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Soil salinity assessment in the region of Bordjia (Algeria)

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Abstract

The present study deals with the salinization problem in the plain of Bordjia, which has caused considerable loss of its arable lands. The plain is located in the northwest of Algeria, which makes it essential to use irrigation in this plain because of its semi-arid climate. Physicochemical and mineralogical analyses revealed a clayey-silty texture with medium plasticity, and the predominant minerals were illite and kaolinite. A comparison of different variables (CEC, pH, SAR, and ESP) showed that the soil exhibits a very saline ascending salt profile, thus classifying it as a saline-sodium soil, with severe to very severe alkalinity. The results for the electrical conductivity showed that the salinity is more concentrated in the southern region of the plain. Based on a spatial interpolation method derived from geostatistics, it was possible to map the variation in salinity and  the salinity in unsampled places. The spatial distribution of the salinity was then obtained from the electrical conductivity data and classified. Analysis of studied samples showed that the soil in the plain is a saline halomorphic soil dominated by the presence of soluble salts. Simple linear regressions of the CEC with the specific surface area (SS) and the clay percentage (C%) indicated that CEC is more significantly correlated with the SS than with the C%. The rising salinity profile is linked to the water level in the dry soil, which causes salts to rise through capillary action. High salt concentrations are accumulated in the soil matrix at the soil surface. It seems obvious that the progression of salinity is affected by the hot climate in the study region.

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Abbreviations

CEC:

Cation exchange capacity

EC:

Electrical conductivity

EC1/5:

Electrical conductivity of 1:5 soil:water extract

ECps:

Electrical conductivity of saturated paste extract

ESP:

Exchangeable sodium percentage 

LOI:

Loss On Ignition

OM:

Organic matter

SAR:

Sodium adsorption ratio 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Construction, Transport and Protection of Environment Laboratory (LCTPE), Abdelhamid Ibn Badis University, 27000, Mostaganem, Algeria

    Fouzia Mostefa, Nadia Laredj, Mustapha Maliki & Hanifi Missoum

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  1. Fouzia Mostefa
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  2. Nadia Laredj
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  3. Mustapha Maliki
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  4. Hanifi Missoum
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Correspondence to Nadia Laredj or Mustapha Maliki.

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Mostefa, F., Laredj, N., Maliki, M. et al. Soil salinity assessment in the region of Bordjia (Algeria). Euro-Mediterr J Environ Integr 7, 119–130 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41207-022-00290-x

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