Assessing the impact of irrigating with saline water on physical properties of a sandy loam soil.

Soil salinisation is one of the most potent forms of land degradation that affects soils of arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Management of soils with potential for salinisation is key to ensuring the sustainability of marginal soils in predominantly dry regions of the world. In this research, to assess the potential impact of irrigation with saline water on the physical properties of a marginal soil. We subjected a sandy loam soil to flood irrigation with water of variable salinity levels (namely 0, 2,  5 and 10 g/L NaCl) for up to 40 days. After every irrigation cycle, each of the soil samples was subjected hydraulic conductivity measurements for the duration of the experiment. At the end of the 40 day experimental irrigation period, soil cores were non-invasively scanned using X-Ray CT scanning to assess for changes in pore distribution as a result of the different irrigation quality water. Furthermore, measurement of other physio-chemical soil properties such as aggregate stability, EC and pH of each soil were also done to get a more complete idea of the changes that occurred during the experiment.