Effects of water and salt for groundwater-soil systems on root growth and architecture of Tamarix chinensis in the Yellow River Delta,China

To test the patterns of the root morphology and architecture indexes of Tamarix chinensis in response to water and salt changes in the two media of the groundwater and soil,three-year-old T.chinensis seedlings were chosen as the research object.Groundwater with four salinity levels was created,and three groundwater level(GL)were applied for each salinity treatment to measure the root growth and architecture indexes.In the fresh water and brackish water treatments,the topological index(TI)of the T.chinensis roots was close to 0.5,and the root architecture was close to a dichotomous branching pattern.In the saline water and saltwater treatments,the TI of the T.chinensis roots was large and close to 1.0,and the root architecture was close to a herringbone-like branching pattern.Under different GLs and salinities,the total root length was significantly greater than the internal link length,the external link length was greater than the internal link length,and the root system showed an outward expansion strategy.The treatment with fresh water and a GL of 1.5 m was the most suitable for T.chinensis root growth,while the root growth of T.chinensis was the worst in the treatment with saline water and a GL of 0.3 m.T.chinensis can adapt to the changes in soil water and salt by regulating the growth and morphological characteristics of the root system.T.chinensis can adapt to high-salt environments by reducing its root branching and to water deficiencies by expanding the distribution and absorption area of the root system.

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 water and salt distribution under furrow irrigation of saline water with plastic mulch on ridge

Furrow irrigation when combined with plastic mulch on ridge is one of the current uppermost wa- ter-saving irrigation technologies for arid regions. The present paper studies the dynamics of soil water-salt trans- portation and its spatial distribution characteristics under irrigation with saline water in a maize field experiment. The mathematical relationships for soil salinity, irrigation amount and water salinity are also established to evaluate the contribution of the irrigation amount and the salinity of saline water to soil salt accumulation. The result showed that irrigation with water of high salinity could effectively increase soil water content, but the increment is limited com- paring with the influence from irrigation amount. The soil water content in furrows was higher than that in ridges at the same soil layers, with increments of 12.87% and 13.70% for MMF9 （the treatment with the highest water salinity and the largest amount of irrigation water） and MMF1 （the treatment with the lowest water salinity and the least amount of irrigation water） on 27 June, respectively. The increment for MMF9 was gradually reduced while that for MMF1 increased along with growth stages, the values for 17 August being 2.40% and 19.92%, respectively. Soil water content in the ridge for MMF9 reduced gradually from the surface layer to deeper layers while the surface soil water content for MMF1 was smaller than the contents below 20 cm at the early growing stage. Soil salinities for the treatments with the same amount of irrigation water but different water salinity increased with the water salinity. When water salinity was 6.04 dS/m, the less water resulted in more salt accumulation in topsoil and less in deep layers. When water salinity was 2.89 dS/m, however, the less water resulted in less salt accumulation in topsoil and salinity remained basically stable in deep layers. The salt accumulation in the ridge surface was much smaller than that in the furrow bottom under this technology, which was quite different from traditional furrow irrigation. The soil salinities for MMF7, MMF8 and MMF9 in the ridge surface were 0.191, 0.355 and 0.427 dS/m, respectively, whereas those in the furrow bottom were 0.316, 0.521 and 0.631 dS/m, respectively. The result of correlation analysis indicated that compared with irrigation amount, the irrigation water salinity was still the main factor influ- encing soil salinity in furrow irrigation with plastic mulch on ridge.

Effects of water application intensity of microsprinkler irrigation on water and salt environment and crop growth in coastal saline soils

