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Advances in the Prediction and Remediation of Soil Salinization

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A special issue of Soil Systems (ISSN 2571-8789).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 39164

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Prof. Dr. Thomas Baumgartl

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Guest Editor

Future Regions Research Centre, Geotechnical and Hydrogeological Engineering Research Group, Federation University, Gippsland, VIC 3841, Australia
Interests: rehabilitation; soil structure; soil hydrology; geomechanics; water balance; soil-plant-atmosphere interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Mandana Shaygan

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Guest Editor

Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
Interests: the rehabilitation of degraded landscapes; the remediation of salt affected land; salinity; water flow and solute transport in porous media; evaporation from porous media
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Soil salinity continues to be a threat for the primary functions of soils, ranging from agricultural production to soils as the livelihood of farmers, communities, and even nations. Current climate change represents an additional, incalculable uncertainty on the increasing risk of salinization of soils caused by, e.g., an increase of occurrence, duration, and severity of droughts, altered rainfall regimes reducing the leaching potential of salts, altered cropping strategies, and land management in general. Population growth and the requirement to expand agricultural land and production is adding to the pressure on soils, and attempts to increasingly explore the use of marginal, water-limited land are contributing to the threat of salinization.

With this Special Issue on ‘Advances in the Prediction and Remediation of Soil Salinization’, we are inviting researchers to submit their views and research findings on this topic. The intent of this Special Issue is to collect and gather the broad knowledge which exists globally on this theme and is still intensively researched.

While this Special Issue will put an emphasis on the abiotic factors leading to salinization and also providing the basis for remediation, soil salinity is inevitably directly linked to plant growth, whether in agricultural production or in natural ecosystems, and thus, papers focusing on soil salinity and these links are also warmly welcomed.

More specifically, manuscripts of research are invited which may focus on laboratory or field studies and which target specific vegetation for agronomic purposes or vegetation communities of ecosystems. Studies on the consequences of climate change for the risk of salinization of soils are also very welcome. Numerical modeling studies supporting the prediction of soil salinity as a result of, e.g., climate change or change in land management are invited. Economic studies and predictions on the financial impact of soil salinization for individual farmers or national gross domestic product are equally of interest, as is research on cost of remediation of soil salinity.

The objective of this Special Issue is to collate knowledge on the topic of soil salinity, which presents novel approaches in predicting the risk of salinity to occur and ways to remediate salinity, whether in natural environments, in agriculture or rebuilt landforms such as in mining. The demand on soils will only intensify, and soil salinity will be one of the major risks which we and future generations need to control and manage.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Baumgartl
Dr. Mandana Shaygan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Soil Systems is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Causes of soil salinity
Remediation of soil salinity
Climate change and soil salinity
Plants and soil salinity
Soil salinity across scales
Prediction of salinization using numerical models
Economic impact of soil salinization and remediation
New technologies to assess soil salinity

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 2898 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Prediction of Soil Salinity/Sodicity and Salt-Affected Soil Classes from Soluble Salt Ions Using Machine Learning Algorithms

by Demis Andrade Foronda and Gilles Colinet

Soil Syst. 2023, 7(2), 47; https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems7020047 - 10 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2254

Abstract

Salt-affected soils are related to salinity (high content of soluble salts) and/or sodicity (excess of sodium), which are major leading causes of agricultural land degradation. This study aimed to evaluate the performances of three machine learning (ML) algorithms in predicting the soil exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), electrical conductivity (EC_e), and salt-affected soil classes, from soluble salt ions. The assessed ML models were Partial Least-Squares (PLS), Support Vector Machines (SVM), and Random Forests (RF). Soil samples were collected from the High Valley of Cochabamba (Bolivia). The explanatory variables were the major soluble ions (Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, HCO₃⁻, Cl⁻, CO₃²⁻, SO₄²⁻). The variables to be explained comprised soil EC_e and ESP, and a categorical variable classified through the US Salinity Lab criteria. According to the model validation, the SVM and RF regressions performed the best for estimating the soil EC_e, as well as the RF model for the soil ESP. The RF algorithm was superior for predicting the salt-affected soil categories. Soluble Na⁺ was the most relevant variable for all the predictions, followed by Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Cl⁻, and HCO₃⁻. The RF and SVM models can be used to predict soil EC_e and ESP, as well as the salt-affected soil classes, from soluble ions. Additional explanatory features and soil samples might improve the ML models’ performance. The obtained models may contribute to the monitoring and management of salt-affected soils in the study area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Prediction and Remediation of Soil Salinization)

