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The renewability and quality of shallow groundwater in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain, Northeast China
Journal of Integrative Agriculture 2017, 16(1): 229–238 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect
RESEARCH ARTICLE
The renewability and quality of shallow groundwater in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain, Northeast China ZHANG Bing1, 2, SONG Xian-fang2, ZHANG Ying-hua2, HAN Dong-mei2, TANG Chang-yuan3, YANG Lihu2, WANG Zhong-liang1 1
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Environment, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, P.R.China
2
Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R.China 3 Departments of Environmental Science & Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Horticulture, Chiba University, Chiba 271-8510, Japan
Abstract Groundwater is a key component for water resources in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain, an important agriculture basement in China. The quality and the renewability of irrigation groundwater are essential for the stock raising and agricultural production. Shallow groundwater was sampled and analyzed for various variables. The salinity sodium concentration and bicarbonate hazard, were examined with regard to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) irrigation water standards. The concentration of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) was determined to analyze the age of groundwater. Most groundwater samples labeled as excellent to good for irrigation with low salinity hazard or medium salinity hazard. Four groundwater samples were good and suspected for irrigation with high salinity hazard. Generally groundwater in Sanjiang Plain was younger than the groundwater in Songnen Plain. Meanwhile, groundwater nearby river is younger than the groundwater further away inside the watershed. The mean age of groundwater in Sanjiang Plain is in average of 44.1, 47.9 and 32.8 years by CFC-11 (CCl3F), CFC-12 (CCl2F2) and CFC-113 (C2Cl3F3), respectively. The mean ages of groundwater in Songnen Plain is in average of 46.1, 53.4, and 40.7 years by CFC-11, CFC-12 and CFC-113, respectively. Thus, groundwater nearby rivers could be directly exploited as irrigation water. Partial groundwater has to be processed to lower the salt concentration rather than directly utilized as irrigation water in Songnen Plain. Both water quality and renewability should be put in mind for sustainable agricultural development and water resources management. Keywords: groundwater, irrigation water quality, renewability, agricultural development, Sanjiang and Songnen Plain
1. Introduction Received 12 November, 2015 Accepted 23 March, 2016 ZHANG Bing, Tel: +86-22-23766557, E-mail: zhangbingcn@126. com; Correspondence SONG Xian-fang, Tel: +86-10-64889849, E-mail: [email protected] © 2017, CAAS. All rights reserved. Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi: 10.1016/S2095-3119(16)61349-7
Groundwater almost accounts for half of the global freshwater demand for domestic and agricultural use (IAEA 2006). Groundwater provides a reliable source to sustain agricultural production (Steward et al. 2013). The water quality for irrigation is dramatically important for soils and crops yield, especially for the saline-alkali soil. Salinity and sodium haz-
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ard indicators are used as criterion to classify the suitability of irrigation waters (Nishanthiny et al. 2010). The sodium absorption ratio (SAR) is an effective evaluation index for most irrigation water (Al-Bassam and Ai-Rumikhani 2003). Elevated values of SAR indicate hydraulic conductivity, aggregate stability, clay dispersion, swelling of expandable clay, surface crusting and reducing tillage (Suarez et al. 2006). Meanwhile, the water quality might furtherly jeopardize food security and public health via agriculture and food (Zhang X N et al. 2015). Safety of sustainable extraction yield depends on groundwater flow and renewability of the related aquifer (Bruce 2011). Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), including CFC-11 (CCl3F), CFC-12 (CCl2F2) and CFC-113 (C2Cl3F3), were gradually used commercially and industrially during the second half of the 20th century (Hurtley 2011). These nonflammable, noncorrosive and nonexplosive CFCs were low in toxicity and resistant to degradation, making them an ideal marker for modern groundwater (Plummer and Busenberg 2000). The detectable CFCs are only related to groundwater after 1940 or its mixtures (Szabo et al. 1996; Han et al. 2012). The CFCs were devised for quantifying modern groundwater recharge (Clark and Fritz 1997; IAEA 2006; Qin et al. 2011). The Sanjiang Plain and Songnen Plain are the main grain production bases in Northeast China. The wetlands dramatically shrunk due to agricultural development during the last 60 years, especially in Sanjiang Plain (Huang et al. 2010b; Zhang et al. 2010). Songnen Plain is one of the three major regions with its soda saline-alkali soil in the world (Zhang et al. 2007). The area of saline-alkalization land was 2.4×106 ha in the 1950s, reached to 3.20×106 ha at the beginning of the 1990s, and is still increasing at a rate of 2×104 ha yr–1 in Songnen Plain (Wang et al. 2004). Most upland crops are wheat, corn, and soybean. The crop-growing season is May to September. The average grain yields of rice, wheat, corn, and soybean during the period of 1978–2008 were 5.23, 2.81, 4.36, and 1.82 t ha–1, respectively (Heilongjiang Land Reclamation Bureau 2009). To raise grain production and agricultural revenue, the wetlands and saline land were consistently reclaimed and cultivated to farmland, especially after 2004. The irrigation area, especially groundwater irrigation area, thus significantly expanded since then. The bulk grain production, especially the rice and corn, increased resultantly. Many water and environmental issues were related to the large amount of groundwater irrigation. The groundwater table declined sharply in Sanjiang Plain (Wang and Tian 2003). Groundwater with high salinity was abstracted arbitrarily from the unconfined aquifer for irrigation by local farmers, causing a large area of secondary saline-alkaline phenomena (Zhang et al. 2007).
