Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Impacts of agricultural irrigation on groundwater salinity

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Environmental Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Agricultural irrigation represents the main use of global water resources. Irrigation has an impact on the environment, and scientific evidence suggests that it inevitably leads to salinization of both soil and aquifers. The effects are most pronounced under arid and semi-arid conditions. In considering the varied impacts of irrigation practices on groundwater quality, these can be classed as either direct—the direct result of applying water and accompanying agrochemicals to cropland—or indirect—the effects of irrigation abstractions on groundwater hydrogeochemistry. This paper summarizes and illustrates through paradigmatic case studies the main impacts of irrigation practices on groundwater salinity. Typically, a diverse range of groundwater salinization processes operating concomitantly at different time scales (from days to hundreds of years) is involved in agricultural irrigation. Case studies suggest that the existing paradigm for irrigated agriculture of focusing mainly on crop production increases has contributed to widespread salinization of groundwater resources.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

(Reproduced with permission from CNA 2003)

Fig. 7

(Reproduced with permission from Rodriguez-Estrella 2014)

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andreu JM, Pulido-Bosch A, Llamas MR, Bru C, Martinez-Santos P, Garcia-Sanchez E, Villacampa L (2008) Overexploitation and water quality in the Crevillente aquifer (Alicante, SE Spain). In: Prats-Rico D, Brebbia CA, Villacampa-Esteve Y (eds) Water pollution IX, WIT transactions on ecology and the environment, vol 111. WIT Press, Southampton, pp 75–84

    Google Scholar 

  • AQUASTAT (2016) FAO Information System on Water and Agriculture. Land and Water Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/main/. Accessed 10 Nov 2016

  • Aragues R, Tanji KK (2003) Water quality of irrigation return flows. In: Stewart BA, Howell TA (eds) Encyclopaedia of water science. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp 502–506

    Google Scholar 

  • Baghvand A, Nasrabadi T, Bidhendi NG, Vosoogh A, Karbassi A, Mehrdadi N (2010) Groundwater quality degradation of an aquifer in Iran central desert. Desalination 260:264–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barlow PM, Reichard EG (2010) Saltwater intrusion in coastal regions of North America. Hydrogeol J 18:247–260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bohlke JK (2002) Groundwater recharge and agricultural contamination. Hydrogeol J 10:153–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callejon AJ, Lopez-Martinez JA (2009) Briquettes of plants remains from the greenhouses of Almeria (Spain). Span J Agric Res 7:525–534

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cartwright I, Weaver TR, Simmons CT, Fifield LK, Lawrence CR, Chisari R, Varley S (2010) Physical hydrogeology and environmental isotopes to constrain the age, origins, and stability of a low-salinity groundwater lens formed by periodic river recharge: Murray Basin, Australia. J Hydrol 380:203–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ceron JC, Pulido-Bosch A (1996) Groundwater problems resulting from CO2 pollution and overexploitation in Alto Guadalentin aquifer (Murcia, Spain). Environ Geol 28:223–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CNA (2003) Costa de Hermosillo Aquifer Management Plan. Gerencia Regional Noroeste, Comision Nacional del Agua (CNA), Mexico. Unpublished report (in Spanish)

  • CSIRO (2008) Water availability in the Murray. A report to the Australian Government from the CSIRO Murray-Darling Basin Sustainable Yields Project. CSIRO, Australia

  • Daniele L, Pulido-Bosch A, Vallejos A, Molina L (2008) Geostatistical analysis to identify hydrogeochemical processes in complex aquifers: a case study (Aguadulce unit, Almeria, SE Spain). Ambio 37:249–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Djabri, L, Hani A, Djouama MC, Bouhsina SJ, Mudry J, Pulido-Bosch A (2010) Transboundary resources and good neighbourhood: case of joint management of fossil water layer in the South. UNESCO-IAH-UNEP Conference, Paris

  • Duncan RA, Bethune MG, Thayalakumaran T, Christen EW, McMahon TA (2008) Management of salt mobilisation in the irrigated landscape—a review of selected irrigation regions. J Hydrol 351:238–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans R (2013) Geology and hydrogeology. Mallee Salinity Workshop 2012. Mallee Catchment Management Authority, Mildura

  • FAO (2011) The state of the world’s land and water resources for food and agriculture—managing systems at risk. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Earthscan, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • FAOSTAT (2016) FAO Food and Agriculture Database. Statistics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. http://faostat.fao.org/. Accessed 25 Nov 2016

  • Faunt CC, Sneed M, Traum J, Brandt JT (2016) Water availability and land subsidence in the Central Valley, California, USA. Hydrogeol J 24:675–684

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster SSD, Perry CJ (2010) Improving groundwater resource accounting in irrigated areas: a prerequisite for promoting sustainable use. Hydrogeol J 18:291–294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeze RA, Cherry JA (1979) Groundwater. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs

