scholarly journals Mapping Spatial Management Zones of Salt-Affected Soils in Arid Region: A Case Study in the East of the Nile Delta, Egypt

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2510
Author(s):  
Samah M. S. Abdelaal ◽  
Karam F. Moussa ◽  
Ahmed H. Ibrahim ◽  
Elsayed Said Mohamed ◽  
Dmitry E. Kucher ◽  
...  

Soil salinization is a global problem that affects a large part of the world, especially arid and semi-arid regions. Hence, diagnosing soil salinity is the first step towards appropriate management. The current work aims to assess and map soil salinity in the eastern Nile Delta using principal component analysis (PCA). In order to develop appropriate solutions for rational management to mitigate the impacts of soil salinization and increase yield production 34 soil profiles were dug that covered the variation in the soils located at the northeast of the Nile delta. The spatial variation of soil parameters was mapped using ordinary kriging interpolation. The results of PCA illustrated that, among the studied soil properties, soil electrical conductivity (ECe), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), exchangeable sodium percent (ESP), and bulk density (BD), are the critical factors affecting management practices in the Nile Delta. Two spatial management zones (SMZ) were identified; SMZ 1 occupied 45.04% of the study area and SMZ2 occupied 54.96% of the study area. The average of soil pH, ECe, SAR, CEC, ESP and BD were 8.31, 20.32 dSm−1, 47.19, 32.9 cmolckg−1, 32.85% and 1.47 Mgm−3 for the first cluster (SMZ1), respectively. In addition, the second cluster (SMZ2) had average soil pH, ECe, SAR, CEC, ESP and BD of 7.75, 12.30 dSm−1, 26.6, 25.23 cmolckg−1, 26.6% and 1.27 Mgm−3. The results showed p-value < 0.05 which confirms that there is a significant statistical difference between the two zones. Finally, the results obtained could be used as a fundamental basis for improving agricultural management practices in such salt-affected soils.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nima Shokri ◽  
Amirhossein Hassani ◽  
Adisa Azapagic

&lt;p&gt;Population growth and climate change is projected to increase the pressure on land and water resources, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. This pressure is expected to affect all driving mechanisms of soil salinization comprising alteration in soil hydrological balance, sea salt intrusion, wet/dry deposition of wind-born saline aerosols &amp;#8212; leading to an increase in soil salinity. Soil salinity influences soil stability, bio-diversity, ecosystem functioning and soil water evaporation (1). It can be a long-term threat to agricultural activities and food security. To devise sustainable action plan investments and policy interventions, it is crucial to know when and where salt-affected soils occur. However, current estimates on spatio-temporal variability of salt-affected soils are majorly localized and future projections in response to climate change are rare. Using Machine Learning (ML) algorithms, we related the available measured soil salinity values (represented by electrical conductivity of the saturated paste soil extract, EC&lt;sub&gt;e&lt;/sub&gt;) to some environmental information (or predictors including outputs of Global Circulation Models, soil, crop, topographic, climatic, vegetative, and landscape properties of the sampling locations) to develop a set of data-driven predictive tools to enable the spatio-temporal predictions of soil salinity. The outputs of these tools helped us to estimate the extent and severity of the soil salinity under current and future climatic patterns at different geographical levels and identify the salinization hotspots by the end of the 21&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt; century in response to climate change. Our analysis suggests that a soil area of 11.73 Mkm&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; located in non-frigid zones has been salt-affected in at least three-fourths of the 1980 - 2018 period (2). At the country level, Brazil, Peru, Sudan, Colombia, and Namibia were estimated to have the highest rates of annual increase in the total area of soils with an EC&lt;sub&gt;e&lt;/sub&gt; &amp;#8805; 4 dS m&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;. Additionally, the results indicate that by the end of the 21&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt; century, drylands of South America, southern and Western Australia, Mexico, southwest United States, and South Africa will be the salinization hotspots (compared to the 1961 - 1990 period). The results of this study could inform decision-making and contribute to attaining the United Nation&amp;#8217;s Sustainable Development Goals for land and water resources management.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;1. Shokri-Kuehni, S.M.S., Raaijmakers, B., Kurz, T., Or, D., Helmig, R., Shokri, N. (2020). Water Table Depth and Soil Salinization: From Pore-Scale Processes to Field-Scale Responses. Water Resour. Res., 56, e2019WR026707. https://doi.org/ 10.1029/2019WR026707&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;2. Hassani, A., Azapagic, A., Shokri, N. (2020). Predicting Long-term Dynamics of Soil Salinity and Sodicity on a Global Scale, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 117, 52, 33017&amp;#8211;33027. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2013771117&lt;/p&gt;


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashenafi Worku Daba ◽  
Asad Sarwar Qureshi ◽  
Bethel Nekir Nisaren

