Estimation of Saturated Paste Extracts’ Electrical Conductivity from 1:5 Soil/Water Suspension and Gypsum

Abstract

Texture and salt type influence the relationships between saturated paste electrical conductivity (EC_e) and EC of other soil/water ratios. The objectives of this study were to develop and validate relationships between EC_e and EC_1:5 suspension for soils in Yazd Province and evaluate the effects of soil texture and gypsum on those relationships. Three hundred twenty-two soil samples were collected, of which 272 (all data) were used to develop the models and 50 were used to validate them. The soils were divided into two general textural categories of coarse and fine and two categories of with (G) and without gypsum (NG). Gypsum content had a stronger impact on the accuracy of the suspension method in predicting EC_e than texture. The EC_e = 5.60 EC_1:5 − 4.37 and EC_e = 5.37 EC_1:5 + 0.57 models are recommended for soils with and without gypsum, respectively. The methodology can be implemented in other regions, particularly if gypsum is present.

Keywords:

• Arid soils
• salinity
• soil quality
• sustainable soil management