El cultivo del almendro produce una respuesta espectacular al aporte de pequeñas cantidades de agua en momentos críticos, esta tecnología se conoce como riego deficitario controlado y es aplicable en las zonas donde el recurso agua es escaso, como ocurre en los Monegros zaragozanos. Allí se está extendiendo la puesta en riego de almendro con agua subterránea extraída mediante bombeo y cuya calidad es deficiente por el exceso de sales solubles. El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar el riesgo de salinización de estas zonas teniendo en cuenta las características edáficas de la zona y el aporte de sales con el agua de riego. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que realmente está incrementándose la salinidad del suelo, debido a las sales presentes en el agua de riego cuya conductividad continua incrementándose. La elevada permeabilidad del suelo facilitará el lavado de las sales con las lluvias otoñales, por lo que sería aconsejable continuar el estudio al menos hasta verificar este efecto.

En experimentos realizados en invernadero, algunos autores han mostrado que el sulfato amónico origina mayor acidez y salinidad que otras fuentes de nitrógeno. Los inhibidores de la nitrificación (NI) tienden a acumular amonio en los suelos al retardar la oxidación a nitratos. Este amonio acumulado también tendría un efecto sobre la salinidad del suelo. Consecuentemente, el objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar la salinización del suelo y agua de drenaje, debido al efecto asociado a la adición de NI, dimetilpirazolfosfato (DMPP) y diciandiamida (DCD), al fertilizante nitro-sulfato amónico (ASN). Este experimento fue realizado en condiciones de campo con un cultivo de maíz irrigado. Se midieron el drenaje y la concentración de Na durante dos periodos de cultivo (2006 y 2007) y también se determinó el sodio lixiviado. Los tratamientos con NI (DCD y DMPP) dieron lugar a mayores concentraciones de Na en la solución del suelo y consecuentemente mayores cantidades de Na lixiviado (en 2007, ASN-DCD 1.292 kg Na/ha, ASN-DMPP 1.019 kg Na/ha). Con el tratamiento de ASN sin inhibidor, también aumentó la concentración en el suelo y el Na lixiviado (en 2007, 928 y 597 kg Na/ha para ASN y el control, respectivamente). El aumento de la concentración de amonio en el suelo, debido a los tratamientos con NI, podría deberse al desplazamiento de los iones Na del complejo de cambio, mediante un proceso que finalmente conduce a un aumento de la salinidad. Los tratamientos que incluyen amonio en la formulación del fertilizante junto a un NI originaron un mayor grado de salinización debido al amonio procedente del fertilizante y al amonio acumulado procedente de la inhibición de la nitrificación. | In experiments carried out in greenhouses, some authors have shown that ammonium sulphate induces greater soil acidity and salinity than other sources of N. Moreover, nitrification inhibitors (NI) tend to cause ammonium to accumulate in soil by retarding its oxidation to nitrate. This accumulated ammonium would also have an effect on soil salinity. Consequently, the aim of this paper was to evaluate the soil and leaching water salinization effects associated with adding NI, dicyandiamide (DCD) and dimethylpyrazole-phosphate (DMPP) to ammonium sulphate nitrate (ASN) fertilizer. This experiment was carried out in the field with an irrigated maize crop. Drainage and Na concentration were measured during both seasons (2006 and 2007) and leached Na was determined. The treatments with NI (DCD and DMPP) were associated with greater Na concentrations in soil solutions and consequently higher rates of Na leaching (in 2007, ASN-DCD 1,292 kg Na/ha, ASN-DMPP 1,019 kg Na/ha). A treatment involving only ASN also increased the Na concentration in soil and the amount of Na leached in relation to the Control (in 2007, ASN 928 kg Na/ha and control 587 kg Na/ha). The increase in the ammonium concentration in the soil due to the NI treatments could have been the result of the displacement of Na ions from the soil exchange complex through a process which finally led to an increase in soil salinity. Treatments including ammonium fertilizer formulated with NI produced a greater degree of soil salinization due to the presence of ammonium from the fertilizer and accumulated ammonium from the nitrification inhibition.