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14 pages, 1647 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biochar Additions Alter the Abundance of P-Cycling-Related Bacteria in the Rhizosphere Soil of Portulaca oleracea L. under Salt Stress

by Dilfuza Egamberdieva, Hua Ma, Vyacheslav Shurigin, Jakhongir Alimov, Stephan Wirth and Sonoko Dorothea Bellingrath-Kimura

Soil Syst. 2022, 6(3), 64; https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems6030064 - 28 Jul 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2495

Abstract

Numerous reports confirm a positive impact of biochar amendments on soil enzyme activities, nutrient cycles, and, finally, plant growth and development. However, reports explaining the process behind such diverse observations are scarce. The aim of the present study was (1) to evaluate the effect of biochar on the growth of purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) and nutrients; (2) to determine the response of rhizosphere enzyme activities linked to soil phosphorus cycling after bio-char amendment under non–saline and saline soil conditions. Furthermore, we investigate whether adding biochar to soil alters the abundance of P-cycling-related bacteria. Two rates of biochar (2% and 4%) were applied in pot experiments. Biochar addition of 2% significantly increased plant growth under non-saline and saline soil conditions by 21% and 40%, respectively. Moreover, applying biochar increased soil microbial activity as observed by fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolase activity, as well as phosphomonoesterase activities, and the numbers of colony-forming units (CFU) of P-mobilizing bacteria. Soil amended with 2% biochar concentration increased total soil nitrogen (Nt), phosphorus (P), and total carbon (Ct) concentrations by 18%, 15%, and 90% under non-saline soil conditions and by 29%, 16%, and 90% in saline soil compared the control, respectively. The soil FDA hydrolytic activity and phosphatase strongly correlate with soil Ct, Nt, and P contents. The rhizosphere soil collected after biochar amendment showed a higher abundance of tricalcium phosphate-solubilizing bacteria than the control soil without biochar. Overall, this study demonstrated that 2% maize-derived biochar positively affects halophyte plant growth and thus could be considered for potential use in the reclamation of degraded saline soil. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Prediction and Remediation of Soil Salinization)

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21 pages, 4679 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Recycled Water Irrigation on Soil Salinity and Its Remediation

by Muhammad Muhitur Rahman, Alireza Aghajani Shahrivar, Dharmappa Hagare and Basant Maheshwari

Soil Syst. 2022, 6(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems6010013 - 25 Jan 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3847

Abstract

Continuous use of recycled water (treated wastewater) over a long period of time may lead to the accumulation of salt in the root zone of the soil. This is due to the relatively higher levels of salt contained in the recycled water compared to a town water supply. The increase in salt concentration in the soil can adversely influence the amount of water a plant can uptake from the soil due to the osmotic effect. Despite significant benefits, recycled water may deteriorate soil health in terms of increased salinity and sodicity. Although several studies in the past have highlighted the increase of soil salinity due to recycled water irrigation, the phenomenon depends on the variability of soil characteristics. In this study, the impact of using three different types of irrigation water (with electrical conductivity 0.2, 0.8, and 2.0 dS/m) on the mechanism of salt accumulation in the soil was investigated. To contribute to the addition of the existing knowledge of soil salinisation, soil from two paddocks (i.e., D33 and Yarramundi) in Western Sydney, Australia were analysed, and relationships among parameters associated with salt accumulation were evaluated using the results from continuous column studies. Results show that if the irrigation is conducted with high saline water, there is a possibility for salinisation of soil to occur. To prevent this from occurring, one of the solutions could be to use a normal town water supply for irrigation at some intervals. This will allow for the leaching of excess salt accumulated in the soil to deeper layers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Prediction and Remediation of Soil Salinization)

