Arid Zone Research ›› 2025, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (7): 1196-1210.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2025.07.04

• Land and Water Resources • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Depth on soil water-salt transport in arid regions: A case study of representative farmland in the riparian zone of lower Aksu River

LU Li1,2(), GUO Jianhua3(), WANG Younian4   

  1. 1. Institute of Water Resources and Environment, Jilin University, Changchun 130000, Jilin, China
    2. College of Geology and Mining Engineering, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, Xinjiang, China
    3. Haikou Marine Geological Survey Center of China Geological Survey, Haikou 571127, Hainan, China
    4. Xinjiang Water Resources and Hydropower Survey and Design Institute, Urumqi 830000, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2024-08-11 Revised:2025-03-28 Online:2025-07-15 Published:2025-07-07
  • Contact: GUO Jianhua E-mail:luli0401@sina.com;guojianhuahkzx@126.com

Abstract:

Salinization in the irrigation areas of watersheds in downstream arid regions exacerbates soil degradation, crop yield reduction, and river water salinization, severely limiting agricultural production and harming ecological stability. It arises in a manner influenced by the depth of groundwater and poor irrigation and drainage management. Scientifically formulating measures to regulate soil water-salt is key to addressing these issues. In this study, field experiments were conducted in a typical farmland area of the riparian zone by the downstream part of Aksu River. Based on dynamic observations and field survey data, an unsaturated model was established using the HYDRUS-1D software to simulate soil water and salt transport patterns during the cotton growing season, determine appropriate regulatory strategies, and explore the relationship between the stable groundwater evaporation depth and riparian soil structure. The results revealed that the identification and validation accuracy of the soil moisture content and total dissolved solids were 0.862 and 0.752 with root mean square errors of 0.033 and 0.008, respectively, indicating that the model was highly reliable. Irrigation infiltration accounted for 85% of the total soil water recharge, introducing 127.164 mg·cm-2 of salt, while soil water discharge to groundwater accounted for 59.67% of the total discharge, removing 267.78 mg·cm-2 of salt. The water balance error was 9.2% and the desalination rate was 33.89%. Considering the demand for water for crops and soil salinity dynamics, setting the irrigation water depth to 70 cm while maintaining the groundwater depth at approximately 220 cm can effectively reduce the soil salinity in the root zone. In sandy loam structures, the position of the loam layer has little effect on the critical evaporation depth of groundwater (150 cm), but significantly influences the stable evaporation depth and actual evaporation. If the loam layer is closer to the surface, the stable evaporation depth becomes shallower and the actual evaporation decreases. The findings provide a reference for preventing salinization and managing water resources in arid regions.

Key words: water-salt regulation, cotton, arid regions, riparian zone, groundwater depth, stable evaporation depth