    Google Scholar 

  • Garcia-Garizabal I, Causape J (2010) Influence of irrigation water management on the quantity and quality of irrigation return flows. J Hydrol 385:36–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghassemi F, Jakeman AJ, Nix HA (1995) Salinisation of land and water resources: human causes, extent, management and case studies. CAB International, Wallingford

    Google Scholar 

  • Guendouz A, Moulla AS, Remini B, Michelot JL (2006) Hydrochemical and isotopic behaviour of a Saharan phreatic aquifer suffering severe natural and anthropic constraints (case of Oued-Souf region, Algeria). Hydrogeol J 14:955–968

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han D, Song X, Currell MJ, Cao G, Zhang Y, Kang Y (2011) A survey of groundwater levels and hydrogeochemistry in irrigated fields in the Karamay Agricultural Development Area, northwest China: implications for soil and groundwater salinity resulting from surface water transfer for irrigation. J Hydrol 405:217–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Januel Y (2010) In the context of a new agricultural dynamics, what advantages of the traditional system of Ghouts in relation to the evolved oasis system? Center for International Development Studies and Research. http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp888f.pdf (in French). Accessed 11 Mar 2016

  • Kass A, Gavrieli I, Yechieli Y, Vengosh YA, Starinsky A (2005) The impact of freshwater and wastewater irrigation on the chemistry of shallow groundwater: a case study from the Israeli Coastal Aquifer. J Hydrol 300:314–331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Konikow LF, Kendy E (2005) Groundwater depletion: a global problem. Hydrogeol J 13:317–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurtzman D, Baram S, Dahan O (2016) Soil–aquifer phenomena affecting groundwater under vertisols: a review. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 20:1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leaney FW, Herczeg AL, Walker GR (2003) Salinization of a fresh palaeo-ground water resource by enhanced recharge. Ground Water 41:84–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorite-Herrera M, Jimenez-Espinosa M, Jimenez-Millan J, Hiscock KM (2008) Integrated hydrochemical assessment of the Quaternary alluvial aquifer of the Guadalquivir River, southern Spain. Appl Geochem 23:2040–2050

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maas EV (1986) Salt tolerance of plants. Appl Agric Res 1:12–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Mateo-Sagasta J, Burke J (2010) Agriculture and water quality interactions: A global overview. SOLAW Background Thematic Report TR08, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome. http://www.fao.org/nr/solaw/. Accessed 16 Sept 2016

  • McMahon PB, Dennehy KF, Bruce BW, Bohlke JK, Michel RL, Gurdak JJ, Hurlbut DB (2006) Storage and transit time of chemicals in thick unsaturated zones under rangeland and irrigated cropland, High Plains, United States. Water Resour Res 42:W03413

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merchan D, Auque LF, Acero P, Gimeno MJ, Causape J (2015) Geochemical processes controlling water salinization in an irrigated basin in Spain: identification of natural and anthropogenic influence. Sci Total Environ 502:330–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meziani A, Dridi H, Kalla M (2009) The rise of deep waters in the Souf—Algerian Sahara. In: Proceedings of the international symposium energy, climate change and sustainable development, Djerba, pp 5–6 (in French)

  • Miguel J, Lopez-Segura J, Baena R (2011) Use of desalinated water in agriculture. Experiences in Almeria (Spain). IDA World Congress on Desalination Solutions, Perth

    Google Scholar 

  • Milnes E, Renard P (2004) The problem of salt recycling and seawater intrusion in coastal irrigated plains: an example from the Kiti aquifer (Southern Cyprus). J Hydrol 288:327–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mohamed AMO, Maraqa M, Al Handhaly J (2005) Impact of land disposal of reject brine from desalination plants on soil and groundwater. Desalination 182:411–433

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molina L, Vallejos A, Pulido-Bosch A, Sanchez-Martos F (2002) Water temperature and conductivity variability as indicators of groundwater behaviour in complex systems in the south-east of Spain. Hydrol Process 16:3365–3378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morris BL, Lawrence ARL, Chilton PJC,Adams B, Calow RC, Klinck BA (2003) Groundwater and its susceptibility to degradation. Early Warning and Assessment Report Series, RS. 03-3. UNEP, Nairobi

  • Northey JE, Christen EW, Ayars JE, Jankowski J (2006) Occurrence and measurement of salinity stratification in shallow groundwater in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, south-eastern Australia. Agric Water Manag 81:23–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oeltzschner H (2002) Some remarks on the phenomenon of the rise of the waters in the Souf. Technical and Scientific Meeting on the Quality of Waters of the South, El-Oued, Algeria, pp 65–75 (in French)

  • Oren O, Yechieli Y, Bohlke JK, Dody A (2004) Contamination of groundwater under cultivated fields in an arid environment, central Arava Valley, Israel. J Hydrol 290:312–328

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pulido-Bosch A, Bensi S, Molina L, Vallejos A, Calaforra JM, Pulido-Leboeuf P (2000) Nitrates as indicators of aquifer interconnection. Application to the Campo de Dalias (SE-Spain). Environ Geol 39:791–799