Laboratory and field experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of water application intensity（WAI） on soil salinity management and the growth of Festuca arundinacea（festuca） under three stages of water and salt management strategies using microsprinkler irrigation in Hebei Province, North China. The soil water content（è） and salinity of homogeneous coastal saline soils were evaluated under different water application intensities in the laboratory experiment. The results indicated that the WAI of microsprinkler irrigation influenced the è, electrical conductivity（ECe） and p H of saline soils. As the WAI increased, the average values of è and ECe in the 0–40 cm profile also increased, while their average values in the 40–60 cm profile decreased. The p H value also slightly decreased as depth increased, but no significant differences were observed between the different treatments. The time periods of the water redistribution treatments had no obvious effects. Based on the results for è, ECe and p H, a smaller WAI was more desirable. The field experiment was conducted after being considered the results of the technical parameter experiment and evaporation, wind and leaching duration. The field experiment included three stages of water and salt regulation, based on three soil matric potentials（SMP）, in which the SMP at a 20-cm depth below the surface was used to trigger irrigation. The results showed that the microsprinkler irrigation created an appropriate environment for festuca growth through the three stages of water and salt regulation. The low-salinity conditions that occurred at 0–10 cm depth during the first stage（-5 k Pa） continued to expand through the next two stages. The average p H value was less than 8.5. The tiller number of festuca increased as SMP decreased from the first stage to the third stage. After the three stages of water and salt regulation, the highly saline soil gradually changed to a low-saline soil. Overall, based on the salt desalinization, the microsprinkler irrigation and three stages of water and salt regulation could be successfully used to cultivate plants for the reclamation of coastal saline land in North China.

WATER AND SALT MOVEMENTS IN SIMULTANEOUS FLOOD-IRRIGATION AND WELL-DRAINAGE OPERATIONS

This paper describes a new technology for solonchak soil reclamation in which surface flood irrigation of fresh water and pumped wells drainage of salty groundwater are combined. The comprehensive investigation of water and salt movement has been conducted through field test, laboratory simulation and numerical calculation. The dependence of desalination on irrigation water quantity, drainage quantity, leaching time and other parameters is obtained based on the field tests. The entire desalination process under the flood-irrigation and well-drainage operations was experimentally simulated in a vertical soil column. The water and salt movement has been numerically analysed for both the field and laboratory conditions. The present work indicates that this new technology can greatly improve the effects of desalination.

Dynamic Water and Salt Changes in Saline Wasteland on the Lower Edge of Plain Reservoirs in the Desert Oasis Region

In order to reveal the distribution characteristics of water and salt in the non-irrigated saline wasteland and the growth zone of the windbreaks surrounding the plain reservoir,the groundwater and soil monitoring points were set up around the south area of Duolang Reservoir in the desert oasis.Monthly groundwater depth monitoring and soil water content and salt content fixed-point sampling for a period of 2 years were conducted.The results showed that the groundwater depth of salt wasteland in the area around the reservoir area changed slightly during the monitoring period of 2 years,and the average is 1.28 m.The soil moisture content increased with the increase of soil depth,and soil water content of 60-100 cm was larger than that of other soil layers.The salt content of the soil in the salt wasteland varied between 0.48 g/kg and8.86 g/kg in the two years,and the total salt content of different soil decreased with the increase of soil depth.The soil salt content changed greatly in 0-40 cm soil layers,with significant salt accumulation phenomenon.The soil salt content of windbreaks was significantly lower than that of the natural ecological forest.

Coupling relation between water and salt in irrigation area on a catchments scale

Water resource is the important factor for sustainable development in Weigan River catchments in western China. Based on ecological hydrology principles, the coupling relation between water and salt is monitored and analyzed. The water quality for irrigation in oasis ecosystem has a larger variable range in arid area, which depending on the input water resource and underground water mineralization degree and water chemical component on the catchments scale, the water and salt coupling is decided by the climate condition and soil feature and vegetation characteristics as well as human activity. Meanwhile, temporal and spatial change between water and salt is quite complicated. The environmental management should be paid attention to considering in irrigation area in the catchments.

Soil particle size distribution and its relationship with soil water and salt under mulched drip irrigation in Xinjiang of China

Soil particle size distribution(PSD),one of the most important soil physical attributes,is of great importance to soil water movement,soil erosion and soil solute migration.In this study,the soil PSD of 563 soil samples from the mulched drip irrigated cotton fields in Xinjiang of China were measured by laser diffraction particle size analyzer.The soil PSD characteristics and its relations with soil water and salt were studied by using the combined methods of textural triangle,fractal and multifractal analysis.The results showed very low clay content(about 1.52%) while really high sand content of the studied soil,and a complex shape of bimodal or unimodal of soil PSD.The results also showed that the two indices,i.e.,standard deviation and the peak value of soil particle relative volumes,were good indicators of soil PSD and thus had good relations with fractal and multifractal characteristics.The correlative analysis further indicated that the mulched drip irrigation had a significant impact on the distribution of the soil salt,while this impact withered for the deeper soil layer.The soil texture feature was found to dominate soil water and salt distribution,especially the surface soil salt content and the deep soil water content.

