Remote Sensing Monitoring of Changes in Soil Salinity: A Case Study in Inner Mongolia, China

This study used archived remote sensing images to depict the history of changes in soil salinity in the Hetao Irrigation District in Inner Mongolia, China, with the purpose of linking these changes with land and water management practices and to draw lessons for salinity control. Most data came from...

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Main Authors: Jingwei Wu, Bernard Vincent, Sami Bouarfa, Jinzhong Yang, Alain Vidal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2008-11-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/8/11/7035/
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author Jingwei Wu
Bernard Vincent
Sami Bouarfa
Jinzhong Yang
Alain Vidal
author_facet Jingwei Wu
Bernard Vincent
Sami Bouarfa
Jinzhong Yang
Alain Vidal
author_sort Jingwei Wu
collection DOAJ
description This study used archived remote sensing images to depict the history of changes in soil salinity in the Hetao Irrigation District in Inner Mongolia, China, with the purpose of linking these changes with land and water management practices and to draw lessons for salinity control. Most data came from LANDSAT satellite images taken in 1973, 1977, 1988, 1991, 1996, 2001, and 2006. In these years salt-affected areas were detected using a normal supervised classification method. Corresponding cropped areas were detected from NVDI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) values using an unsupervised method. Field samples and agricultural statistics were used to estimate the accuracy of the classification. Historical data concerning irrigation/drainage and the groundwater table were used to analyze the relation between changes in soil salinity and land and water management practices. Results showed that: (1) the overall accuracy of remote sensing in detecting soil salinity was 90.2%, and in detecting cropped area, 98%; (2) the installation/innovation of the drainage system did help to control salinity; and (3) a low ratio of cropped land helped control salinity in the Hetao Irrigation District. These findings suggest that remote sensing is a useful tool to detect soil salinity and has potential in evaluating and improving land and water management practices.
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spelling doaj.art-177e9adcf3a6483593bb839400b6cdc82022-12-22T03:19:02ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202008-11-018117035704910.3390/s8117035Remote Sensing Monitoring of Changes in Soil Salinity: A Case Study in Inner Mongolia, ChinaJingwei WuBernard VincentSami BouarfaJinzhong YangAlain VidalThis study used archived remote sensing images to depict the history of changes in soil salinity in the Hetao Irrigation District in Inner Mongolia, China, with the purpose of linking these changes with land and water management practices and to draw lessons for salinity control. Most data came from LANDSAT satellite images taken in 1973, 1977, 1988, 1991, 1996, 2001, and 2006. In these years salt-affected areas were detected using a normal supervised classification method. Corresponding cropped areas were detected from NVDI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) values using an unsupervised method. Field samples and agricultural statistics were used to estimate the accuracy of the classification. Historical data concerning irrigation/drainage and the groundwater table were used to analyze the relation between changes in soil salinity and land and water management practices. Results showed that: (1) the overall accuracy of remote sensing in detecting soil salinity was 90.2%, and in detecting cropped area, 98%; (2) the installation/innovation of the drainage system did help to control salinity; and (3) a low ratio of cropped land helped control salinity in the Hetao Irrigation District. These findings suggest that remote sensing is a useful tool to detect soil salinity and has potential in evaluating and improving land and water management practices.http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/8/11/7035/Remote sensingchanging soil salinityHetao Irrigation District
spellingShingle Jingwei Wu
Bernard Vincent
Sami Bouarfa
Jinzhong Yang
Alain Vidal
Remote Sensing Monitoring of Changes in Soil Salinity: A Case Study in Inner Mongolia, China
Sensors
Remote sensing
changing soil salinity
Hetao Irrigation District
title Remote Sensing Monitoring of Changes in Soil Salinity: A Case Study in Inner Mongolia, China
title_full Remote Sensing Monitoring of Changes in Soil Salinity: A Case Study in Inner Mongolia, China
title_fullStr Remote Sensing Monitoring of Changes in Soil Salinity: A Case Study in Inner Mongolia, China
title_full_unstemmed Remote Sensing Monitoring of Changes in Soil Salinity: A Case Study in Inner Mongolia, China
title_short Remote Sensing Monitoring of Changes in Soil Salinity: A Case Study in Inner Mongolia, China
title_sort remote sensing monitoring of changes in soil salinity a case study in inner mongolia china
topic Remote sensing
changing soil salinity
Hetao Irrigation District
url http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/8/11/7035/
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