Valdes-Abellan, Javier, Candela, Lucila, Medero, Gabriela M., Buckman, Jim
Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy Application for Brackish Water Irrigation Impact on Soil
Vadose Zone Journal. 2019, 18: 180046. doi:10.2136/vzj2018.03.0046
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10045/89889
DOI: 10.2136/vzj2018.03.0046
ISSN: 1539-1663 (Print)
Abstract: 
We investigated soil response to irrigation with slightly brackish water (1200 mg L−1 total dissolved solids on average) in a semiarid environment at the microscopic scale using environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) applied in static and dynamic modes, which allowed comparison between nonirrigated and 3-yr-irrigated soil samples to determine the impact of applied brackish water. Results indicate that (i) there was a change in soil hydrophilic behavior by the continuous accumulation of water-borne salt in the soil matrix, (ii) compared with nonirrigated samples, the wetting process occurred more gradually for the 3-yr-irrigated sample, (iii) the wetting process started at a lower vapor pressure for the 3-yr-irrigated sample, (iv) water vapor pressure in the chamber at full saturation was lower for the 3-yr-irrigated sample, and (v) the presence of heavy metals in the soil was more frequent in irrigated samples. Our results show that ESEM is a useful technique to determine the impacts on soil of irrigation with slightly brackish water.
Keywords:Environmental scanning electron microscopy, Brackish water irrigation, Soil response
Alliance of Crop, Soil and Environmental Science Societies (ACSESS)
info:eu-repo/semantics/article