Root distribution and influencing factors of dry-sowing and wet-growing cotton plants under different water conditions

To study the effect of soil water and salt environment factors on the root growth of cotton under different moisture control,three different emergence water volumes(60,105,and 150 m^(3)/hm^(2)),two different frequencies(high frequency and low frequency)and one double film cover winter irrigation control treatment(CK:2250 m^(3)/hm^(2))were set up to analyze the spatial distribution patterns of soil water and salt environment and root density in dry sown and wet emerged cotton fields under diffe-rent moisture control conditions.The results show that the soil water content and water infiltration range gradually become larger with the increase of seedling water quantity,and the larger the seedling water quantity,the higher the soil water content.With the same seedling water quantity,the soil water content of the high-frequency(HF)treatment becomes obviously larger.The soil conductivity of each treatment tends to decrease gradually with the increase of seedling water and drip frequency,among which the distribution of soil conductivity of S6 treatment is closest to that of CK.With the increase in soil depth,the soil conductivity tends to increase first and then decrease.Compared with the low-frequency(LF)treatment,the high-frequency treatment shows a significantly deeper soil salt accumulation layer.The root length density(RLD)of cotton gradually increases with the amount of seedling water and the frequency of dripping.The soil layer of root distribution gradually deepens with the amount of seedling water in the vertical direction,and the RLD value in the horizontal direction is significantly greater in the mulched area than that in the bare area between films.This research can serve as a solid scientific foundation for the use of dry sowing and wet emergence techniques in cotton fields in southern Xinjiang.

Effects of water and salt coordinated regulation at the different growth stages on water consumption and yield of tomato

The objective of this study was to explore the effects of different degrees of water and salt stress on the actual water consumption and soil salt accumulation of tomatoes and the salt tolerance characteristics of tomatoes under brackish water combined with regulated deficit irrigation mode.The greenhouse pot experiment was used to set three influencing factors,the irrigation water salinity S1 was 1.1 g/L(local shallow groundwater),S2 was 2.0 g/L,and S3 was 4.0 g/L,respectively,and different degrees of water deficit(W1 ranged from 65%-75%Field Capacity(FC),W2 ranged from 55%-65%FC,W3 ranged from 45%-55%FC)and seedling stage(T1),blossoming and bearing fruits stage(T2)and mature picking stage(T3).The response of fresh fruit weight,stems and leaves weight,yield and water use efficiency of tomato under water and salt stress were monitored and analyzed.The results showed the coordinated regulation of water and salt can significantly reduce the electrical conductivity of the 0-30 cm soil of the tomato root system.The higher the salinity of irrigation water,the better the salt control effects of the coordinated regulation of water and salt;the coordinated regulation of water and salt at different growth stages had significant effects on the weight of fresh tomato fruits,the weight of stems and leaves and the yield.The salinity of irrigation water was in inverse proportion to the yield of tomatoes;In S1 treatment irrigation(irrigation water salinity was 1.1 g/L)under the mildly regulated deficit in the seedling stage(irrigation water was 55%-65%of the field water capacity)can effectively reduce the irrigation water volume during the whole growth stage while ensuring that there was no significant reduction in yield.The research results provided a scientific and reliable theoretical basis for the increase of local tomato production,the improvement of water use efficiency and the formulation of suitable irrigation patterns.

