Improving Efficiency of Reclamation of Sodium-Affected Soils

Sodium affected soils, along with salt-affected soils, are distributed widely in irrigated areas of the arid and semi-arid region of the world. Some of these soils can and must be reclaimed to meet the increasing demand for food, and existing irrigated lands must be managed to reduce salinization and alkalization associated with deteriorating irrigation water quality. This project was conducted for examining ways to reduce the use of chemical amendments and large quantities of leaching water for reclaiming sodic soils or for preventing soil sodification, We hypothesized that sodicity of calcareous soils irrigated with moderately sodic irrigation water can be controlled by maximizing dissolution of soil CaCO3. The work performed in Israel has shown that dissolution of CaCO3 can be enhanced by elevating the CO2 partial pressure in soils, and by increasing pore water velocity. The concentration of Ca in pore water was at an order of 1.5 mmolc L-1 at a CO2 partial pressure of 5 kPa, which is sufficient to maintain SAR below 4 at salinity of irrigation water of 0.5 dS m-1 or less. Incorporation of crop residue at a flesh weight of 100 Mg ha-1 reduced the exchangeable Na percentage from 19 to 5%, while it remained 14% without crop residue application These findings indicate a possibility of preventing soil sodification with appropriate crop rotation and residue management without chemical amendments, provided that soils remain permeable. In the case of highly sodic soils, dissolution of CaCO3 alone is usually insufficient to maintain soil permeability during initial leaching. We examined the effect of salinity and sodicity on water infiltration, then developed a way to estimate the amendments required on the basis of water infiltration and drainage characteristics, rather than the traditional idea of reducing the exchangeable Na percentage to a pre-fixed value. Initial indications from soil column and lysimeter study are that the proposed method provides realistic estimates of amendment requirements. We further hypothesized that cultivation of salt-tolerant plants with water of elevated salinity can enhance reclamation of severely Na-affected soils primarily through improved water infiltration and increased dissolution of CaCO3 through respiration. An outdoor lysimeter experiment using two saline sodic Entisols sodded with saltgrass for two seasons did not necessarily support this hypothesis. While there was an evidence of increased removal of the exchangeable Na originally present in the soils, the final salinity and sodicity measured were lowest without sod, and highest when sodded. High transpiration rates, coupled with low permeability and/or inadequate leaching seemed to have offset the potential benefits of increased CaCO3 dissolution and subsequent removal of exchangeable Na. Although vegetative means of reclaiming sodic soils had been reported to be effective in sandy soils with sufficient permeability, additional study is needed for its use in saline sodic soils under the high evaporative demand. The use of cool season grass after initial salt leaching with CaCl2 should be explored. Results obtained from this project have several potential applications, which include the use of crop residues for maintaining sodium balance, the use of CaCl2 for initial leaching of poorly permeable clayey sodic soils, and appraisal of sodicity effects, and appropriate rates and types of amendments required for reclamation