Resumo: Um dos fatores de maior preocupação na agricultura atual é a salinização do solo, especialmente a irrigada, sendo o manejo inadequado da irrigação e dos fertilizantes utilizados na atividade agrícola um dos principais determinantes responsáveis pelo aumento de áreas com solos degradados. No semiárido nordestino a evapotranspiração supera a precipitação e, por consequência, impossibilita a percolação da água através do perfil e, consequentemente, não acorre a lixiviação dos sais do solo. Diante das condições presentes na região Semiárida e dos problemas ocasionados pela salinização dos solos, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar emergência e crescimento inicial de feijão guandu em função de dois substratos e níveis de salinidade da água de irrigação. O experimento foi conduzido em Telado Agrícola, no Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Ceará ? Campus Sobral. O ensaio foi disposto em Delineamento Inteiramente Casualizado (DIC), em esquema fatorial 5 x 2, sendo cinco níveis de salinidade (0,27; 1,5; 3,0; 4,5; 6,0 dS m-¹), e dois tipos de substratos (arenoso e argiloso), com 4 repetições de 18 sementes cada. Realizou-se a Análise de Variância (ANOVA), utilizando o programa estatístico R Development Core Team (2011). De acordo com os resultados observados no ensaio, a cultivar BRS Mandarim obteve maior taxa de sobrevivência, com o aumento do nível de salinidade em substrato argiloso; todas as variáveis analisadas sofreram influência dos tratamentos; a cultivar germinou normalmente até o nível 3,0 dS m-1 , comportando-se como uma planta com capacidade moderada de tolerância à salinidade. [Emergency and initial growth of guandu beans in the function of substrates and salinity of irrigation water]. Abstract: One of the factors of greatest concern in current agriculture is the salinization of soil, especially irrigated land, with inadequate management of irrigation and fertilizers used in agriculture, one of the main determinants responsible for increasing the area with degraded soils. In the northeastern wilderness, evapotranspiration overcomes precipitation and, as a consequence, makes it impossible to percolate the water through the profile and, consequently, does not result in the leaching of soil salts. Considering the conditions present in the northeastern semi-arid region and the problems caused by salinization of soils, the present study had the objective of evaluating emergence and initial growth of pigeon pea as a function of two substrates and irrigation water salinity levels. The experiment was conducted at Green House, at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Ceará - Campus Sobral. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design (DIC), in a 5 x 2 factorial scheme, with five salinity levels (0.27, 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, 6.0 dS m-¹), and two types of substrates (sandy and clayey), with 4 replicates of 18 seeds each. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed using the statistical program R Development Core Team (2011). According to the results observed in the trial, the cultivar BRS Mandarim obtained a higher survival rate, with the increase of the level of salinity in clayey substrate; All variables analyzed were influenced by treatments; the cultivar normally germinated up to the level 3.0 dS m-1 , behaving like a plant with moderate capacity of tolerance to the salinity.

The Dunhuang Basin, a typical inland basin in northwestern China, suffers a net loss of groundwater and the occasional disappearance of the Crescent Lake. Within this region, the groundwater/surface-water interactions are important for the sustainability of the groundwater resources. A three-dimensional transient groundwater flow model was established and calibrated using MODFLOW 2000, which was used to predict changes to these interactions once a water diversion project is completed. The simulated results indicate that introducing water from outside of the basin into the Shule and Danghe rivers could reverse the negative groundwater balance in the Basin. River-water/groundwater interactions control the groundwater hydrology, where river leakage to the groundwater in the Basin will increase from 3,114 × 10⁴ m³/year in 2017 to 11,875 × 10⁴ m³/year in 2021, and to 17,039 × 10⁴ m³/year in 2036. In comparison, groundwater discharge to the rivers will decrease from 3277 × 10⁴ m³/year in 2017 to 1857 × 10⁴ m³/year in 2021, and to 510 × 10⁴ m³/year by 2036; thus, the hydrology will switch from groundwater discharge to groundwater recharge after implementing the water diversion project. The simulation indicates that the increased net river infiltration due to the water diversion project will raise the water table and then effectively increasing the water level of the Crescent Lake, as the lake level is contiguous with the water table. However, the regional phreatic evaporation will be enhanced, which may intensify soil salinization in the Dunhuang Basin. These results can guide the water allocation scheme for the water diversion project to alleviate groundwater depletion and mitigate geo-environmental problem.

In arid and semi-arid regions, a close relationship exists between groundwater and supergene eco-environmental issues such as swampiness, soil salinization, desertification, vegetation degradation, reduction of stream base flow, and disappearance of lakes and wetlands. When the maximum allowable withdrawal of groundwater (AWG) is assessed, an ecology-oriented regional groundwater resource assessment (RGRA) method should be used. In this study, a hierarchical assessment index system of the supergene eco-environment was established based on field survey data and analysis of the supergene eco-environment factors influenced by groundwater in the Tuwei River watershed, Shaanxi Province, China. The assessment system comprised 11 indices, including geomorphological type, lithology and structure of the vadose zone, depth of the water table (DWT), total dissolved solids content of groundwater, etc. Weights for all indices were calculated using an analytical hierarchy process. Then, the current eco-environmental conditions were assessed using fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE). Under the imposed constraints, and using both the assessment results on the current eco-environment situation and the ecological constraint of DWT (1.5–5.0 m), the maximum AWG (0.408 × 10⁸ m³/a or 24.29 % of the river base flow) was determined. This was achieved by combining the groundwater resource assessment with the supergene eco-environmental assessment based on FCE. If the maximum AWG is exceeded in a watershed, the eco-environment will gradually deteriorate and produce negative environmental effects. The ecology-oriented maximum AWG can be determined by the ecology-oriented RGRA method, and thus sustainable groundwater use in similar watersheds in other arid and semi-arid regions can be achieved.