Sanjiang-Songnen Plain was once well known for its massive production of quality beans, corn, and rice. The research on groundwater is essential for its sustainable agricultural production (Pereira et al. 2002). To assess the renewability and irrigation water quality, the groundwater was sampled and analyzed. The objectives of this study include: (1) assessment of the irrigation water quality; (2) calculation of groundwater ages via CFCs; and (3) discussion on the sustainable agricultural water management.
2. Materials and methods 2.1. Study area The Sanjiang Plain (129°11´–135°05´E, 43°49´–48°27´N), is an alluvial deposit of rivers and lake in Northeast China, including the Songhua River, Heilongjiang River (Amur), Wusuli River (Ussuri), and Xingkai Lake (Khanka) (Fig. 1). The annual precipitation is 500–650 mm, and 80% of rainfall occurs during May to September. The frost-free period is 120–140 days (Huang et al. 2010a). The annual potential evaporation is 550–840 mm. The mean annual temperature ranges from 1.4 to 4.3°C. The two most common landscape types are wetland and farmland occupying area of 0.9 and 4 million ha, respectively (Zhang et al. 2010). The main soil types are albic soil, meadow soil and marsh soil. The natural land cover is mainly marsh vegetation, with woodland meadow scattered on relatively high altitudes. The water and soil in marshes are completely frozen from October to next April, and begin to thaw in late April (Pan et al. 2010). The unconfined aquifer consists of sand, sandstone, and gravel. The groundwater table is about 3–5 m in depth, flowing from southwest to northeast (Fig. 1). The Songnen Plain (121°27´–128°12´E, 43°36´–49°45´N) is an alluvial, lacustrine and aeolian deposit in the central part of Northeast China, which is developed on a faulted basin in the Mesozoic (Fig. 1). The whole area of this plain is 1.87×105 km2 , surrounded by Changbai Mountain in the east, Daxing’an (Greater Khingan) Mountain in the west, and Xiaoxing’an (Leesser Khingan) Mountain in the north. The annual precipitation is 350–600 mm, with 70–80% of precipitation occurring during June to September. The average annual temperature is 4.0–5.5°C. The potential evaporation depth is 700–1 100 mm. The main types of soils are black soil, chernozem, meadow soil, swamp soil, halic soil, sandy soil, and paddy soil (Zhang et al. 2007). The major types of aquifers are Quaternary unconfined aquifer. Neogene Taikang Group confined aquifer and Da’an Group confined aquifer. The depth to groundwater table is about 6–8 m with flow direction from the east, north, and west mountain areas into the central area (Fig. 1).
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Fig. 1 The location and groundwater samples in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain. S1–S11 indicate the water samples in Sanjiang Plain, N1–N11 indicate the water samples in Songnen Plain. The same as below.
There are five major rivers in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain, among which the Second Songhua River, Nen River, and Songhua River locate in China. While the Heilongjiang River, Wusuli River and Xingkai Lake are international ones between China and Russia. The length of the Second Songhua River is about 958 km, with an annual mean discharge of 14.8 km3 (Lin et al. 2008). The stretch of the Nen River is about 1 370 km, with annual mean discharge is 225 km3. The Second Songhua River and Nen River merge in the center of Songnen Plain, and then contribute to the Songhua River. The discharge rate of the Songhua River is 408 km3 yr–1 at the Harbin Station (Xiao et al. 2009). The length of mainstream Songhua River is about 939 km, with the discharge of 759 km3 yr–1.
than 60 m in depth. Two 50-mL polyethylene bottles with watertight caps were used to store these water for cations and anions analyses after filtration (0.45 μm Millipore membrane filter). Additionally, two 100-mL brown glass bottles with a special foil-lined cap were used to store groundwater for CFCs analysis. The refrigeration grade copper tubing was required to conduct water from the well to the bottles. Bottles and caps were thoroughly rinsed with the groundwater prior to sampling. The bottles were filled underneath water level in a steel beaker and sealed under water (IAEA 2006). So all water samples for ions and CFCs analyses were free of air bubble, and tightly sealed to prevent evaporation. After labelling, all samples were stored at 4°C.
