Dynamics of Land Salinization in the Commune of Fimela (Fatick, Senegal) from 1973 to 2020

In Senegal, the agricultural sector remains a major component of the economy and national growth. As the main subsistence activity for 60% of the population, agricultural activity is essential to reduce poverty and ensure food security for the population. In this context, land degradation is a major constraint. In the Fatick region, in the commune of Fimela, land salinization is a worrying environmental problem. The purpose of this study is to understand the dynamics of soil salinization in Fimela in the context of climate change that tends to modify the evolution of landscapes. It required direct observations in the field, socio-economic surveys based on a questionnaire administered in six (6) villages. The processing of the data from these surveys was carried out with Sphinx software for the extraction of data in numerical form and SPSS to carry out the correlations between the collected variables. Excel was also used to perform calculations and make tables and graphs. In addition, the acquisition and processing of Landsat multi-spectral satellite images from 1973, 1988 and 2020 allowed us to observe the evolution of landscape units according to determining climatic events such as drought. The areas of tans have experienced a positive evolution during the period 1973-2020 with an increase of 163.11 hectares or an evolution rate of 7.47%. The localities most affected are Ndangane, Fimela, Djilor, Simal and the villages of the Mar Islands. The overall dynamics of cultivable land are marked by a decline with a rate of change of −18%. Despite the multiple reforestation campaigns, the mangrove has recorded a continuous decrease of 54.58% or a loss estimated at 5335.59 ha during the period 1973-2020. Finally, the analysis of the results of our study shows that land salinization is a determining element of the dynamics of land use and deteriorates the already precarious living conditions of rural populations and compromises the future of the agropastoral production system.

Carbon storage in a wolfberry plantation chronosequence established on a secondary saline land in an arid irrigated area of Gansu Province,China

Carbon（C） storage has received significant attention for its relevance to agricultural security and climate change. Afforestation can increase C storage in terrestrial ecosystems, and has been recognized as an important measure to offset CO_2 emissions. In order to analyze the C benefits of planting wolfberry（Lycium barbarum L.） on the secondary saline lands in arid areas, we conducted a case study on the dynamics of biomass carbon（BC） storage and soil organic carbon（SOC） storage in different-aged wolfberry plantations（4-, 7-and 11-year-old） established on a secondary saline land as well as on the influence of wolfberry plantations on C storage in the plant-soil system in an arid irrigated area（Jingtai County） of Gansu Province, China. The C sequestration and its potential in the wolfberry plantations of Gansu Province were also evaluated. An intact secondary saline land was selected as control. Results show that wolfberry planting could decrease soil salinity, and increase BC, SOC and litter C storage of the secondary saline land significantly, especially in the first 4 years after planting. The aboveground and belowground BC storage values in the intact secondary saline land（control） accounted for only 1.0% and 1.2% of those in the wolfberry plantations, respectively. Compared to the intact secondary saline land, the SOC storage values in the 4-, 7-and 11-year-old wolfberry plantations increased by 36.4%, 37.3% and 43.3%, respectively, and the SOC storage in the wolfberry plantations occupied more than 92% of the ecosystem C storage. The average BC and SOC sequestration rates of the wolfberry plantations for the age group of 0–11 years were 0.73 and 3.30 Mg C/（hm^2·a）, respectively. There were no significant difference in BC and SOC storage between the 7-year-old and 11-year-old wolfberry plantations, which may be due in part to the large amounts of C offtakes in new branches and fruits. In Gansu Province, the C storage in the wolfberry plantations has reached up to 3.574 Tg in 2013, and the C sequestration potential of the existing wolfberry plantations was 0.134 Tg C/a. These results indicate that wolfberry planting is an ideal agricultural model to restore the degraded saline lands and increase the C sequestration capacity of agricultural lands in arid areas.

The background features of natural environment and the harnessing pattern for the spread of saline land in the Songnen Plain

The Songnen Plain lying in the central part of the Northeast China Plain covers an area of about 170 000 km2. There are vast patches of saline land, which are still in the process of enlargement. The spread of saline land has already caused the worsening of ecoenvironment and hindered agricultural development in the region. The paper analyses background factors of natural environment that caused the spread of saline land according to the information of Landsat TM images. The result shows that among the three kinds of lakes the fault lake is the background factor of natural environment that causes the spread of saline land under arid conditions. Its lakebeach meadows could not recover from the excessive utilization in farming and stockraising. The proposed countermeasures to prevent and control the spread of saline land serve as biological steps or water conservancy facilities to protect the lakebeach meadows of the fault lakes from being artificial excessively utilized.

