Identifying Seasonal Accumulation of Soil Salinity with Three-Dimensional Mapping—A Case Study in Cold and Semiarid Irrigated Fields

Abstract

Soil salinity is an active and complex part of soil property in arid and semiarid irrigation areas that restricts the sustainability of agriculture production. Knowledge of seasonal distributions and migration of soil salinity is important for the management of agriculture. In this study, three-dimensional (3-D) geostatistical methods were used to construct seasonal 3-D spatial distribution maps of soil salinity, and then the quantitative analysis methods were used to study the seasonal accumulation patterns of soil salinity for the 0–150 cm soil depth in cold and semiarid irrigated rice fields. The results revealed that there were different spatial distribution and migration patterns of soil salinity in autumn 2015, spring 2016, autumn 2016, and spring 2017. The migration of soil salinity had a dispersion trend from autumn to spring, and the area of non-saline soil increased. Whereas there was an accumulation trend from spring to autumn, and the area of non-saline soil decreased. There were about 10–20% of the study area had experienced transitional changes of different soil salinity levels in different seasons. The correlation coefficient showed that there were significant positive correlations among the five depth increments (30 cm) in different seasons, and the correlations of soil salinity were higher in adjacent layers than in nonadjacent layers. The ECe values were higher in the topsoil (0–30 cm) and deeper subsoil (120–150 cm), indicating that soil soluble salts accumulated in the soil surface due to evaporation and accumulated in the bottom due to leaching and drainage. Microtopography was the major factor influencing spatial distribution of soil salinity in different seasons. The ECe values were generally higher in the swales or in areas with rather poor drainage, whereas the values were lower in relatively higher-lying slopes or that were well-drained. The results provide theoretical basis and reference for studying the variation of seasonal soil salinity in irrigated fields.