Abstract
Abstract The irrigated area of Manas River Valley in Northwest China is an example of the successful reclamation of massive land affected by shallow ground water levels and salinization. To determine the effect of irrigation management practices on soil salinization, soil profiles representing various soil types were sampled. The historical records on the characteristics of irrigation management practices, groundwater level and soil salts accumulation in this region at four key periods, namely: flood irrigation without drainage; flood irrigation with drainage but of low efficiency; irrigation in combination with lined irrigation canals and exploitation of groundwater; and irrigation with the application of water-saving irrigation techniques, were analyzed emphatically. In addition, the salinization status of cultivated land in 2010 and 2020 was also predicted by using analogism according to the relationship between soil salinization and irrigation practices. The results revealed that the application of the traditional irrigation methods, such as flood irrigation and ridge irrigation, resulted in a rapid rising of groundwater level and salts accumulation in soil surface layers. However, with the way of well irrigation and well drainage, the groundwater level and the desalinization in soil layers apparently lowered, leading to a substantial increase of crop yield. Currently, the application of drip irrigation under mulch decreased the salts concentration in soil layers and increased the crop yield. With the continuous application of drip irrigation, the average soil desalinization efficiency in soil layers may increase. It is predicted that the percentage of salinized land would be reduced to 35%–40% when irrigation water is utilized reasonably in 2010. With the high efficient utilization of irrigation water after 2020, the salinized land would remain below 30%. It is concluded that with the improvement of irrigation management, an obvious desalinization would appear in the soil surface layers and the area of salinized land in this study area would gradually narrow, but the land salinization problem would be hard to totally solve.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Bingham F T, Glaubig B A, Shadey E (1984). Water, salinity and nitrate relations of a citrus watershed under drip, furrow, and sprinkler irrigation. Soil Science, 138(4): 306–313
Bveese F, Moshrefi N (1985). Physiological reaction of pepper to water and salt stress. In:Proceedings of the Third International Drip/Trickle Irrigation Congress. St. Joseph, Michigan: American Society of Agricultural Engineers
Cheng W M, Zhou C H, Liu H J (2005). Oasis development and ecology evolution in the Manas River Valley in 50 years. Science in China (Series D), 35(11): 1074–1086
Darwish T, Atallah T, Moujabber M E, Khatib N (2005). Salinity evolution and crop response to secondary soil salinity in two agroclimatic zones in Lebanon. Agricultural Water Management, 78: 152–164
Fan Z L, Ma Y J, Ma Y J (2002). Assessment and prediction of developing trend and soil salinization of the cultivated land in west China. Arid Land Geography, 25: 97–102 (in Chinese)
Feng L (2005). Influence on oasis ecological environment owing to the way of water resources in Shihezi Region. Journal of Shihezi University, 19: 9–12 (in Chinese)
Hachicha M, Cheverry C, Mhiri I A (2000). The impact of long-term irrigation on changes of ground water level and soil salinity in northern Tunisia. Arid Soil Research and Rehabilitation, 14: 175–182
Ji F, Fan Z L, Deng Y X, Shi C Q (1998). The control of soil salinization and land sustainable utilization in Aral irrigated area of Tarim River Basin. Arid Land Geography, 21: 37–43 (in Chinese)
Lai X Q, Liu J G, Zhang F H (2004). Study on ecosystem reconstruction of agriculture wasteland in oasis of Manas River Valley. Journal of Shihezi University, 22: 27–31 (in Chinese)
Li Y, Wang, W Y, Wang Q J (2001). A breakthrough thought for water saving and salinity control in arid and semi-arid area-under film trickle irrigation. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage, 20: 42–47 (in Chinese)
Li Z Z, Han H L (2004). Water resources utilization and oasis stability at north foothill of Tianshan Mountain—Taking Manas River Valley as a case analysis. Journal of Arid Land Resources and Environment, 18: 139–142 (in Chinese)
Liu X Y, Tian C Y (2005). Study on dynamic and balance of salt for cotton under plastic mulch in south Xinjiang. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 19: 82–85 (in Chinese)
Luo J X (1985). Improvement of Salinized Land in Xinjiang Cultivated Area. Beijing: Water Conservancy and Electric Power Press (in Chinese)
O’Hara, Sarah L (1997). Irrigation and land degradation: implications for agriculture in Turkmenistan, central Asia. Journal of Arid Environments, 37: 165–179
Stuyt L C PM, Dierickx W, Martinez Beltran J (2000). Materials for Subsurface Land Drainage Systems (FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 60). Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Thomas D S G, Middleton N J (1993). Salinization: new perspectives on a major desertification issue. Journal of Arid Environments, 24: 95–105
Tian C Y, Zhou H F, Liu G Q (2000). The proposal on control of soil salinization and sustainable agricultural development in twentyfirst century in Xinjiang. Arid Land Geography, 23(2): 177–181 (in Chinese)
Yuan G Y, Qu X L, Li J S (1995). Agroecological Environment Protection and Reasonable Use of Resource in Manas River Valley. Urumchi: Xinjiang Science and Sanitation Press (in Chinese)
Zhang Q, Li G Y, Chai F J (2004). Effect of mulched drip irrigation frequency on soil salt regime and cotton growth. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 9: 123–126 (in Chinese)
Zhou H F, Ma J L (2005). Studies on water-salt dynamics and balance of cotton-crop land in Tarim Irrigation Region. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage, 24: 10–14 (in Chinese)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
__________
Translated from Journal of China Agricultural University, 2007, 12(1): 22–26 [译自: 中国农业大学学报]
About this article
Cite this article
Li, Y., Pang, H., Zhang, H. et al. Effect of irrigation management on soil salinization in Manas River Valley, Xinjiang, China. Front. Agric. China 2, 216–223 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11703-008-0028-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11703-008-0028-0