Salinity Levels of Soil and Water in a Mediterranean Coastal Wetland: the Pego-Oliva Marsh (Spain)

Gimeno-García, E. and Pascual, J.A. and Rubio, J.L. and Andreu, V. (2013) Salinity Levels of Soil and Water in a Mediterranean Coastal Wetland: the Pego-Oliva Marsh (Spain). In: Soil Degradation. Advances in GeoEcology (42). CATENA VERLAG, Reiskirchen, Germany, pp. 226-248. ISBN 978-3-923381-58-6

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Abstract

In the last decades, the increases of the anthropogenic pressure and the related socio-economic development have provoked important changes in Mediterranean coastal wetlands, which lead to the degradation of these high status ecological habitats (destruction of flooding prairies, riparian habitats and breeding areas), with also important impacts on soil and water quality. This study is focused on the evaluation of soil and water quality parameters related to salinization in the Pego-Oliva marsh, a Natural Park in the Valencia Community (East of Spain), included in the Ramsar Convention. In this area, soil samples from several land uses (rice farming, natural marsh area, citrus crops and shrubland soils), and water samples from different sources (ditches and irrigation channels, lake, rivers, and pumps) were analysed. The main soil and water quality parameters studied were electrical conductivity (EC), sodium and chloride ion concentrations, and sodium from the soil exchangeable complex (ESP). Main results show that 24% of soil samples have an EC>4 dSm-1, all of them coming from the rice farming and marsh areas. These soils showed mean ESP of 26.5%, with values up to 78%. However, the other land uses did not exceed an ESP of 5%. Regarding water, 82% of the samples presented an EC>2dSm-1, and sodium and chloride concentrations higher than 200 mg L-1 were found in 85% of the samples. Attending their sources, the highest values were obtained from the water samples from lake and ditches. Soil samples with the highest Na+ levels, exceeding significantly the average values, were from marsh soils, located at the southern part of the park. This zone is close to the area where the control points for marine intrusion gives the highest values of EC. These results enhance the necessity to perform a more detailed study in order to follow the sources and trends of salinization in this coastal wetland.

Item Type: Book Section
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
Depositing User: Dr. Juan Antonio Pascual Aguilar
Date Deposited: 23 Oct 2013 13:41
Last Modified: 10 Apr 2014 09:00
URI: http://eprints.imdea-agua.org:13000/id/eprint/319

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