Author:
Barrett-Lennard E. G.,Malcolm C. V.
Abstract
Summary. This paper examines the accumulation of soil
chloride and the increase in electrical conductivity of the groundwater
beneath stands of saltbushes (Atriplex species) in a
plant spacing trial conducted near Kellerberrin in Western Australia. The
trial had a randomised block design with 5 plant spacings (1 by 1 m, 1 by 2 m,
2 by 2 m, 2 by 3 m, and 3 by 3 m), 5 saltbush species
(Atriplex undulata D. Dietr.,
A. amnicola Paul G. Wilson,
A. vesicaria Heward ex Benth.,
A. paludosa R. Br. and
A. bunburyana F. Muell.) and 3 replicate plots (each
consisting of 25 plants in 5 by 5 array). The saline groundwater at the site
was between 0.5 and 1.2 m below the surface for the duration of the
experiment. Over a 2-year period there was a substantial increase in soil
chloride concentration beneath the saltbushes. These increases were
proportional to saltbush ‘leaf density’ (weight per unit soil
surface area) and inversely proportional to the initial concentration of
chloride in the soil. There was a substantial increase in the electrical
conductivity of the groundwater which was also proportional to ‘leaf
density’. It is argued that the increases in soil salinity and
groundwater electrical conductivity were primarily due to the use of
groundwater by the saltbush stands. Salt accumulation data suggest that about
60–100 mm of groundwater was used (transpiration and evaporation) over
the 2 years. These results are discussed in terms of the ability of saltbushes
to lower local watertables, thereby making saline soils better suited to the
growth of superior annual pasture species.
Subject
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Cited by
28 articles.
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