The effect of alternating different water qualities on accumulation and leaching of solutes in a Mediterranean cracking soil

The relevance of bypass flow on water flow, solute or pesticide transport is becoming increasingly recognized. Recent investigations proved that soil salinization may be influenced by bypass flow, i.e. the rapid transport of water and solutes via macropores and/or shrinkage cracks to subsoil and groundwater. This paper explores the role of bypass flow in the process of accumulation and leaching of solutes, as well as of sodium, in a Mediterranean cracking soil irrigated with saline/sodic waters. The results of bypass flow experiments performed on undisturbed soil cores showed that leaching of solutes occurred in concomitance with bypass fluxes when a low salinity solution was alternated wit…