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Soil salinity evolution and its relationship with dynamics of groundwater in the oasis of inland river basins: case study from the Fubei region of Xinjiang Province, China

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Abstract

Soil salinization is an important worldwide environmental problem, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Knowledge of its temporal and spatial variability is crucial for the management of oasis agriculture. The study area has experienced dramatic change in the shallow groundwater table and soil salinization during the 20th century, especially in the past two decades. Classical statistics, geostatistics and geographic information system (GIS) were applied to estimate the spatial variability of the soil salt content in relation to the shallow groundwater table and land use from 1983 to 2005. Consumption of reservoir water for agricultural irrigation was the main cause of a rise in the shallow groundwater table under intense evapotranspiration conditions, and this led indirectly to soil salinization. The area of soil salt accumulation was greater in irrigated than in non-irrigated landscape types with an increasing of 40.04% from 1983 to 2005 in cropland at ∼0.43 t ha−1 year−1, and an increase at ∼0.68 t ha−1 year−1 in saline alkaline land. Maps of the shallow groundwater table in 1985 and 2000 were used to deduce maps for 1983 and 1999, respectively, and the registration accuracy was 99%.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 40-3 South Beijing Road, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830011, People’s Republic of China

    Yugang Wang, Duning Xiao & Yan Li

  2. Shenyang Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Science, Shenyang, 110016, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoyu Li

  3. Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 260 Donggang West Road, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730000, People’s Republic of China

    Duning Xiao

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  1. Yugang Wang
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  2. Duning Xiao
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  3. Yan Li
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  4. Xiaoyu Li
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Correspondence to Yugang Wang.

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Wang, Y., Xiao, D., Li, Y. et al. Soil salinity evolution and its relationship with dynamics of groundwater in the oasis of inland river basins: case study from the Fubei region of Xinjiang Province, China. Environ Monit Assess 140, 291–302 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-007-9867-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-007-9867-z

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