Land degradation and migration

Hermans, Kathleen; Müller, Daniel; O’Byrne, David; Olsson, Lennart; Stringer, Lindsay C.

doi:10.1038/s41893-023-01231-4

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 16 publications

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“…The change trend of soil water and salt is the key indicator of soil degradation such as desertification and salinization, which threatens one quarter of the world's land and one sixth of the world's population, leading to slow economic development and food insecurity [1]. As an important component of the agroecosystem, connecting the interactions among the atmosphere, cropland, and groundwater ecosystems, soils are inevitably affected by climate change and human activities [2,3], and it is crucial to find out the characteristics and response mechanisms of soil water and salt movement under natural and human factors, which is not only a hot research topic for the development of agroecosystem theory, but it is also essential to the management of farmland ecosystems including saline soils for food security in semi-arid areas [4,5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics and Influence Factors of Soil Water and Salt Movement in the Yellow River Irrigation District

He,

Zhang,

et al. 2023

Agronomy

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Climate change and human activities lead to freshwater shortage, soil salinization, and food security crises in arable land. To explore the natural and irrigation factors on soil water and salt movement, this study quantitatively analyzed the dynamic characteristics of soil water and salt movement under precipitation, groundwater irrigation, and brackish water irrigation conditions for the next 30 years using Hydrus-1D model-based parameters obtained from the winter wheat–summer maize rotation experiments in the Yellow River Irrigation District. The results showed that precipitation was the key factor of climate change affecting soil water and salt migration, especially in the 0–20 cm soil layer. Under both SSP585 and SSP245 climate scenarios, rainfall in normal and wet years promoted salt leaching up to 1 m below the surface soil. But in dry years, salt washing treatment was required for the tillage layer to prevent salt accumulation. The higher the groundwater level was, the higher the soil water and salt content was in the 0–100 cm soil layer. In this soil layer, a 2 m groundwater level contributed 30% to wheat water needs, while a 3 m groundwater level contributed 18%, and no significant contribution was observed for a 4 m groundwater level. The salinity of the soil profile showed an overall increasing trend with irrigation using 1–3 g/L brackish water for 30 years. However, the salinity in the 0–100 cm soil layer was below the salt tolerance threshold of winter wheat and summer maize with salts accumulated in the 1–2 m soil layer. Considering the salinization of the root zone and crop water needs, it is recommended that the safe groundwater level for brackish water irrigation should be 3 m in the study region. This study provides scientific reference for groundwater–farmland ecosystems to utilize brackish water and treat saline–alkali lands.

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