Influence of Flooding and Waterlogging Conditions on Soil Chemical Characteristics and Nutrient Status (Case Study: Hakim Farabi Agro-industry)

Global warming and climate changes cause unpredictable events such as flooding or soil waterlogging. Understanding of the changes in soil characteristics under waterlogging conditions could help to develop strategies against its negative effects. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of flooding and soil waterlogging conditions on chemical characteristics and nutrient status of the soil in sugarcane field located in the Hakim Farabi agro-industry company. In this study, the changes in soil chemical characteristics (pH, EC and organic carbon) and soil nutrient status including total nitrogen (N), available phosphorous (P), potassium (K), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn) and copper, as well as soluble ions such as sodium (Na+), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+) and bicarbonate (HCO3-) in the soil were investigated before and after flooding. Statistical analysis and means comparison of data were done by the t test. The results indicated that flooding and waterlogging conditions led to increase in soil EC (1.15 and 0.56 dS m-1, respectively), SOC (13.5 and 9.3%), soluble concentration of Na+ (16.6 and 8.7%), Ca2+ (22.1 and 14.8%), Mg2+ (49.9 and 42.8%), HCO3- (38.3 and 68.9%) and available concentration of P (39.5 and 34.6%), K (15.9 and 17.4%), Fe (34.8 and 26.2%), Mn (32.0 and 21.6%), Zn (21.3 and 11.9%), and Cu (11.7 and 14.6%), in the soil. While they caused to decrease in soil pH (0.60 and 0.53 unit). Generally, the results of this study revealed that although flooding caused to improve some soil characteristics, it increased soil salinity as one of the negative impacts of flooding which need to be considered.