Impact of irrigated agriculture on groundwater-recharge salinity: a major sustainability concern in semi-arid regions

• Published in: Hydrogeology journal Vol. 26; no. 8; pp. 2781 - 2791
• Main Authors: Foster, Stephen, Pulido-Bosch, Antonio, Vallejos, Ángela, Molina, Luis, Llop, Armando, MacDonald, Alan M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-12-2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abandonment; Agricultural management; Agricultural sciences; Agriculture; Aquatic Pollution; Aquifers; Arid zones; Case histories; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Environmental impact; Evolution; Geology; Geophysics/Geodesy; Groundwater; Groundwater irrigation; Groundwater recharge; Groundwater salinity; Hydrogeology; Hydrologic cycle; Hydrological cycle; Hydrology; Hydrology/Water Resources; Irrigation; Mitigation; Regions; Replenishment; Salinity; Salinity effects; Salinization; Semi arid areas; Semiarid lands; Soil; Soil permeability; Sustainability; Unconfined aquifers; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Water Quality/Water Pollution; Argentina; Pakistan; Groundwater management; Salinization; Soil science; Groundwater recharge; Irrigation engineering
• ISSN: 1431-2174; 1435-0157
• DOI: 10.1007/s10040-018-1830-2

Intensive irrigated agriculture substantially modifies the hydrological cycle and often has major environmental impacts. The article focuses upon a specific concern—the tendency for progressive long-term increases in the salinity of groundwater recharge derived from irrigated permeable soils and replenishment of unconfined aquifers in more arid regions. This process has received only scant attention in the water-resource literature and has not been considered by agricultural science. This work makes an original contribution by analysing, from scientific principles, how the salinisation of groundwater recharge arises and identifies the factors affecting its severity. If not proactively managed, the process eventually will impact irrigation waterwell salinity, the productivity of agriculture itself, and can even lead to land abandonment. The types of management measure required for mitigation are discussed through three detailed case histories of areas with high-value groundwater-irrigated agriculture (in Spain, Argentina and Pakistan), which provide a long-term perspective on the evolution of the problem over various decades.