Investigation of the Effects of Aquifer Management on the Physical and Chemical Changes of the Soil Properties

Presently, floodwater spreading schemes are used as aquifer management projects in the country. In these projects, spreading a large volume of floods containing salts and suspended loads over the spreading network, may lead to differences in soil salinity and alkalinity. Therefore, it is necessary to study the amount and the trend of these differences over time in order to produce a suitable method to increase the utility of such designs. In this research, the results of 40 studies on the effects of spreading floodwater on the soil properties were evaluated. In general, studies show the improvement of the quality of some of the soil physical and chemical properties due to the floodwater spreading. These effects include: more balanced soil texture and soil moisture conditions, improved soil physical and chemical conditions, increase in some of the soil elements and consequently an increase in soil fertility compared to pre-construction floodwater spreading system, reduced infiltration, and providing suitable conditions for the growth of pasture plants and planted seedlings and consequently changing the ecological landscape of these areas.