A Salinity Risk Index for Soils of the Canadian Prairies

• Published in: Hydrogeology journal 1997-01, Vol.5 (1), p.68-79
• Main Authors: Eilers, R G, Eilers, W D, Fitzgerald, M M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural land; Agricultural policy; Farming; Farms; Land; Land use; Prairies; Risk; Risk assessment; Salinity; Soil dynamics; Soil quality; Soil salinity; Soils; Sustainability
• ISSN: 1431-2174; 1435-0157
• DOI: 10.1007/s100400050118

Agricultural land use can impact the sustainability of inherent soil quality by its influence on the extent, severity, and dynamics of soil salinity. To assess this impact, a salinity risk index was developed and applied to the agricultural region of the Canadian prairies, utilizing land-use data sets for 1981 and 1991. The analysis is presented in map form. The total extent of moderate or more severe salinity for the prairie region, as determined from a summation of each provincial map, is 1.4 million hectares. The risk assessment based on 1991 land-use data indicates that 62.2 percent of the farm land has little to no risk of a change in salinity, 27.9 percent has a moderate risk, and 9.9 percent of the land has a high risk. A comparison of the risk index classes for the 1981 and 1991 land-use data indicates that risk of salinity for the majority of the land (92 percent) hat not changed, whereas less than 7 percent of the land had a lower risk class, and approximately 0.5 percent had a higher risk class in 1991. This approach could be utilized periodically to track the impacts of changes in land and thus serve as an indicator of agri-environmental sustainability. This information could be applied by upper levels of government to develop programs and to define agricultural policy.Original Abstract: L'utilisation des terres pour l'agriculture peut avoir un impact sur la perennite des qualites naturelles d'un sol, du fail de son influence sur l'etendue, sur l'importance et sur la dynamique de la salinisation du sol. Pour evaluer cet impact, un indice de risque de salinisation a ete mis au point et appliquea la region agricole des Prairies canadiennes, en utilisant les donnees sur l'utilisation des sols en 1981 et en 1991. L'analyse est presentee sous la forme de cartes. La salinisation moderee ou plus importante dans la region des Prairies, determinee a partir de la somme de toutes les cartes provinciales, s'etend au total sur 1,4 million d'hectares. L'evaluation du risque, basee sur l'utilisation des sols en 1991, indique que 62,2 % des terres agricoles presentent peu ou aucun risque de changement de la salinite, 27,9% un risque modere et 9,9 % un tres fort risque. Une comparaison des classed d'indice de risque entre les donnees d'utilisation des sols en 1981 et en 1991 indique que le risque de salinisation pour la majorite des terres (92 %) n'a pas change, tandis que moins de 7 % des terres presente un risque plus faible et environ 0,5 % un risque plus el