Coastal Water Bodies by Felicita Scapini & Gabriele Ciampi

Author:Felicita Scapini & Gabriele Ciampi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht

5.4 Salinity Hazard in the Grosseto Plain

Soil salinisation is one of the main soil degradation processes in the Grosseto Plain and in the irrigated areas of the Mediterranean Basin: when considered in relation to persistence and permanence, the sustainability of irrigated agriculture is limited mainly by salinity and salinisation of the irrigated soils. All irrigation water contains soluble salts, and when the irrigation water is used, the water (which acts as a solvent) is largely removed from the soil or the plant by evapotranspiration, while the salt (the solute) remains in the soil. Thus, salt accumulation occurs after repeated applications and it is only a matter of time until a salinity regime is established, unless measures are taken to prevent it.

Problems due to soil salinity in the Grosseto Plain are well known. Several studies have demonstrated severe salinisation of the soils at several sites in the plain, especially in clayey areas with poor drainage (Breteler 1983; Zanchi and Cecchi 1995; Falciai 1996). Until 10–15 years ago, saline soils were limited to areas near the coast and water bodies (Sevink et al. 1986). The main mechanism of soil salinisation was identified as the entry of sea water along water-courses and reclamation channels during sea storms, and the consequence was the salinisation of soils because of the diffusion of saline water (Ungaro 1995; Pranzini 1996).

In the last decade, however, another soil salinisation process has become increasingly important and diffuse. Because of the overexploitation of water resources for human needs (agricultural, industrial and domestic uses), the natural equilibrium between fresh and saline groundwater has been disrupted, with the intrusion (and diffusion) of salt water from the sea into the groundwater table, the main source of water for irrigation (Beemster 1987). The consequence is salinisation of the irrigated soils (Fig. 5.3).

Fig. 5.3Soil salinisation in the Grosseto plain: movement of salt from sea water to groundwater to soil

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