The livestock productivity in Ethiopia is seriously constrained by the shortage of fodder due to increasing soil salinization. Therefore, restoration of salt-affected lands into productive soils through salt-tolerant forages and improved irrigation and crop management practices is crucial for enhancing the productivity of the livestock sector in Ethiopia. In this three-year study, pot trials were conducted to evaluate the impact of five different soil salinity levels (i.e., 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 dS m−1) on plant growth, biomass production, and nutrient quality attributes of three Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) genotypes (ILRI-6633, ILRI-7384, CV-massaba). Increasing soil salinity negatively affected germination percentage (GP) and mean germination time (MGT) of all genotypes. For all salinity levels, the highest GP was observed for ILRI-6633 and the lowest for CV-massaba. Plant height and chlorophyll content for ILRI-6633 was higher than the other two genotypes. The crude protein (CP) content was higher in low dry matter-producing genotype (ILRI-7384). The performance of ILRI-6633 at all salinity levels was superior to the other two genotypes. CV-massaba genotype performed better under low to medium soil salinity conditions. Therefore, ILRI-6633 and CV-massaba genotypes have excellent potential to increase forage production in salt-affected areas of Ethiopia.


2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard F. Schwartz ◽  
David H. Gent ◽  
Scott M. Fichtner ◽  
Rajiv Khosla ◽  
Linda A. Mahaffey ◽  
...  

Iris yellow spot virus and its onion thrips vector (Thrips tabaci) are yield limiting pests of onion in the western United States. This two-year project investigated the relationship of iris yellow spot to thrips populations, soil properties, and grower management practices in six onion fields during 2005 and 2006 in Colorado. Thrips density (average number of thrips per plant per day) was negatively associated with soil pH (r = -0.61). The incidence of iris yellow spot at harvest was positively associated with organic matter, zinc, potassium, percent sodium, percent hydrogen, copper, iron, and soil pH. Thrips-days had a clear non-linear association with disease incidence at harvest. Onion plant population was positively associated with levels of iron, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc; and negatively associated with calcium, salts, percent potassium, and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Marketable (medium or larger sized bulbs) yield was negatively associated with phosphorus and percent potassium, and positively associated with salts, calcium, and CEC. Results from this project could contribute to the development of a risk index to predict potential risk from Iris yellow spot virus and its onion thrips vector. Accepted for publication 6 July 2010. Published 20 August 2010.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0247177
Author(s):  
Ram Ratan Verma ◽  
Tapendra Kumar Srivastava ◽  
Pushpa Singh ◽  
B. L. Manjunath ◽  
Anil Kumar

Soils of Indian Konkan region, part of ecologically sensitive Western Ghats have been subjected to anthropogenic activities of late. This has endangered the ecological security through conspicuous losses in topsoil quality. The rationale of the present study was to map the soil properties and create management zones for ensuring food and nutritional security. The study was conducted in South Goa district of the state of Goa located in Konkan region. A total of 258 geo-referenced soil samples were collected and analyzed for pH, EC, SOC, available N, P, K and DTPA extractable micronutrients viz., Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn. Soil pH was found to be in acidic range. A wide variability existed in SOC content ranging from 0.12–5.85%. EC was mostly neutral with mean value 0.08±0.37 dSm-1, while available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK) varied in range from 56.4–621.6 kg ha-1, 0.5–49.7 kg ha-1 and 31.5–786.2 kg ha-1 with mean values 211.2±76.9, 8.4±8.2 and 202.3±137.6 kg ha-1, respectively. A wide range was exhibited by cationic DTPA extractable Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn with mean values, 0.22±0.30, 0.44±0.60, 7.78±5.98 and 7.86±5.86 mg kg-1, respectively. Soil pH exhibited significant positive correlation with EC, AP AK and Zn and negative correlation with Fe and Cu. SOC exhibited significantly correlated with AN, AP, AK, Zn and Fe. Geo-statistical analysis revealed J-Bessel as best fit semivariogram model for pH, AP and AK; Rational Quadratic for EC, SOC, Zn and Mn; Hole effect for AN; Stable for Cu and K-Bessel for Fe for their spatial mapping. Four principal components showed eigenvalues more than one and cumulative variability of 59.38%. Three distinct soil management zones showing significant variation in soil properties were identified and delineated for wider scale management of soils. Precision nutrient management based on spatial variation and their mapping would enable refined agricultural and environmental management practices in the region.


1995 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 395-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Richards

SUMMARYThe area of salt-affected land is increasing because of irrigation practices and changed land use. Breeding crops that tolerate soil salinity and yield well in salt-affected soils, and employing crop management practices to counter salinity, have been proposed to maintain crop productivity. Here, it is argued that neither breeding nor management will adequately counter the effects of salinity. Although both offer the potential to maintain yields for a brief period, it is inevitable that salinity will continue to increase and crop productivity will decline. Only the establishment of a perennial vegetation that will maintain evapotranspiration at high levels all year round on both salt-affected land and recharge areas will halt the increase in salinization.Mejorar la producción en los suelos afectados por la sal


Author(s):  
Mirzoolim Avliyakulov ◽  
Mamta Kumari ◽  
Nurmamat Rajabov ◽  
Normat Durdiev