Three Dimensional Baroclinic Numerical Model for Simulating Fresh and Salt Water Mixing in the Yangtze Estuary

For simulating fresh and salt water mixing in estuaries, a three dimensional nonlinear baroclinic numerical model is developed, in which the gradients of horizontal pressure contain die gradient of barotropic pressure arising from the gradient of tidal level and the gradient of baroclinic pressure due to the gradient of salinity. The Eulerian-Lagrangian method is employed to descretize both the momentum equations of tidal motion and the equation of salt water diffusion so as to improve the computational stability and accuracy. The methods to provide the boundary conditions and the initial conditions are proposed, and the criterion for computational stability of the salinity fields is presented. The present model is used for modeling fresh and salt water mixing in the Yangtze Estuary. Computations show that the salinity distribution has the characteristics of partial mixing pattern, and that the present model is suitable for simulation of fresh and salt water mixing in the Yangtze Estuary.

Soil salt leaching under different irrigation regimes: HYDRUS-1D modelling and analysis

Field irrigation experiments were conducted in the Hetao Irrigation District of Inner Mongolia,China,to study the effects of irrigation regimes on salt leaching in the soil profile.The data were used to calibrate and validate the HYDRUS-1D model.The results demonstrated that the model can accurately simulate the water and salt dynamics in the soil profile.The HYDRUS-1D model was then used to simulate 15 distinct irrigation scenarios.The results of the simulation indicated that irrigation amount did not have a significant effect on soil water storage but that increases in irrigation amount could accelerate salt leaching.However,when the irrigation amount was larger than 20 cm,the acceleration was not obvious.Compared with irrigating only once,intermittent irrigation had a better effect on increasing soil water storage and salt leaching,but excessive irrigation times and intervals did not improve salt leaching.In addition,we found that the irrigation regime of 20 cm,irrigated twice at 1-d intervals,might significantly increase salt leaching in the plough layer and decrease the risks of deep seepage and groundwater contamination.

Spatial distribution of soil moisture,salinity and organic matter in Manas River watershed,Xinjiang,China

With the classical statistical and geostatistical methods, the study of the spatial distribution and its in- fluence factors of soil water, salinity and organic matter was carried out for 0-70 cm soil layers in Manas River watershed. The results showed that the soil moisture data from all soil layers exhibited a normal distribution, with average values of 14.08%-21.55%. Geostatistical analysis revealed that the content of soil moisture had a moder- ate spatial autocorrelation with the ratios of nugget/sill ranging from 0.500 to 0.718, which implies that the spatial pattern of soil moisture is influenced by the combined effects of structural factors and random factors. Remarkable spatial distributions with stripped and mottled features were found for soil moisture in all different soil layers. The landform and crop planting had a relatively big influence on the spatial distribution of soil moisture; total soil salinity was high in east but low in west, and non-salinized soil and lightly salinized soil appeared at the northwest and southwest of the study area. Under the effect of reservoir leakage, the heavily salinized soils are widely distributed in the middle of the study area. The areas of the non-salinized and lightly salinized soils decreased gradually with soil depth increment, which is contrary to the case for saline soils that reached a maximum of 245.67 km2 at the layer of 50-70 cm. The types of soil salinization in Manas River watershed were classified into four classes： the sulfate, chloride-sulfate, sulfate-chloride and chloride. The sulfate salinized soil is most widely distributed in the surface layer. The areas of chloride-sulfate, sulfate-chloride, and chloride salinized soils increased gradually along with the increment of soil depth; the variation range of the average values of soil organic matter content was be- tween 7.48%-11.33%. The ratios of nugget/sill reduced gradually from 0.698 to 0.299 with soil depth increment, which shows that the content of soil organic matter has a moderate spatial autocorrelation. The soil organic matter in all soil layers met normal distribution after logarithmic transformation. The spatial distribution patterns of soil or- ganic matter and soil moisture were similar; the areas with high organic matter contents were mainly distributed in the south of the study area, with the lowest contents in the middle.