The Greening Construction and Technology of the Management in the Lop Nur Potash Mine

Lop Nur potash mine greening projects is located in the heart of the Lop Nur, known as the ＂green zone ban＂. The project overcomes the extreme drought, high temperature, gale and dust salt and salt, and many other adverse environmen- tal factors. Adopted the suitable salt improvement measures and management tech- nology, the artificial green has emerged in the sea of death. At the same time the greening project improved the office environment of mining area, and shaped ex- treme environment greening projects successful cases.

Determination of land salinization causes via land cover and hydrological process change detection in a typical part of Songnen Plain

Causes of land salinization were determined via land cover and hydrological process change detection in a typical part of Songnen Plain. The area of saline land increased from 4627 km2 in 1980 to 5416 km2 in 2000, and then decreased to 5198 km2 in 2015. The transformation between saline land and other land covers happened mainly before 2000, and saline land had transformation relationship mainly with cropland, grassland, and water body. From 1979 to 2007, groundwater depth fluctuated to increase and was mainly deeper than 3.3 m. Spatially, the area of the region where groundwater depth was deeper than 3.3 m increased from 46.7% in 1980 to 84% in 2000, while the area of the region almost occupied the whole region after 2000. Precipitation and evaporation changed little, while runoff decreased substantially. Shallow groundwater, change of cropland, grassland, and water body induced from human activities and decrease of runoff and increase of irrigation and water transfer from outer basin were the main reasons for land salinization before 2000. After 2000, groundwater with relatively great depth could not exert great influence on land salinization. Protection of grassland and wetland prevented the increase of the area of saline land.

Determination of potential management zones from soil electrical conductivity,yield and crop data

One approach to apply precision agriculture to optimize crop production and environmental quality is identifying management zones. In this paper,the variables of soil electrical conductivity (EC) data,cotton yield data and normalized differ-ence vegetation index (NDVI) data in an about 15 ha field in a coastal saline land were selected as data resources,and their spatial variabilities were firstly analyzed and spatial distribution maps constructed with geostatistics technique. Then fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm was used to define management zones,fuzzy performance index (FPI) and normalized classification entropy (NCE) were used to determine the optimal cluster numbers. Finally one-way variance analysis was performed on 224 georefer-enced soil and yield sampling points to assess how well the defined management zones reflected the soil properties and produc-tivity level. The results reveal that the optimal number of management zones for the present study area was 3 and the defined management zones provided a better description of soil properties and yield variation. Statistical analyses indicate significant differences between the chemical properties of soil samples and crop yield in each management zone,and management zone 3 presented the highest nutrient level and potential crop productivity,whereas management zone 1 the lowest. Based on these findings,we conclude that fuzzy c-means clustering approach can be used to delineate management zones by using the given three variables in the coastal saline soils,and the defined management zones form an objective basis for targeting soil samples for nutrient analysis and development of site-specific application strategies.

Analysis of nutrient content and assessment of economic value for major salt-tolerant plants in coastal areas:a case study of Dongying City, Shandong Province

Salinization of soil is a worldwide problem concerning resources and ecology,especially serious in coastal areas.Testing of 26 sorts of data or parameters are carried out on leaves of 22 plant species(in 24 plant variety) of existing main salt-tolerant plant of the Yellow River Delta region.Data or parameters include the following ele-ments:contents of K+,Na+,Ca2+,Mg2+ and Cl-,contents of protein,fat,total energy,ash and contents of 17 amino acids.The results show that these tested plants have economic values.For example,according to their uses,they can be divided into edible plants,forage plants,medicine or health plants,and some of them can be used for multipurposes.These plants have played important roles in the sustainable utilization of plant resources in coastal areas.This paper has taken evaluations on the economic uses of salt-tolerant plants and given suggestions for saline soil improvement and resource utilization in coastal areas.Based on the results of investigation and experiments,we suppose that the salt-tolerant plants in coastal areas can be grouped into 9 main groups according to their economic value:pioneer plants for saline land improvement,medicine,edible and forage plants,industry material,forestation,breeding material,energy plants and eco-tourism resources.

