Border Irrigation Field Experiment. II: Salt Transport

Abstract

This paper presents results from an experiment to measure the salt transport processes within a border-irrigated bay in northern Victoria, Australia, an area with shallow saline ground water and cracking soils. The overland flow and drainage salinity measurements showed that lateral surface washoff of salt from the soil surface was the main process of salt transport into surface water. Soil salinity measurements showed that, although salt was removed from the near-surface soil, there was negligible leaching downward through the profile. This was due to the near saturation of the soil, the presence of cracks that minimize the vertical leaching, as well as the lack of deep drainage of ground water. These findings highlight the importance of lateral washoff in the transfer of salt from irrigation bays, suggesting that reduction in irrigation event volumes is likely to reduce salt export and thus affect the sustainability of irrigation in this area.