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18 pages, 1500 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Monitoring and Modeling of Saline-Sodic Vertisol Reclamation by Echinochloa stagnina

by Maman Nassirou Ado, Didier Michot, Yadji Guero, Zahra Thomas and Christian Walter

Soil Syst. 2022, 6(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems6010004 - 04 Jan 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2259

Abstract

Soil salinity due to irrigation is a major constraint to agriculture, particularly in arid and semi-arid zones, due to water scarcity and high evaporation rates. Reducing salinity is a fundamental objective for protecting the soil and supporting agricultural production. The present study aimed to empirically measure and simulate with a model, the reduction in soil salinity in a Vertisol by the cultivation and irrigation of Echinochloa stagnina. Laboratory soil column experiments were conducted to test three treatments: (i) ponded bare soil without crops, (ii) ponded soil cultivated with E. stagnina in two successive cropping seasons and (iii) ponded soil permanently cultivated with E. stagnina with a staggered harvest. After 11 months of E. stagnina growth, the electrical conductivity of soil saturated paste (ECe) decreased by 79–88% in the topsoil layer (0–8 cm) in both soils cultivated with E. stagnina and in bare soil. In contrast, in the deepest soil layer (18–25 cm), the ECe decreased more in soil cultivated with E. stagnina (41–83%) than in bare soil (32–58%). Salt stocks, which were initially similar in the columns, decreased more in soil cultivated with E. stagnina (65–87%) than in bare soil (34–45%). The simulation model Hydrus-1D was used to predict the general trends in soil salinity and compare them to measurements. Both the measurements and model predictions highlighted the contrast between the two cropping seasons: soil salinity decreased slowly during the first cropping season and rapidly during the second cropping season following the intercropping season. Our results also suggested that planting E. stagnina was a promising option for controlling the salinity of saline-sodic Vertisols. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Prediction and Remediation of Soil Salinization)

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20 pages, 4797 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Drought and Changing Water Sources on Water Use and Soil Salinity of Almond and Pistachio Orchards: 2. Modeling

by Sarah A. Helalia, Ray G. Anderson, Todd H. Skaggs and Jirka Šimůnek

Soil Syst. 2021, 5(4), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems5040058 - 24 Sep 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3151

Abstract

California is increasingly experiencing drought conditions that restrict irrigation deliveries to perennial nut crops such as almonds and pistachios. During drought, poorer quality groundwater is often used to maintain these crops, but this use often results in secondary salinization that requires skilled management. Process-based models can help improve management guidelines under these challenging circumstances. The main objective of this work was to assess seasonal soil salinity and root water uptake as a function of irrigation water salinity and annual rain amounts. The manuscript presents a comparison of three-year experimental and numerically simulated root zone salinities in and below the root zone of almond and pistachio drip-irrigated orchards at multiple locations in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV), California, with different meteorological characteristics. The HYDRUS-1D numerical model was calibrated and validated using field measurements of soil water contents and soil solute bulk electrical conductivities at four root zone depths and measured soil hydraulic conductivities. The remaining soil hydraulic parameters were estimated inversely. Observations and simulations showed that the effects of rain on root zone salinity were higher in fields with initially low salinities than in fields with high salinities. The maximum reduction in simulated root water uptake (7%) occurred in response to initially high soil salinity conditions and saline irrigation water. The minimum reduction in simulated water uptake (2.5%) occurred in response to initially low soil salinity conditions and a wet rain year. Simulated water uptake reductions and leaching fractions varied at early and late times of the growing season, depending on irrigation water salinity. Root water uptake reduction was highly correlated with the cumulative effects of using saline waters in prior years, more than salt leaching during a particular season, even when rain was sufficient to leach salts during a wet year. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Prediction and Remediation of Soil Salinization)

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25 pages, 4348 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Drought and Changing Water Sources on Water Use and Soil Salinity of Almond and Pistachio Orchards: 1. Observations

by Sarah A. Helalia, Ray G. Anderson, Todd H. Skaggs, G. Darrel Jenerette, Dong Wang and Jirka Šimůnek

Soil Syst. 2021, 5(3), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems5030050 - 25 Aug 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3328

