Moving salts in an impermeable saline-sodic soil with drip irrigation to permit wolfberry production

A saline-sodic wasteland of takyric solonetz is widely distributed across arid regions of Northwest China. The poor soil structure and low permeability (Ks < 0.1 mm d−1) hinder reclamation because the excessive sodium salt occurring mainly in the surface soil layer cannot be leached down by conventional leaching methods, including drip irrigation, without any assistance measure. The objectives of this study were: 1) to characterize salt movement...