Soil salinity assessment in the region of Bordjia (Algeria)

Assessment and Correlation of Saline Soil Characteristics using Electrical Resistivity

“…Soil resistivity values less than 100 Ωm reveals that soil nutrients are abundant in this area; however, sites with soil resistivity greater than 600 Ωm are reported as poor in soil nutrients [21]. Other investigations show that yields of crops are damaged by salinity when the electrical conduc-tivity value (inverse of resistivity) is in the range of 2 to 8 dS/m [3,22]. Furthermore, electrical resistivity has been used to assess other soil properties that affect significantly civil engineering structures.…”

“…As time progresses, many factors contribute to the increase of soil salinity such as irrigation, saline water intrusion and application of fertilizers [3,36]. Soil salinization affects negatively soil structure and hydraulic parameters producing damages to civil and industrial infrastructures.…”

“…In recent years, disastrous environmental problems are caused by the intensification of urbanization, industrial and agricultural activities. Soil salinization is becoming one of the harmful environmental threats that are damaging severely the natural environment, agricultural crops, human health, building, facilities and water supply systems [1][2][3]; Salt affected soils are developing gradually in many areas of the world, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Recent studies have reported that over one billion hectares of land are affected by soil salinization [4][5][6][7] with a porftential of 10 to 16% increase/year [8][9][10].…”

“…In the next 30 years, the percentage of the total irrigated land affected by soil salinization could be extended to 50% if left unattended [7,11]. Soil salinization represents the major cause for crop yield reduction and soil deterioration [3,5]. The excessive admission of fertilizer and water in vegetable production boosts the amount of salts in soil and therefore, induces damages to plants.…”