EVALUATION OF SOIL SALINITY OF THE FETZARA LAKE REGION (NORTH-EAST ALGERIA)

Abstract

Fetzara lake, located at 18 km southwest of Annaba city, is one of the largest lakes in the extreme northeastern Algeria. In 2002, the Ramsar convention classified it among the wetlands of international importance. In this study, we aim to evaluate soil properties of Fetzara lake region, which are very sensitive to salinization phenomena, and their evolution according to depth. A sampling companion was carried out on the first two superficial levels 0 to 25 cm and 25 to 50 cm. A total of 24 samples, gathered from 12 sites distributed around the lake perimeter, were analyzed for their physical and physico-chemical properties. Results show that the majority of the soils samples are classified as saline soils (ESP ≤ 15%, EC > 4 mS cm -1 ), with a highly variable electrical conductivity (6.52 to 24.3 mS cm -1 ), reaching its maximum in both northeastern (Wadi Zied town) and southeastern part of the lake (Cheurfa town). Moreover, the soil solutions are characterized by the abundance of ions such as Cl - , SO 4 2- , Na + and Mg 2+ , giving a dominant sodium chloride facies in most of the analyzed samples.