Spatio-temporal mapping and analysis of soil salinity: an integrated approach through electromagnetic induction (EMI), multivariate and geostatistical techniques

The information on salt load in soil is needed to enable suitable soil, crop and water management practices for crop production in salt affected land. An investigation was conducted to test the hypothesis that an integrated approach of electromagnetic induction (EMI), multivariate and geostatistical techniques can provide rapid and reliable information on soil salinity (ECe) at spatio-temporal scale. EMI survey and the analyzed data indicated that ECe better correlates with horizontal mode (EMH) of apparent soil electrical conductivity (R-2=0.83) than the vertical (EMV). Principal component (PCA) and Pearson correlation analysis revealed that Na+1, Ca2++Mg2+ and Cl-1 are the major soil chemical properties affecting apparent soil electrical conductivity. The spatial map of soil salinity based on EMH showed close proximity with the area represented by ECe observations. Study indicated that EMI methodology can be effectively used to predict, map and identify salinity zones for devising strategies for reclamation of saline soils.

Automated summary

The study demonstrated that an integrated approach using electromagnetic induction, multivariate and geostatistical techniques can provide rapid and reliable information on soil salinity, helping in devising suitable soil, crop and water management practices. The research found that soil salinity correlates better with the horizontal mode of electromagnetic induction, and is mainly influenced by soil chemical properties such as Na+1, Ca2++Mg2+ and Cl-1.