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Contribution of shallow groundwater rapid fluctuation to soil salinization under arid and semiarid climate

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Abstract

Rising saline shallow groundwater and associated soil salinization problems are widespread especially in arid and semiarid areas. There have been numerous studies on groundwater-associated salinity, but more information is required on the effects of groundwater frequent and high fluctuations on soil salinization. In the present study, laboratory experiments and numerical simulations using HYDRUS-1D model were carried out for this purpose. The experimental and modeling results showed that groundwater fluctuation caused not only the accumulation of more salt in the soil profile compared to stable groundwater, but also an enhancement of the mechanism. Water table fluctuation induced a much greater spreading of the bromide (Br) tracer within the column than the constant water table. The Br content was on average five orders of magnitude greater under a fluctuating water table than under a constant one. Further, the numerical simulations showed that an increase in the groundwater fluctuation frequency brought about an increase in soil surface salinization under the same evaporation boundary conditions. Additional simulations with HYDRUS-1D were used to study the effects of various management strategies on soil salinization induced by shallow groundwater. Hence, by reducing the evaporation rate through the application of surface mulching, a significant reduction of salt concentration at the soil surface was observed. Moreover, frequent irrigations with small quantities were effective to reduce soil surface salt accumulation induced by saline shallow groundwater.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan

    Mohamed Khaled Ibrahimi, Tsuyoshi Miyazaki, Taku Nishimura & Hiromi Imoto

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  1. Mohamed Khaled Ibrahimi
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  2. Tsuyoshi Miyazaki
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  3. Taku Nishimura
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  4. Hiromi Imoto
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Correspondence to Mohamed Khaled Ibrahimi.

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Ibrahimi, M.K., Miyazaki, T., Nishimura, T. et al. Contribution of shallow groundwater rapid fluctuation to soil salinization under arid and semiarid climate. Arab J Geosci 7, 3901–3911 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-013-1084-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-013-1084-1

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