“Water-Colouring” and Geomorphologic Features of the Marl Hills in Changing Quality of Soil and Water

Abstract

Water scarcity has always been one of the most important obstacles in the process of agricultural development in arid and low-rainfall climates. In farming, the water quality also plays an important role; as the poor quality of water can be one of the limiting factors in this sector that in addition to the agricultural problems has also caused soil problems. In this paper, we introduce and study an indigenous method of water conservation and soil protection in the east of Iran termed as "water-colouring" and the role of geomorphologic features of marl hills in one of the rivers located in the southern slopes of the Joghtay Mountain (Kalateh-Sadat Watershed). In this study, field observation, sampling and analysis of water and sediment, physicochemical experiments, SPSS software for statistical analysis and satellite images have been used to produce digital models. Finally, the effects of muddy water and clear water have been compared in terms of chemical quality and productivity of agricultural land. The results show that the method of water-colouring is the best indigenous-economical method for moisture retention and regeneration of the agricultural land soil. Given the statistical reasons and studying the other researches in this field, water-colouring causes change texture and soil composition, fertility of agricultural land and reduce the losses due to evaporation and infiltration.