salinity of soil and water is the most important agricultural hazard in arid and semi-aridregions. in saline soils, yield production directly influences by soluble salts in the root zone aswell as by shallow water table depth. the first step for reclamation of such soils is reducingsalinity to optimum level by leaching. the objective of this study was to develop a practicalmodel to estimate wat...

The substrate-induced respiration inhibition (SIRIN) method of Anderson and Domsch for partitioning bacteria1 and fungal contributions to soil respiration was modified for application to dry soils. This new method also provided a comparative basis when measuring SIRIN in soils of different moisture contents. Soil was incubated under optimum moisture conditions (55% water-filled pore space) to m...

The effects of salinity on soil organic carbon (SOC) and its labile fractions including microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and easily oxidation organic carbon (EOC), basal soil respiration, and soil nematode community in the Fluvents, an oasis in an arid region of northwestern China were investigated. Five sites were selected which had a salinity gradient with different groundwater table from 1.0 m...

Soil alkalinisation generally constitutes a major threat to irrigated agriculture in the semiarid regions of West Africa. The improvement of sodic soils is generally difficult and expensive. However, a recent study in the Niger valley in NIGER, reveals that a natural dealkalinisation is possible under natural conditions in a semi-arid climate. Transformation of non-saline sodic soil into brown ...

Grazing exclusion (GE) has been deemed as an important approach to enhance the soil carbon storage of semiarid grasslands in China; however, it remains unclear how different organic carbon (OC) components in soils vary with the duration of GE. Here, we observed the changing trends of different OC components in soils with increased GE duration in five grassland succession series plots, ranging f...

Definitions and forms of salinity All natural waters contain soluble salts. The concentration of the salts determines whether the water is of high quality (drinkable or usable for irrigation without need for special precautions) or of low quality (brackish or saline). Water in the soil also contains soluble salts (sometimes called free or nonattached salts). The amount of salts in the root zone...

Soil water availability is most essential in the Sahelian agriculture but is hampered by several factors. Surface crusts or crust-like surfaces, which are characteristic of most Sahelian soils, have been shown to decrease water in®ltrability and increase runoff. Their type and structure are in ̄uenced by soil texture, vegetation cover, erosion and deposition effects of wind and water. A soil and...

Soil salinity phenomena are one of the main problems of arid and semi-arid lands. Saline soils constitute a huge part of Iran, and also threaten its neighboring lands. Therefore, in order to optimum exploitation of such soils, qualitative monitoring is necessary. Recently, remote sensing techniques have been increasingly applied in monitoring soil characteristics. The present study was carried ...

Salinisation is the accumulation of water-soluble salts in the soil solum or regolith to a level that impacts on agricultural production, environmental health and economic welfare. Salt-affected soils occur in more than a hundred countries of the world with a variety of extents, nature and properties. No climatic zone in the world is free from salinisation, although the general perception is fo...