Abstract

Soil salinity increases when growers are forced to use higher salinity irrigation waters due to water shortages. It is necessary to estimate the impact of irrigation water on soil properties and conditions for crop growth to manage the effects of salinity on perennial crops. Therefore, in this study, we monitored root zone salinity in five almond and pistachio orchards in eastern and western San Joaquin Valley (SJV), California (CA). Volumetric soil water contents and bulk electrical conductivities were measured at four root-zone depths. Evapotranspiration was measured by eddy covariance along with three other types of data. The first is seasonal precipitation and irrigation patterns, including the temporal distribution of rains, irrigation events, and irrigation water salinity. The second is soil chemistry, including the initial sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and soil solute electrical conductivity (ECe). The third type is the physical properties, including soil type, hydraulic conductivity, and bulk density. As expected, we found low salinity at the eastern sites and higher salinity at the western sites. The western sites have finer textured soils and lower quality irrigation water; measured actual ET was about 90% of modeled crop ET. Across the three western sites, the annual average apparent leaching fraction ranged from 11 to 28%. At the eastern sites, measured ET almost exactly matched modeled crop ET each year. Apparent leaching fractions in the eastern sites were approximately 20%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Prediction and Remediation of Soil Salinization)

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32 pages, 6353 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modelling Salinity and Sodicity Risks of Long-Term Use of Recycled Water for Irrigation of Horticultural Crops

by Vinod Phogat, Dirk Mallants, Jirka Šimůnek, James W. Cox, Paul R. Petrie and Timothy Pitt

Soil Syst. 2021, 5(3), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems5030049 - 21 Aug 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2360

Abstract

Long-term use of recycled water (RW) for irrigation in arid and semiarid regions usually changes the soil solution composition and soil exchange characteristics, enhancing the risk for salinity and sodicity hazards in soils. This modelling study focuses on developing alternative management options that can reduce the potentially harmful impacts of RW use on the irrigation of wine grapes and almonds. The multicomponent UNSATCHEM add-on module for HYDRUS-1D was used to evaluate the impact of long-term (2018–2050) use of irrigation waters of different compositions: good-quality low-salinity (175 mg/L) water (GW), recycled water with 1200 mg/L salinity (RW), blended water of GW and RW in the 1:1 proportion (B), and monthly (Alt1) and half-yearly (Alt6) alternate use of GW and RW. The management options include different levels of annual gypsum applications (0, 1.7, 4.3, and 8.6 t/ha soil) to the calcareous (Cal) and hard red-brown (HRB) soils occurring in the Northern Adelaide Plain (NAP) region, South Australia. Additional management scenarios involve considering different leaching fractions (LF) (0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5) to reduce the salinity build-up in the soil. A new routine in UNSATCHEM to simulate annual gypsum applications was developed and tested for its applicability for ameliorating irrigation-induced soil sodicity. The 1970–2017 period with GW irrigation was used as a warmup period for the model. The water quality was switched from 2018 onwards to reflect different irrigation water qualities, gypsum applications, and LF levels. The data showed that the GW, B, Alt1, and Alt6 irrigation scenarios resulted in lower soil solution salinity (EC_sw) than the RW irrigation scenario, which led to increased EC_sw values (4.1–6.6 dS/m) in the soil. Annual gypsum applications of 1.7, 4.3, and 8.6 t/ha reduced pH, SAR, and ESP in both soils and reduced the adverse impacts of irrigation, especially in surface soils. A combination of water blending or cyclic water use with 3.8 t/ha annual gypsum applications showed promise for the SAR and ESP control. Additionally, irrigation with RW, a 0.2 LF, and annual gypsum applications limited the harmful salinity impacts in the soils. However, in the RW irrigation scenario, EC_sw and ESP at the bottom of the crop root zone (90–120 cm depth) in the HRB soil were still higher than the wine grape and almond salinity thresholds. Thus, annual amendment applications, combined with the long-term use of blended water or cyclic use of RW and GW, represent a sustainable management option for crop production at the calcareous and hard red-brown soils. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Prediction and Remediation of Soil Salinization)

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20 pages, 1469 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Field Comparison of Electrical Resistance, Electromagnetic Induction, and Frequency Domain Reflectometry for Soil Salinity Appraisal

by Fernando Visconti and José Miguel de Paz

Soil Syst. 2020, 4(4), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems4040061 - 13 Oct 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2717