Effects of mosaic biological soil crusts on vascular plant establishment in a coastal saline land of the Yellow River Delta, China

Aims The effects of biocrusts on vascular plants are rarely evaluated in coastal saline lands.Our aim was to examine whether and how a mosaic of biocrusts affect seed germination of two typical herbaceous plants in a coastal saline land of the Yellow River Delta,to enhance our understanding by which substrate heterogeneity influences plant community dynamics.Methods We conducted growth chamber experiments to investigate the effects of biocrusts and uncrusted soil from bare patch-,Phragmites australis-,Suaeda glauca-and Tamarix chinensis-dominated habitats on seed germination percentage and mean germination time of two herbaceous plants:the perennial P.australis and the annual S.glauca.We also explored the mechanisms underlying the effects of substrate on seed germination.Important Findings Compared with uncrusted soil,biocrusts increased water content,nutrient accumulation and concentration of most salt ions,but they reduced soil pH value.Biocrusts with mosses directly decreased soil pH value and concentration of Mg2+,resulting in an indirect increase in seed germination percentage of S.glaucas.The low soil pH value also resulted in an indirect decrease in seed germination speed of P.australis in their own habitats.Bare patch directly increased accumulation of Cl?,resulting in an indirect decrease in seed germination speed of P.australis.These results suggest that biocrusts with mosses in P.australis habitats offer a window of opportunity for germination of S.glaucas.Biocrusts combined with habitat type have the potential to influence plant community structure through an effect on seed germination and establishment.

Microbial residues as the nexus transforming inorganic carbon to organic carbon in coastal saline soils

Soil inorganic carbon(SIC),including mainly carbonate,is a key component of terrestrial soil C pool.Autotrophic microorganisms can assimilate carbonate as the main or unique C source,how microorganisms convert SIC to soil organic carbon(SOC)remains unclear.A systematic field survey(n=94)was performed to evaluate the shift in soil C components(i.e.,SIC,SOC,and microbial residues)along a natural salinity gradient(ranging from 0.5‰to 19‰),and further to explore how microbial necromass as an indicator converting SIC into SOC in the Yellow River delta.We observed that SIC levels linearly decreased with increasing salinity,ranging from~12 g kg^(-1)(salinity<6‰)to~10 g kg^(-1)(salinity>6‰).Additionally,the concentrations of SOC and microbial residues exponentially decreased from salinity<6‰ to salinity>6‰,with the decline of 39%and 70%,respectively.Microbial residues and SOC was tightly related to the variations in SIC.The structural equation model showed the causality on explanation of SOC variations with SIC through microbial residues,which can contribute 89% of the variance in SOC storage combined with SIC.Taken together,these two statistical analyses can support that microbial residues can serve as an indicator of SIC transition to SOC.This study highlights the regulation of microbial residues in SIC cycling,enhancing the role of SIC playing in C biogeochemical cycles and enriching organic C reservoirs in coastal saline soils.

Assessment of Terrestrial Ecosystem Sensitivity and Vulnerability in Tibet

The Tibetan Plateau serves an important shelter function for the ecological security of Asia, and especially China. Here, we proposed and improved indicators and methods for assessing the ecological sensitivity and vulnerability of the terrestrial alpine Plateau ecosystems and assessed the freeze-thaw erosion, land desertification, water-caused soil loss, and land salinization sensitivity, together with ecological vulnerability, from the overall ecological sensitivity, ecological pressure, and elasticity aspects in Tibet. The results indicate that the terrestrial ecosystem of Tibet is quite sensitive to freeze-thaw erosion, land desertification and water-caused soil loss. Extremely and highly sensitive regions account for 9.62% and 83.69%, respectively, of the total area of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Extremely and highly vulnerable areas account for 0.09% and 52.61%, respectively, primarily distributed in the Himalayan and Gangdise mountain regions in west Tibet; the Nyainqentanglha, Tanggula, Hoh Xil, and Kunlun mountain regions; and the northwest and northern regions of the Changtang Plateau. The results will aid the development of customized protection schedules according to different ecological issues in each region.