Salinization characteristics and its determinants of cultivated and uncultivated lands in the Hetao Irrigation District

【Objective】 Hetao Irrigation District is one of the largest irrigation districts in Northwestern China. However, the imbalance between irrigation and drainage has resulted in soil salinization. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the characteristics of soil salinization in both planted and uncultivated soils in this region, as well as the key environmental factors that influence soil salinization. 【Method】 Field investigation and laboratory test were conducted to analyze the ion characteristics and its influential factors in cultivated and uncultivated soils. 【Result】 In the studied area, the predominant anion in both cultivated and uncultivated soils was chloride (Cl-), comprising 59.31% and 58.48% of the composition, respectively. The primary cations were potassium (K+) and sodium (Na+), accounting for 71.32% in cultivated soils and 72.64% in uncultivated soils. Correlation analysis showed that, in cultivated soils, K+ and Na+ were most correlated with sulfate (SO42-) with a correlation coefficient