Author(s)

Sanghun Lee^*, Hui-Su Bae, Hong-Kyu Kim, Tae-Hwan Noh, Geon-Hwi Lee

Reclaimed Land Agricultural Division, Department of Rice and Winter Cereal Crop, National Institute of Crop Science, RDA, Iksan, Republic of Korea.

Soil salinity at reclaimed tidal land in Korea is highly variable and depending on soil characteristics and weather conditions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the temporal changes on soil salinity and the relationships between soil salinity and salinity parameters in reclaimed tidal lands. Soil samples were periodically collected at 0 - 20 cm (surface) and 20 - 40 cm (subsurface) layer at Saemangeum (sandy loam) and Yeongsangang (silty loam) reclaimed tidal land. Electrical conductivity (EC) had a wide range from 0.0 to 34.3 dS·m^-1 during the experimental period. The average soil EC was 6.4 and 3.4 dS·m^-1 at Saemangeum and Yeongsangang reclaimed tidal land, respectively. Soluble sodium concentration had great variations and it was the most important single factor for temporal variations of soil EC regardless of soil textural properties. Calcium concentration was negatively correlated with soil EC and soluble sodium. Soil exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) was estimated as a function of soil sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and a linear regression model (ESP = 6.075 (SAR) + 0.677 for Saemangeum and ESP = 3.925 (SAR) + 0.421 for Yeongsangang reclaimed tidal soil) was suggested for predicting soil ESP from soil SAR. The characteristics of reclaimed tidal lands had different shares of saline and sodic properties during the experimental period. Saemangeum reclaimed tidal soil was highly characterized by sodium, but the effect of sodium on Yeongsangang soil was less pronounced. Our results indicate that persistent monitoring and modeling on soil salinity at reclaimed tidal soil is fundamental and the results can provide some useful information for deciding management plans for diverse utilization or to reduce salt damage for stable crop production at reclaimed tidal land.

Reclaimed Tidal Land, Soil Salinity, Temporal Variation, Exchangeable Sodium Percentage, Sodium Adsorption Ratio

Lee, S. , Bae, H. , Kim, H. , Noh, T. and Lee, G. (2014) Temporal Variations on Soil Salinity and Cation Displacement at Saemangeum and Yeongsangang Reclaimed Tidal Lands. Journal of Agricultural Chemistry and Environment, 3, 121-129. doi: 10.4236/jacen.2014.34014.