KALINGA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

LESSON 4: Salt Problems in Soil and Water

ENGR. ELIZABETH C. LUMIOAN
 1

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

- Understand professional and ethical responsibility
- Communicate effectively the pros and cons of salinity in soil

LEARNING INPUT

The term "salinity" refers to the concentrations of salts in water or soils. Salinity can take three forms, classified by their
causes: primary salinity (also called natural salinity); secondary salinity (also called dryland salinity), and tertiary salinity
(also called irrigation salinity). (https://www.water.wa.gov.au/water-topics/water-quality/managing-water-quality/understanding-
salinity#:~:text=The%20term%20%22salinity%22%20refers%20to,(also%20called%20irrigation%20salinity).

Salt comes from the minerals of the earth's crust. Weathering decomposes the minerals and releases
the salt in a soluble form. Humid regions usually have enough rainfall to leach this salt through the soil
and into the ground water which carries it to streams. The streams carry it to the oceans.

In arid regions rainfall is too scanty to leach the salt out of the soil. The rain is largely dissipated by
evaporation and by plant use. Both processes—evaporation and plant use—occur at higher rates in arid
regions than they do in humid regions.

Scanty rainfall, evaporation, and plant use favor salt buildup in arid regions. A salt buildup caused by
these conditions alone, however, is usually not extensive enough to cause trouble. A harmful buildup, or
accumulation, occurs when a field continually receives salt from other locations. The salt is brought into
the area by surface water or by ground water. Irrigation often speeds the process. (“Salt problems in soil and
water”. United States Department of Agriculture)

A soil may be rich in salts because the parent rock from which
it was formed contains salts. Sea water is another source of
salts in low-lying areas along the coast. A very common
source of salts in irrigated soils is the irrigation water itself.
Most irrigation waters contain some salts.

After irrigation, the water added to the soil is used by the crop
or evaporates directly from the moist soil. The salt, however,
is left behind in the soil. If not removed, it accumulates in the
soil; this process is called salinization (see Fig. 102). Very
salty soils are sometimes recognizable by a white layer of dry
salt on the soil surface.

Salty groundwater may also contribute to salinization. When the

water table rises (e.g. following irrigation in the absence of proper
drainage), the salty groundwater may reach the upper soil layers
and, thus, supply salts to the rootzone (see Fig. 103).

Soils that contain a harmful amount of salt are often referred to as

salty or saline soils. Soil, or water, that has a high content of salt
is said to have a high salinity.
(https://www.fao.org/3/r4082e/r4082e08.htm)

IRRIGATION ENGINEERING
LESSON 4: SALT PROBLEMS IN SOIL AND WATER ENGR. ELIZABETH C. LUMIOAN
 2
Salt accumulates when water evaporates at the surface, or is extracted by plant roots. Both processes
separate the salt from the water. The salt remains behind. Salt is removed from the soil when water
moves downward through the root zone and into the subsoil, or out into the ground-water drainage
system. The rapidity with which salt builds up in the root zone is deter- mined by the quality of the
irrigation water, the method of irrigation, the type of field drainage, and other conditions.

Adequate drainage is important in maintaining a low salinity level. If a field is not adequately drained,
water may accumulate in the root zone and saturate the soil. This hastens the rise of the water table.
When the water table rises to within 5 or 6 feet of the surface, ground water and its salt move upward in-
to the root zone and to the soil surface. The reason for this condition is that the ground water tends to
move upward to the drier soil. Ground water, therefore, contributes to the salinity condition of the soil.
Adequate drainage keeps the water table from rising and allows the water to flow away before it has a
chance to rise into the soil zone occupied by the roots of the crop. (“Salt problems in soil and water”. United States
Department of Agriculture)

EFFECT ON PLANTS AND SOILS

Too much salt in soil affects plants in two ways:
1. It prevents them from getting enough water, even though
the soil may be well watered. This results in stunted
plants that frequently have a characteristic blue-green
color. If the salt is evenly distributed in a field, all the
plants will be stunted. Yields may be reduced as much
as 25 percent.

2. It has a direct toxic effect on plants. Most fruit trees are

susceptible to injury from salt toxicity. A characteristic
leaf-burn develops; leaves fall off. Trees may die when
harmful amounts of sodium or chloride accumulate. Most
field, forage, and truck crops, however, may accumulate
larger amounts of sodium or chloride in the leaves without developing visible symptoms of toxicity
injury. Boron and bicarbonate are toxic to all species of plants, but the level of tolerance may vary
from one crop to another.

Salt-affected soils are soils that have been harmed by soluble salts. They are classified into three
different groups.
SALINE SOILS
These are soils that contain too much soluble salt. These soils are generally flocculated—that is, the soil
particles are grouped together in clumps. The clumps are crumbly and do not stick together; water and
air move freely between them. Although this condition improves soil structure, the soluble salt reduces
the rate at which plants absorb water. Consequently, plant growth is retarded.

SODIC SOILS
These are soils that have appreciable amounts of sodium adsorbed on (adhered to) their individual
particles. They are not flocculated because the soil, particles on which the sodium is absorbed separate
from the flocculated clumps. This separation causes the openings between the clumps to become
smaller. Water and air cannot move through the soil freely, even though there may be more openings. In
some localities, the soil becomes a swollen, gelatinous mass that is impervious to both air and water.
This adverse effect of sodium becomes worse when soluble salts are low.

