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Arid Land Geography ›› 2024, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (9): 1566-1576.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2023.717

• Biology and Pedology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Research progress on simulation of soil water-salt transport in large-scale irrigation districts

MENG Huimin1,2(), ZHAN Chesheng1(), HU Shi1, LIN Zhonghui1   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes/Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • Received:2023-12-19 Revised:2024-01-26 Online:2024-09-25 Published:2024-09-24
  • Contact: ZHAN Chesheng E-mail:mhm2019@163.com;zhancs@igsnrr.ac.cn

Abstract:

Soil salinization is a manifestation of land degradation caused by the combined effect of natural processes and human activities. This issue is particularly common in irrigation districts, where various factors exacerbated by frequent human interventions influence soil salinity. To prevent soil salinization, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of soil water-salt transport mechanisms in irrigation districts with frequent human activities. After reviewing the factors that influence soil water-salt transport in irrigation districts and the characteristics and applications of water-salt transport model, we propose a potential direction for simulating water-salt transport in irrigation areas. The formation of salinization in irrigation areas is closely related to natural factors such as climatic aridity, terrain, seasonal soil freeze-thaw cycles, groundwater salinity, and parent material of soils, as well as anthropogenic factors such as irrational irrigation practices, agricultural methodologies, and fertilization regimes. To understand the process of water-salt transport, soil water-salt transport models are effective tools. The commonly used models for water-salt transport include water-salt balance models, physical models, and statistical models. They are mainly used to optimize irrigation water-saving regimes and drainage management for salinity control at the field scale. However, applying these models at the regional scale presents challenges due to the difficulty of obtaining observational data to calibrate and validate models that involve soil water-salt transport processes and crop growth. The rapid development of modern large-scale irrigation districts has changed the spatiotemporal distribution of soil water-salt transport. However, the continuous improvements of the model and the rapid development of computer technology have provided possibilities for investigating the spatiotemporal evolution mechanisms of water-salt transport in large-scale irrigation districts. Future models should focus on strengthening the soil water-salt transport mechanisms based on ecological safety. It is recommended to develop a multi-process water-salt transport model that is coupled with a climate model or an economic model.

Key words: irrigation districts, soil salinization, soil water-salt transport model, climate model, economical model, ecological safety