Premium
Ion Partitioning among Soil and Plant Components under Drip, Furrow, and Sprinkler Irrigation Regimes
Author(s) -
Wang D.,
Shan M. C.,
Grieve C. M.,
Shouse P. J.,
Suarez D. L.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq2002.1684
Subject(s) - soil salinity , drip irrigation , salinity , irrigation , agronomy , environmental science , leaching model , soil water , saline water , drainage , chemistry , surface irrigation , soil science , biology , ecology
Soil and water resources can be severely degraded by salinity when total salt input exceeds output in irrigated agriculture. This study was conducted to examine partitioning of Ca 2+ , Na + , and Cl − between soil and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] plants under different irrigation regimes with both field and modeling assessments. In drip and sprinkler treatments, the irrigation water was salinized with NaCl and CaCl 2 salts to simulate a Cl − and Na + dominant saline drainage water. In the furrow irrigation treatment, the soil was salinized, prior to planting, with NaCl and CaCl 2 salts to simulate a Cl − and Na + dominant saline soil. A total of 756 soil and 864 plant samples were collected and analyzed for the salt ions to obtain ion partitioning and mass balance assessments. Modeling of salt ion uptake by plants and distribution in the soil profile was performed with a two‐dimensional solute transport model for the three irrigation regimes. Results indicated that about 20% of the applied Ca 2+ was recovered in harvested soybean biomass in all treatments. Plant uptake of either Na + or Cl − was less than 0.5% in the drip and furrow, and about 2% in the sprinkler irrigation treatment. Significant increases in soil salinity were found in the sprinkler plot that received the highest cumulative amount of salts. Simulated ion distributions in the soil were comparable with the measurements. Compared with the total seasonal salt input, mass balances between 65 and 108% were obtained. Most salt inputs accumulate in the soil, and need to be removed periodically to prevent soil salinization.