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Arid Land Geography ›› 2021, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (4): 1104-1113.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000–6060.2021.04.22

• Soil Resources • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Numerical simulation of water and salt migration in desert soil in the lower reaches of Tarim River under salt-water irrigation

WANG Shiming1,2,3,4(),FAN Jinlong1,2,3,4(),ZHAO Ying5,ZHANG Taotao1,2,3,4,LI Shengyu1,2,3,4   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China
    2. Mosuowan Desert Research Station, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shihezi 832000, Xinjiang, China
    3. Taklimakan Desert Research Station, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography Chinese Academy of Sciences, Korla 841000, Xinjiang, China
    4. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    5. Ludong University, Yantai 264039, Shandong, China
  • Received:2020-04-01 Revised:2020-06-11 Online:2021-07-25 Published:2021-08-02
  • Contact: Jinlong FAN E-mail:1443661410@qq.com;fanjl@ms.xjb.ac.cn

Abstract:

During shelterbelt construction in the lower reaches of Tarim River, Xinjiang, China, the water and salt balance of the soil profile clearly changed because of underground saltwater irrigation. Establishing a numerical model is a very efficient means of understanding the vertical water and salt dynamics of soil. By reconstructing the dynamic process of water and salt in the soil profile, the regularity of soil water and salt migration in a high-salt environment can be revealed, which would be useful for the construction of shelterbelts in ecological engineering projects and sustainable management of the subsequent irrigation. In this study, the distribution characteristics and temporal changes of the soil water and salt under different salinity conditions for groundwater irrigation in the early construction stages of the HYDRUS-1D shelter forest were simulated. Soil water and salt data were collected for optimization of the soil water characteristic parameters, and the applicability of the established numerical model was evaluated. The results showed that the water and salt contents of the surface soil (0-30 cm depth) were greatly affected by irrigation with large fluctuations. Additionally, the salt content was highly concentrated at the soil surface. In the deep layer (50-150 cm), irrigation had a small influence with small fluctuations in values. The simulated values of the numerical model were in good agreement with the measured values, which demonstrated that the model could reflect the soil water and salt migration at the test site. The established model can be used to simulate the soil water and salt migration in the desert area downstream of Tarim River under different salinity conditions for irrigation and provides a theoretical basis and technical support for the construction of an ecological shelterbelt in this area. Using the HYDRUS numerical simulation method effectively reduces the research costs of accurately predicting future changes in the soil water and salt environment, and it can also play an effective auxiliary role in research on other soil processes. This experiment was conducted in a desert environment, and few experimental studies have been performed in similar environments. Hence, this study is innovative and can provide new ideas and methods for experimental studies in relevant desert environments.

Key words: salt water irrigation, soil water and salt migration, HYDRUS-1D model, lower Tarim River