A monthly distributed water and salt balance model in irrigated and non-irrigated lands of arid irrigation district with shallow groundwater table

[Display omitted] •A distributed water and salt balance model is developed for arid irrigation district.•Main water and salt processes are simulated well in Hetao Irrigation District (HID).•Dry drainage is crucial for salt balance in irrigated and non-irrigated lands.•Only 49.4% of the salt introduced to the HID is finally discharged through ditches.•Appropriate water and salt regulation modes are proposed for different sub-regions. Water scarcity and soil salinization are two major problems threatening the sustainability of irrigation districts in arid regions with shallow groundwater table. To study water and salt balances in arid irrigation districts, we developed a monthly distributed water and salt balance model for arid irrigation district (DAHMID-S) with shallow groundwater table by integrating models of major hydrological processes and the associated salt transport processes, including irrigation, evapotranspiration, soil water and groundwater and salt balances, drainage of water and salt through ditches, and interior drainage of water and associated dry drainage of salt between irrigated and non-irrigated lands. The model was successfully applied to the Hetao Irrigation District (HID), the largest irrigation district in the arid region of China. Results indicate that evapotranspiration is the dominant water consumption component in the HID and accounts for about 95% of the total irrigation and precipitation, while drainage through ditches accounts for 10.5% of the total irrigation. Only 49.4% of the introduced salt is discharged from the HID through drainage ditches. Consequently, most parts of the HID are in the state of salt accumulation except the northern Wulate sub-irrigation district, and the problem of salt accumulation is more serious in the western and southern HID under more favorable conditions of water use. Dry drainage plays a crucial role in salt balance of both irrigated and non-irrigated lands, which results in desalinization in most irrigated lands while salt accumulation in non-irrigated lands. Appropriate measures should be taken to solve water and salt-related problems to improve the sustainability of the HID. In the western HID, irrigation water diversion should be decreased, and the drainage system should be further improved to decrease the salt accumulation to a lower level. Meanwhile, the irrigation water diversion can be increased in the southeastern HID by planting more corn and wheat. Besides, irrigation management shoul