of the Syr Darya River(Subregion Ⅰ);artificial flood overflow area in the downstream of the Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅱ);physical/chemical remediation area of the salt dust source area in the eastern part of the South Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅲ);physical/chemical remediation area of severe salinization in the central part of the South Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅳ);existing water surface and potential restoration area of the South Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅴ);Aral Sea vegetation natural recovery area(Subregion Ⅵ);and vegetation planting area with slight salinization in the South Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅶ)) and 14 second-level ecological restoration subregions according to the ecological zoning principles. Implementable measures are proposed for each ecological restoration subregion. For Subregion Ⅰ and Subregion Ⅱ with lower elevations, artificial flooding should be carried out to restore the surface of the Aral Sea. Subregion Ⅲ and Subregion Ⅳ have severe salinization, making it difficult for vegetation to grow. In these subregions, it is recommended to cover and pave the areas with green biomatrix coverings and environmentally sustainable bonding materials. In Subregion Ⅴ located in the central and western parts of the South Aral Sea, surface water recharge should be increased to ensure that this subregion can maintain normal water levels. In Subregion Ⅵ and Subregion Ⅶ where natural conditions are suitable for vegetation growth, measures such as afforestation and buffer zones should be implemented to protect vegetation. This study could provide a reference basis for future comprehensive ecological management and restoration of the Aral Sea.

Challenges for the sustainable use of water and land resources under a changing climate and increasing salinization in the Jizzakh irrigation zone of Uzbekistan

Jizzakh Province in Uzbekistan is one of the largest irrigated areas in Central Asia without natural drainage.In combination with aridity,climate change and extensive irrigation practices,this has led to the widespread salinization of agricultural land.The aim of this study was to identify opportunities to improve the reclamation status of the irrigated area and how best to effectively use the water resources in Jizzakh Province based on investigations conducted between 1995 and 2016.A database of field measurements of groundwater levels,mineralization and soil salinity conducted by the provincial Hydro-Geological Reclamation Expeditions was used in the study.The total groundwater mineralization was determined using a portable electric conductometer(Progress 1T)and the chloride concentration was determined using the Mohr method.The soil salinity analyses were conducted by applying two different methods:(1)the extraction and assessment of the soluble salt content,and(2)using an SM-138 conductivity sensor applied to a 1:1 mixture of soil sample and water.The analyses of the monitoring results and the salt balance in the"irrigation water–soil–drainage water"system clearly demonstrated that the condition of the irrigated land in the province was not significantly improved.Under these conditions,the stability of crop yields is achieved mainly through the use of large volumes of fertilizer.However,excess amounts of mineral fertilizers can also cause the salinization of soils.The average groundwater salinization value in most of the irrigated land(75.3%)fluctuated between 1.1 and 5.0 g/L,while the values were less than 1.0 g/L in 13.1%of the land and in the range of 5.1–10.0 g/L in 10.5%of the land.During the period of 1995–2016 the salinization level of the irrigated land in Jizzakh Province increased slightly and the area could be divided into the following classes:no salinity(17.7%of the total area),low salinity(51.3%),moderate salinity(29.0%),and high salinity(2.0%).Detailed studies of the salt balance in irrigated land,the impact of climate change,increased fertilizer use,and repeated remediation leaching on the groundwater level and mineralization should be conducted in the future,due to the possibility of accelerated salinization,fertility decline,and reduced yields of agricultural crops.

Geostatistical analysis of variations in soil salinity in a typical irrigation area in Xinjiang, northwest China

Characterizing spatial and temporal variability of soil salinity is tremendously important for a variety of agronomic and environmental concerns in arid irrigation areas. This paper reviews the characteristics and spatial and temporal variations of soil salinization in the Ili River Irrigation Area by applying a geostatistical approach. Results showed that: (1) the soil salinity varied widely, with maximum value of 28.10 g/kg and minimum value of 0.10 g/kg, and was distributed mainly at the surface soil layer. Anions were mainly SO42- and Cl-, while cations were mainly Na+ and Ca2+; (2) the abundance of salinity of the root zone soil layer for different land use types was in the following order: grassland > cropland > forestland. The abundance of salinity of root zone soil layers for different periods was in the following order: March > June > September; (3) the spherical model was the most suitable variogram model to describe the salinity of the 0-3 cm and 3-20 cm soil layers in March and June, and the 3-20 cm soil layer in September, while the exponential model was the most suitable variogram model to describe the salinity of the 0-3 cm soil layer in September. Relatively strong spatial and temporal structure existed for soil salinity due to lower nugget effects; and (4) the maps of kriged soil salinity showed that higher soil salinity was distributed in the central parts of the study area and lower soil salinity was distributed in the marginal parts. Soil salinity tended to increase from the marginal parts to the central parts across the study area. Applying the kriging method is very helpful in detecting the problematic areas and is a good tool for soil resources management. Managing efforts on the appropriate use of soil and water resources in such areas is very important for sustainable agriculture, and more attention should be paid to these areas to prevent future problems.