Reclamation of salt-affected land by total ponding with drainage: Numerical simulations for different soils and different drainage system configurations

ABSTRACT: In agricultural areas, reclamation of salt-affected lands can be done with a total ponding method with drainage. This involves ponding water over the soil surface and leaching salts from the root zone towards an underground drainage system. In this paper, this method is tested using numerical simulations for sands, non-plastic silts and non-swelling, fine-grained soils with low plasticity. The numerical solutions approximate the treatment duration depending on chosen restoration objectives, hydraulic conductivity of soils and configuration of the drainage system (depth, spacing). They assume an absence of organic matter and neglect adsorption and diffusion, which exposes their limitations.