Dry sodic soils are hard. The dispersed soil particles stick together and form a crust that retards or
prevents seedling emergence. The soil breaks up into hard clods when tilled. Sodium is also toxic to
IRRIGATION ENGINEERING
LESSON 4: SALT PROBLEMS IN SOIL AND WATER ENGR. ELIZABETH C. LUMIOAN
 3
certain plants. Visible toxicity signs, however, usually do not appear until the sodium concentration has
reached a point where it is sufficient to impair the soil physically, although trees and some other plants
are sensitive to lower concentrations.
Sodic soils are formed by a chemical process. Sodium, actually a salt constituent, exists in solution as a
"cation." Cations are very small positively charged particles. Soil particles, which carry negative charges,
attract the positively charged sodium cations. As a result, sodium cations are absorbed on soil particles.
Other cations, or positively charged particles, that adhere to soil particles are calcium and magnesium.
Calcium and magnesium are the dominant cations in most productive soils in arid regions. When
productive soils are irrigated with high-sodium irrigation waters, sodium replaces a part of the calcium
and magnesium. This reaction is called cation exchange. It is a reversible process. The capacity of the
soil to adsorb and exchange cations is limited. The percentage of this capacity that sodium takes up is
called the exchangeable- sodium-percentage.

SALINE-SODIC SOILS
Saline-sodic soils occur when sa- linity and adsorbed sodium affect the soil at the same time.
(“Salt problems in soil and water”. United States Department of Agriculture)

In field conditions, saline soils can be recognized by the spotty growth of crops and often by the
presence of white salt crusts on the surface. When the salt problem is only mild, growing plants often
have a blue-green tinge. Barren spots and stunted plants may appear in cereal or forage crops growing
on saline areas. The extent and frequency of bare spots is often an indication of the concentration of
salts in the soil. If the salinity level is not sufficiently high to cause barren spots, the crop appearance
may be irregular in vegetative vigour. (https://www.fao.org/3/x5871e/x5871e04.htm)

The chief characteristic of sodic soils from the agricultural stand point is that they contain sufficient
exchangeable sodium to adversely affect the growth of most crop plants. The soils lack appreciable
quantities of neutral soluble salts but contain measurable to appreciable quantities of salts capable of
alkaline hydrolysis, e.g. sodium carbonate. Dispersed and dissolved organic matter present in the soil
solution of highly sodic soils may be deposited on the soil surface by evaporation causing a dark surface
which is why these soils have also been termed as black sodic soils.
Under field conditions after an irrigation or rainfall, sodic soils typically have convex surfaces. The soil a
few centimeters below the surface may be saturated with water while at the same time the surface is dry
and hard. (https://www.fao.org/3/x5871e/x5871e04.htm)

IMPROVING SALT-AFFECTED SOILS

Improvement of a saline soil implies the
reduction of the salt concentration of the soil to
a level that is not harmful to the crops.

To that end, more water is applied to the field

than is required for crop growth. This additional
water infiltrates into the soil and percolates
through the rootzone. During percolation, it
takes up part of the salts in the soil and takes
these along to deeper soil layers. In fact, the
water washes the salts out of the rootzone. This
washing process is called leaching (see Fig.
106).

The additional water required for leaching must

be removed from the rootzone by means of a
subsurface drainage system (Chapter 6). If not
removed, it could cause a rise of the
groundwater table which would bring the salts
back into the rootzone. Thus, improvement of
saline soils includes, essentially, leaching and
sub-surface drainage.

Improvement of sodic soils implies the reduction of the amount of sodium present in the soil. This is
done in two stages. Firstly, chemicals (such as gypsum), which are rich in calcium, are mixed with the
soil; the calcium replaces the sodium. Then, the replaced sodium is leached from the rootzone by
irrigation water. (https://www.fao.org/3/r4082e/r4082e08.htm)

IRRIGATION ENGINEERING
LESSON 4: SALT PROBLEMS IN SOIL AND WATER ENGR. ELIZABETH C. LUMIOAN
 4
PREVENTION OF SALINIZATION
Soils will become salty if salts are allowed to accumulate. Proper irrigation management and adequate
drainage are not only important measures for the improvement of salty soils, they are also essential for
the prevention of salinization.

The type of salt in the irrigation water will influence the risk of developing sodicity: the higher the
concentration of sodium present in the irrigation water (particularly compared to other soils), the higher
the risk. Irrigation systems are never fully efficient. Some water is always lost in canals and on the
farmers' fields. Part of this seeps into the soil. While this will help leach salt out of the rootzone, it will
also contribute to a rise of the water table; a high water table is risky because it may cause the salts to
return to the rootzone. Therefore, both the water losses and the water table must be strictly controlled.
This requires careful management of the irrigation system and a good subsurface drainage system.
(https://www.fao.org/3/x5871e/x5871e04.htm)

FOLLOW UP WORK

*** Quiz on March 16 ***

REFERENCES
- Asawa, G.L. (2008). “Irrigation and Water Resources Engineering”. New Age International
Limited Publishers. New Delhi, India.
- Agriculture Information. Bulletin No. 190. “Salt problems in soil and water”. United States
Department of Agriculture.
- https://www.fao.org/3/r4082e/r4082e08.htm

IRRIGATION ENGINEERING
LESSON 4: SALT PROBLEMS IN SOIL AND WATER ENGR. ELIZABETH C. LUMIOAN