Abstract

By using different physical foundations and technologies, many probes have been developed for on-site soil salinity appraisal in the last forty years. In order to better understand their respective technical and practical advantages and constraints, comparisons among probes are needed. In this study, three different probes, based on electrical resistance (ER), electromagnetic induction (EMI), and frequency domain reflectometry (FDR), were compared during a field survey carried out in a large salt-threatened agricultural area. Information about the soil bulk electrical conductivity (σ_b) at different depths was obtained with each of the probes and, additionally, other soil properties were also measured depending on the specifications of each instrument and, moreover, determined in samples. On average, the EMI and FDR techniques could be regarded as equivalent for σ_b measurement, whereas ER gave higher σ_b values. Whatever the case, EMI, and also ER, had to be supplemented with information about soil clay, organic matter, and water mass fractions to attain, despite this effort, poor soil salinity estimations by means of multiple linear regression models (R² < 0.5). On the contrary, FDR needed only probe data to achieve R² of 0.7, though root mean standard error (RMSE) was still 1.5 dS m⁻¹. The extra measurements and calculations that modern electrical conductivity contact probes integrate, specifically, those based on FDR, remarkably increase their ability for soil salinity appraisal, although there is still room for improvement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Prediction and Remediation of Soil Salinization)

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Review

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17 pages, 2579 KiB

Open AccessReview

Reclamation of Salt-Affected Land: A Review

by Mandana Shaygan and Thomas Baumgartl

Soil Syst. 2022, 6(3), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems6030061 - 13 Jul 2022

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 9710

Abstract

Reclamation of salt-affected soil has been identified by the FAO as being critical to meet the needs to increase agricultural productivity. This paper reviews commonly used reclamation methods for salt-affected soils, and provides critical identifiers for an effective reclamation practice of salt-affected soil. There are widely used methods to reduce salinity and sodicity of salt-affected soils, including salt leaching, addition of amendments, revegetation using halophytes and salt scrapping. Not all reclamation techniques are suitable for salt-affected land. The reclamation strategy must be tailored to the site, and based on understanding the soil, plant and climate interactions. On some occasions, a combination of techniques may be required for reclamation. This can include salt scrapping to remove salts from the surface soil, the addition of physical amendments to improve soil pore systems and enhance salt leaching, followed by amelioration of soil by chemical amendments to preserve soil physical conditions, and then halophyte establishment to expand the desalinization zone. This study reveals that soil hydro-geochemical models are effective predictive tools to ascertain the best reclamation practice tailored to salt-affected land. However, models need to be calibrated and validated to the conditions of the land before being applied as a tool to combat soil salinity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Prediction and Remediation of Soil Salinization)

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20 pages, 364 KiB

Open AccessReview

Beneficial Microbes and Molecules for Mitigation of Soil Salinity in Brassica Species: A Review

by Ines Petrić, Dunja Šamec, Erna Karalija and Branka Salopek-Sondi

Soil Syst. 2022, 6(1), 18; https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems6010018 - 03 Feb 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4579

Abstract

Salt stress results from excessive salt accumulation in the soil can lead to a reduction in plant growth and yield. Due to climate change, in the future climatic pressures, changed precipitation cycles and increased temperature will increase the pressures on agriculture, including increasing severity of salt stress. Brassica species contains oilseed and vegetable crops with great economic importance. Advances in understanding the mechanisms of salt stress in Brassica plants have enabled the development of approaches to better induce plant defense mechanisms at the time of their occurrence through the use of beneficial microorganisms or molecules. Both endophytic and rhizospheric microbes contribute to the mitigation of abiotic stresses in Brassica plants by promoting the growth of their host under stress conditions. In this review we summarized so far reported microorganisms with beneficial effects on Brassica plants and their mode of action. Another approach in mitigating the harmful effect of soil salinity may involve the application of different molecules that are involved in the stress response of Brassica plants. We reviewed and summarized their potential mode of action, methods of application and pointed out further research directions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Prediction and Remediation of Soil Salinization)

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