Concentrations,sources,and influential factors of water-soluble ions of atmospheric particles in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes,a world heritage site in China

Atmospheric particle pollution is one of the major factors leading to degradation of ancient wall paintings,particularly heritage sites in arid and semi-arid regions.However,current systematic research on the changes,sources,and influential factors of atmospheric particulate matter and its water-soluble ion concentrations is not sufficient.Thus,the major water-soluble ion concentrations,sources,and influential factors of atmospheric particles PM_(2.5) and PM_(10)(particulate matter with an aerodynamic equivalent diameter≤2.5 and 10.0μm,respectively,in ambient air)were collected from Cave 16 and its ambient exterior environment in the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes,China,between April 2015 and March 2016.Results showed that the concentrations of PM_(2.5) and PM_(10) inside and outside the cave were the highest in March 2016 and the lowest in December 2015.The higher particle concentration from March to May was related to the frequent occurrence of sand and dust events,and the lower particle concentration from June to September was associated with good diffusion conditions,increased precipitation,and an established cave shelterbelt.The concentration of particulate matter inside the cave was affected by the concentration of particles in the air outside the cave.Ca2+,NH+4,Na+,Cl-,and SO2-4were the main components of the total ions of PM_(2.5) and PM_(10) both inside and outside the cave.The total ions inside the cave were frequently affected by the disturbance of tourists'activities during the peak tourist season from May to August.Under the influence of dust,the total concentrations of Cl-,SO2-4,Na+,NH+4,and Ca2+in particles of different sizes inside and outside the cave increased,and the concentrations of Cl-,SO2-4,Na+,and Ca2+decreased during precipitation period.Backward air mass trajectory analysis suggested that the pollutants were mainly from Xinjiang,China.The pollutant sources of air particulates are straw burning,secondary pollution sources,soil dust,dry spring rivers,and tourist activities.

Straw layer burial to alleviate salt stress in silty loam soils: Impacts of straw forms

Salt stress can be alleviated by straw layer burial in the soil, but little is known of the appropriate form of the straw layer for optimal regulation of soil water and salinity because of the uncontrollability of field tests. Here, the following four straw forms with compaction thickness of 5 cm buried 40–45 deep were studied: no straw layer(CK), segmented straw(SL, 5 cm in length), straw pellet(SK), and straw powder(SF). The three straw forms(SL, SK and SF) significantly delayed the infiltration of irrigation water down the column profile by 71.20–134.3 h relative to CK and the migration velocity of the wetting front under SF was the slowest. It took longer for the wetting front to transcend SK than SL but shorter for it to reach the bottom of soil column after water crossed the straw layer. Compared with CK, the average volumetric water content in the 0–40 cm soil layer increased by 6.45% under SL, 1.77% under SK and 5.39% under SF. The desalination rates at the 0–40 and 0–100 cm soil layers increased by 5.85 and 3.76% under SL, 6.64 and 1.47% under SK and 5.97 and 4.82% under SF. However, there was no significant difference among straw forms in the 0–40 cm soil layer. Furthermore, the salt leaching efficiency(SLE, g mm^–1 h^–1) above the 40 cm layer under SL was 0.0097, being significantly higher than that under SF(0.0071) by 37.23%. Salt storage under SL, SK and SF in the 40–45 cm layer accounted for 4.50, 16.92 and 7.43% of total storage in the 1-m column profile. Cumulative evaporation under SL and SF decreased significantly by 41.20 and 49.00%, with both treatments having the most significant inhibition of salt accumulation(resalinization rate being 36.06 and 47.15% lower than CK) in the 0–40 cm soil layer. In conclusion, the different forms of straw layers have desalting effects under high irrigation level(446 mm). In particular, SL and SF performed better than SK in promoting deep salt leaching and inhibiting salt accumulation on the soil surface. However, SL was simpler to implement and its SLE was higher. Therefore, the segmented 5 cm straw can be recommended as an optimum physical form for establishing a straw layer for managing saline soils for crop production.

THE PREDICTION OF WATER AND SALT REGIME IN SALTAFFECTED AREAS BY NUMERICAL SIMULATION

The study of water and salt movement in soil is of vital importance to the prevention of secondary salinization, the reclamation of salt-affected soil and the scheduling of rational irrigation and drainage. In this paper, on the basis of numerical simulation, the processes of salt accumulation and leaching of salts in soils under the conditions of evaporation, rainfall infiltration and irrigation are studied. The numerical methods for the prediction of water and salt regime are investigated.