The properties of soil as impacted by sea level rise in the dry season: A case study of Nonthaburi Province, Thailand

Abstract

This study contributed to the understanding of the effect of sea level rise on soil properties in the agricultural area during the dry season and the providing of more detailed information needed to improve agricultural practices in the area. Five study sites, which located in Nonthaburi province, were selected according to the disparate distance from Chao Phraya River, comprising tropical fruit orchard (location 1 to 4) and paddy field (location 5). Soil morphology was recorded by the genetic horizon and soil samples were collected at depth of 0-15, 15-30, 30-60, 60-90 and 90-120 cm in March 2018 to analyze soil properties involving to salt affected soils, including Electrical Conductivity (ECe), Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), and soil moisture. Moreover, the correlation between their soil properties was also examined by using SPSS Statistics version 22.0 at p-value < 0.05. The result divulged that all soils are deep, poorly drained, and low development. Soil textures are clayey. ECe and SAR of these soils ranged from 0.27-4.38 dS m−1 and 8.54-37.23, accordingly. The trend of soil moisture from 0-90 cm usually increased as the following depth except location 5. The relationship between ECe and SAR of these soils at 0-15, 15-30, 30-60, 60-90 and 90-120 cm revealed highly significant correlation, namely, the correlation coefficient (r) was 0.93, 0.94, 0.72, 0.77 and 0.86, respectively. These results suggest that sea level rise in the dry season influences on some properties of soil.