engleski

Dynamic changes of the soil salinisation in the lowland area of the Neretva river valley (Croatia)

Of the many possible environmental impacts to agriculture, soil and water salinization has more deleterious effects. Salt-affected soils cannot support vegetation and consequences include salt-induced water deficit, ion toxicity, nutrient imbalance, yield volatility and yield reduction. The problem of salt affected soils is also present in the Mediterranean costal region of Croatia where seawater intrudes through porous media into calcareous aquifers and salinizes both ground and surface water. This is especially evident in the Neretva River Valley (with over 6000 ha of irrigated land), located in the south- eastern Croatia. So, the main aim of this study was to identify trend in soil salinization in the Neretva River Valley. Multivariate geostatistics were used to analyze soil salinity data from three sampling campaign: in 2006 (152 samples point), 2007 (152 samples point) and in 2010 (171 samples point). Mean EC increased during the study period from 1.05 dS/m in 2006 to 1.8 dS/m in 2009. The interpolated maps displayed similar patterns in 2006, 2007 and 2010 with high salinity in the southern east and north-west section and low salinity in the central part of the Neretva delta valley. The results showed that in certain areas within the Neretva valley the process of soil salinisation is taking place. The maps produced by the multivariate geostatistics approach allowed us to delineate the areas in the Neretva river valley at risk of salinization.

salinisation; lowland; risk assessment; geostatistics; soil

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