Facing the risk of soil salinization worldwide, there has been a growing interest in identifying rapid and inexpensive tools for soil salinity assessment. Remote sensing has shown great advantages in the field in recent decades. In present research, Hyperion Hyperspectral remote sensing data (EO-1) was used for characterization and mapping of salt-affected soils, to generate crop inventory map and to evaluate soil salinity impact on wheat crop growth in part of Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh representing Indo-Gangetic plain. Narrow bands can discriminate critical spectral differentials in detail and can assess the salinity hazard over crop. A detailed field survey was carried out in the study area in order to identify the salt-affected soils and to collect soil samples, groundwater table depth, chlorophyll content, LAI to characterize impact of soil salinity over crop. Various wheat crop spectra were collected for calculation of narrow band indices to discriminate various stress conditions. Spectral angle mapper (SAM) was used to generate crop inventory map with various types of crops. The same technique (SAM) was used to map various categories of salt affected soils represented by spectral endmembers of normal, slightly, moderately and highly salt-affected soils. The results showed that various severity classes of salt-affected soils could be reliably mapped using spectral angle mapper (SAM) analysis with an overall accuracy of 74.24 %. Empirical relationships developed between crop & soil parameters and vegetation indices using SMLR could show its possibility with an R2 of 0.52 and 0.41 to predict LAI and CCI, respectively. Validation results showed the RMSE of 0.8 and 5.2 to predict LAI and CCI. Partial least square regression (PLSR) statistical model (using spectroradiometer derived narrow band indices) was developed to assess different stress level with varying crop and soil parameters.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Young ◽  
T. K. Udeigwe ◽  
D. C. Weindorf ◽  
T. Kandakji ◽  
P. Gautam ◽  
...  

Abstract. Site-specific information on land management practices are often desired to make better assertions of their environmental impacts. A study was conducted in Lubbock, TX, in the Southern High Plains of the United States, an area characterized by semi-arid climatic conditions, to (1) examine the potential management-induced alteration in soil salinity indicators in golf course facilities and (2) develop predictive relationships for a more rapid soil salinity examination within these urban landscape soils using findings from portable x-ray fluorescence (PXRF) spectrometer. Soil samples were collected from the managed (well irrigated) and non-managed (non irrigated) areas of seven golf course facilities at 0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm depths, and analyzed for a suite of chemical properties. Among the extractable cations, sodium (Na) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the managed zones of all the golf facilities. Soil electrical conductivity (EC), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), parameters often used in characterizing soil salinity and sodicity, were in most part significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the managed areas. Water quality report collected over a 22-year period (1991–2013, all years not available) indicated a gradual increase in pH, EC, SAR, total alkalinity, and extractable ions, thus, supporting the former findings. Findings from the PXRF suggested possible differences in chemical species and sources that contribute to salinity between the managed and non-managed zones. PXRF quantified Cl and S, and to a lesser extent Ca, individually and collectively explained 23–85% of the variability associated with soil salinity at these facilities.


Solid Earth ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 393-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Young ◽  
T. K. Udeigwe ◽  
D. C. Weindorf ◽  
T. Kandakji ◽  
P. Gautam ◽  
...  

Abstract. Site-specific information on land management practices are often desired to make better assessments of their environmental impacts. A study was conducted in Lubbock, Texas, in the Southern High Plains of the United States, an area characterized by semi-arid climatic conditions, to (1) examine the potential management-induced alterations in soil salinity indicators in golf course facilities and (2) develop predictive relationships for a more rapid soil salinity examination within these urban landscape soils using findings from a portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) spectrometer. Soil samples were collected from managed (well irrigated) and non-managed (non-irrigated) areas of seven golf course facilities at 0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm depths and analyzed for a suite of chemical properties. Among the extractable cations, sodium (Na) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the managed zones of all the golf facilities. Soil electrical conductivity (EC), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), parameters often used in characterizing soil salinity and sodicity, were for the most part significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the managed areas. Water quality reports collected over a 22-year period (1991–2013, all years not available) indicated a gradual increase in pH, EC, SAR, total alkalinity, and extractable ions, thus supporting the former findings. Findings from the PXRF suggested possible differences in chemical species and sources that contribute to salinity between the managed and non-managed zones. PXRF-quantified Cl and S, and to a lesser extent Ca, individually and collectively explained 23–85% of the variability associated with soil salinity at these facilities.


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sameh M. Shaddad ◽  
Gabriele Buttafuoco ◽  
Annamaria Castrignanò

The assessment of soil salinization risk at the field scale requires modeling of the spatial variability of soil salinity. This paper presents a probabilistic approach to estimate and map a risk index using all available auxiliary information. A probabilistic methodology is proposed to estimate the conditional probability of exceeding the assigned threshold value of a generic indicator of soil salinity. A geostatistical non-parametric technique, probability kriging, was used to assess the risk of soil salinization and delineate different hazard zones within a field. The technique relies on indicator coding of information. The approach was applied to soil electrical conductivity measurements collected in an experimental field located in the Nile Delta region in Egypt, and submitted over time to trials with different fertilization treatments. The application of the method allowed delineation of a north-eastern zone in the field with a high risk of soil salinization due to its lack of cultivation for a long time and nearness to buildings that prevent water infiltration. The method proved to be quite promising from the perspective of precision agriculture and it is easily extendable to any sort of remote and proximal sensing auxiliary information, including information on the deepest layers of soil.


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