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Remini B (2006) The disappearance of ghouts in the region of el Oued (Algeria). Larhyss J 5:49–62 (in French)

    Google Scholar 

  • Richter BC, Kreitler CW (1993) Geochemical techniques for identifying sources of ground-water salinization. CRC Press, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodell M, Velicogna I, Famiglietti JS (2009) Satellite-based estimates of groundwater depletion in India. Nature 460:999–1002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez-Estrella T (2014) The problems of overexploitation of aquifers in semi-arid areas: characteristics and proposals for mitigation. Boletin Geologico y Minero 125:91–109

    Google Scholar 

  • Scanlon BR, Reedy RC, Stonestrom DA, Prudic DE, Dennehy KF (2005) Impact of land use and land cover change on groundwater recharge and quality in the southwestern USA. Glob Change Biol 11:1577–1593

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scanlon BR, Keese KE, Flint AL, Flint LE, Gaye CB, Edmunds WM, Simmers I (2006) Global synthesis of groundwater recharge in semiarid and arid regions. Hydrol Process 20:3335–3370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scanlon BR, Jolly I, Sophocleous M, Zhang L (2007) Global impacts of conversions from natural to agricultural ecosystems on water resources: quantity versus quality. Water Resour Res 43:W03437

    Google Scholar 

  • Scanlon BR, Stonestrom DA, Reedy RC, Leaney FW, Gates J, Cresswell RG (2009) Inventories and mobilization of unsaturated zone sulfate, fluoride and chloride related to land use change in semiarid regions, southwestern United States and Australia. Water Resour Res 45:W00A18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scanlon BR, Gates JB, Reedy RC, Jackson WA, Bordovsky JP (2010) Effects of irrigated agroecosystems: 2. Quality of soil water and groundwater in the southern High Plains, Texas. Water Resour Res 46:W09538

    Google Scholar 

  • Shi L, Jiao JJ (2014) Seawater intrusion and coastal aquifer management in China: a review. Environ Earth Sci 72:2811–2819

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smedema LK, Shiati K (2002) Irrigation and salinity: a perspective review of the salinity hazards of irrigation development in the arid zone. Irrigat Drain Syst 16:161–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stigter TY, van Ooijen SPJ, Post VEA, Appelo CAJ, Carvalho Dill AMM (1998) A hydrogeological and hydrochemical explanation of the groundwater composition under irrigated land in a Mediterranean environment, Algarve, Portugal. J Hydrol 208:262–279

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suarez DL (1989) Impact of agricultural practices on groundwater salinity. Agric Ecosyst Environ 26:215–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szynkiewicz A, Medina MR, Modelska M, Monreal R, Pratt LM (2008) Sulfur isotopic study of sulfate in the aquifer of Costa de Hermosillo (Sonora, Mexico) in relation to upward intrusion of saline groundwater, irrigation pumping and land cultivation. Appl Geochem 23:2539–2558

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanji KK, Kielen NC (2002) Agricultural drainage water management in arid and semi-arid areas. FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 61, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome

  • Vallejos A, Andreu JM, Sola F, Pulido-Bosch A (2015) The anthropogenic impact on Mediterranean karst aquifers: cases of some Spanish aquifers. Environ Earth Sci 74:185–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Weert F, Van der Gun J, Reckman J (2009) Global overview of saline groundwater occurrence and genesis. Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre, Report GP-2009–1, Utrecht

  • Wada Y, van Beek LPH, van Kempen CM, Reckman JWTM, Vasak S, Bierkens MFP (2010) Global depletion of groundwater resources. Geophys Res Lett 37:1–5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walvoord MA, Phillips FM, Stonestrom DA, Evans RD, Hartsough PC, Newman BD, Streigl RG (2003) A reservoir of nitrate beneath desert soils. Science 302:1021–1024

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by CEIMAR “Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar” and the projects CADESEM (Grant Number P11-RNM-8115), Junta de Andalucia Regional Government, Spain, and KARSTCLIMA (Grant Number CGL2015-71510-R) and ACUIDESAL (Grant Number CGL2015-67273-R), Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology—FEDER.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Water Resources and Environmental Geology, Department of Biology and Geology, University of Almeria, 04120, Almeria, Spain

    A. Pulido-Bosch, J. P. Rigol-Sanchez, A. Vallejos, L. Molina-Sanchez & F. Sola

  2. Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, University of Alicante, 03080, Alicante, Spain

    J. M. Andreu

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Huelva, 21071, Huelva, Spain

    J. C. Ceron

Authors
  1. A. Pulido-Bosch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J. P. Rigol-Sanchez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. A. Vallejos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J. M. Andreu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. J. C. Ceron
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. L. Molina-Sanchez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. F. Sola
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. P. Rigol-Sanchez.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Pulido-Bosch, A., Rigol-Sanchez, J.P., Vallejos, A. et al. Impacts of agricultural irrigation on groundwater salinity. Environ Earth Sci 77, 197 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7386-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7386-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation