Abstract
Soil salinization is one of the environmental threats affecting the sustainable development of arid oases in the northwest of China. Thus, it is necessary to assess the risk of soil salinity and analyze spatial and temporal changes. The objective of this paper is to develop a temporal and spatial soil salinity risk assessment method based on an integrated scoring method by combining the advantages of remote sensing and GIS technology. Based on correlation coefficient analysis to determine the weights of risk evaluation factors, a comprehensive scoring system for the risk of salinity in the dry and wet seasons was constructed for the Ebinur Lake Wetland National Nature Reserve (ELWNNR), and the risk of spatial variation of soil salinity in the study area was analyzed in the dry and wet seasons. The results show the following: (1) The risk of soil salinity during the wet season is mainly influenced by the plant senescence reflectance index (PSRI), deep soil water content (D_wat), and the effect of shallow soil salinity (SH_sal). The risk of soil salinity during the dry season is mainly influenced by shallow soil salinity (SH_sal), land use and land cover change (LUCC), and deep soil moisture content (D_wat). (2) The wet season was found to have a high risk of salinization, which is mainly characterized by moderate, high, and very high risks. However, in the dry season, the risk of salinity is mainly characterized by low and moderate risk of salinity. (3) In the ELWNNR, as the wet season changes to dry season (from May to August), moderate-risk area in the wet season easily shifts to low risk and risk-free, and the area of high risk in the wet season easily shifts to moderate risk. In general, the overall change in salinity risk of the ELWNNR showed a significant relationship with changes in lake water volume, indicating that changes in water volume play an important role in the risk of soil salinity occurrence. Ideally, the quantitative analysis of salinity risk proposed in this study, which takes into account temporal and spatial variations, can help decision makers to propose more targeted soil management options.
Highlights
As the world’s population grows, there will be increased demand for land available for agricultural production to meet human needs in the future
The overall change in salinity risk of the Ebinur Lake Wetland National Nature Reserve (ELWNNR) showed a significant relationship with changes in lake water volume, indicating that changes in water volume play an important role in the risk of soil salinity occurrence
Based on the risk weight of evaluation factors determined by correlation coefficient analysis method, this paper introduces a comprehensive scoring method to construct a comprehensive scoring system of salinization risk in the study area and constructs the soil salinization risk evaluation model
Summary
As the world’s population grows, there will be increased demand for land available for agricultural production to meet human needs in the future. Soil salinity formation falls into two broad categories: natural primary salinization and anthropogenic secondary salinization [4]. Natural primary salinization is the mobilization of salts from the soil or groundwater to the surface by some or a combination of factors, resulting in a high-salinity environment [5]. Anthropogenic secondary salinization is the result of improper agricultural water use, which increases the salt levels in the soil surface layer [4]. Anthropogenic secondary salinization can mitigate irrigation salinity through improved human agricultural production management systems [7]. The drivers of natural primary salinization, exhibit variability across time and space, which affects the assessment and management of soil salinity [8]
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