Salt-Water Dynamics in Soils:Ⅲ.Effect of Crop Planting

Through a simulation test conducted with soil columns (61.8cm in diameter) in field condition, effect of crop planting upon the regulation of salt-water dynamics in soils was studied by monitoring of salt-water dynamics in situ, using soil salinity sensors and tensiometers . The results indicated that the amount of water absorbed by crops from the soil was generally larger than the decrement of water consumption from soil surface evaporation reduced by the crop covering the soil surface and improving the soil structure, therefore, under the conditions of crop growing and non-irrigation, water content in soil profile was less than that without crop growing, and the gradient of negative pressure of soil water in soil profile especially in the root zone was enlarged, thus causing the water flowing from subsoils into root zone and increasing the groundwater moving upwards into soil layer via capillary rise, so that the groundwater evaporation increased. Consequently, under the condition of crop growing, the