Monitoring Soil Salinisation as a Strategy for Preventing Land Degradation: A Case Study in Sicily, Italy

Water demand is increasing worldwide. In regions affected by water scarcity such as those located in the Mediterranean basin, water supplies are already degraded, or subjected to degradation processes, which worsen the water shortage. In Sicily, the increasing scarcity of good quality water is expanding irrigation with saline-sodic waters, thus enhancing the risk of secondary salinization and sodification. Adequate management practices are urgently needed for sustainable use of saline/sodic waters. This chapter illustrates how the Geonics EM-38 probe was used for monitoring salinization in a Sicilian area where irrigation with saline water is increasingly practiced, and the risk of salinisation and desertification is envisaged. Electrical conductivity of bulk soil (ECa) measurement grids were taken with the EM-38 in a Sicilian vineyard at several dates, both prior to, and following irrigations, with two distinct irrigation treatments of different salinities (0.6 and 1.6 dS m–1 respectively). Though both water sources contributed to field salinity, high salinity source had a more adverse effect. This investigation proved the usefulness of EM-38 for efficient, rapid monitoring of the progressive effects of different irrigation strategies on soil salinization.