2.3. Analytical methods 2.2. Water sampling The groundwater was sampled from the Sanjiang Plain and Songnen Plain during September 10th–18th, 2009 and August 4th–10th, 2010, respectively (Fig. 1). S1–S11 indicate the water samples in Sanjiang Plain, N1–N11 indicate the water samples in Songnen Plain. Fresh groundwater was sampled after precedent water being pumped out from the well. Then water samples were obtained from wells less
Electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and water temperature were measured in situ via an EC/pH meter (WM22EP, Toadkk, Japan). Calibration for this EC/pH sensor was carried out each time before field trip. The HCO3– concentration was determined by titration with 0.02 N sulfuric acid on the day of sampling before filtration. Methyl orange endpoint titration was used to adjust final pH to 4.2–4.4. The major ions (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+) of water samples
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were treated and analyzed in the laboratory of the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The concentrations of major cations in these groundwater samples were measured by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) (Perkin-Elmer, USA). The concentrations of major anions (Cl–, SO42–) were measured by ion chromatography (IC) (Shimadzu, Japan). Limits of detection of ICP-OES and IC are 1 µg L–1 and 1 mg L–1, respectively. Analytical precision for major ions was within 1%. For all water samples, ion balance errors (IBE) were <10%, and most of them were <5%. The CFCs concentration of shallow groundwater was determined by using a closed system of purge and trap gas chromatography with an electron capture detector (ECD) (GC-14A, Shimadzu, Japan) in Chiba University, Japan. The limit of detection is 0.01 pmol kg–1, and the precision of the measurement is 1%. The groundwater ages were subsequently calculated by the spreadsheet program for preliminary evaluation of CFC data (http://water.usgs. gov/lab/software/USGS_CFC/). The assumed recharge temperature in Sanjiang Plain and Songnen Plain was 2.5 and 5.0°C (the average air temperature in the study area), respectively. The recharge elevation was the same with land surface altitude of the groundwater sample.
2.4. Water quality indices Excessive concentrations of sodium and salinity in irrigation water result in sodium hazard and salinity hazard. Sodium ion from irrigation water would replace calcium and magnesium ions in soil, thus causes reduced permeability and soil hardening (Shaki and Adeloye 2006). Thus the assessment of irrigation water quality was based on the parameters, such as percent sodium, SAR and residual sodium carbonate (Singh et al. 2005). The indices of irrigation water quality include: Na+ ×100 Na (%)= (1) + 2+ Na +Ca +Mg2++K+ Where, the Na (%) is the parameter of percent sodium and the SAR is calculated as: (2) SAR=Na+ / (Ca2++Mg2+)/2 The residual sodium carbonate (RSC) is calculated as: RSC=(CO32–+HCO3– )–(Ca2++Mg2+) (3) Where all the ionic concentrations are expressed in mill equivalents per liter (meq L–1) of its corresponding ions. The SAR is generally considered as an effective evaluation index for most water used in irrigated agriculture (Ayers and Westcot 1985). The salinity hazard is valued on the total concentration of soluble salts in water. It can be classified into four levels
as low (EC<250 μS cm–1), medium (250–750 μS cm–1), high (750–2 250 μS cm–1), and very high (2 250–5 000 μS cm–1) (Richards 1954). Whereas, sodium hazard is usually expressed in terms of percent sodium (Na%) and SAR. Water can be classified as low (<10), medium (10–18), high (18–26), and very high (>26) sodium hazard based on the sodium adsorption ratio (Richards 1954; Wilcox 1955). Meanwhile, the classification of water based on percent sodium is grouped as excellent (<20%), good (20–40%), permissible (40–60%), doubtful (60-80%), and unsuitable (>80%) (Nishanthiny et al. 2010). Lastly, water can be classified based on RSC as good (<1.25), doubtful (1.25–2.5), and unsuitable (>2.5) (Sadashivaiah et al. 2008).
3. Results and discussion 3.1. Major ions in groundwater The concentrations of major ions in groundwater were tested to understand the hydrochemical characteristics and water quality (Table 1). Most groundwater was labeled as Ca·MgHCO3 type, however, some groundwater in the central area of Songnen Plain was Na·Ca-HCO3 type. The average value of EC was 398 μS cm–1 in Sanjiang Plain and 739 μS cm–1 in Songnen Plain, respectively. The mean concentration of sodium in Songnen Plain was 2.17 mg L–1, which was 2.4 times of its counterpart in Sanjiang Plain (0.91 mg L–1). The content of chloride in Songnen Plain (2.91 mg L–1) was more than three times of that in Sanjiang Plain (0.82 mg L–1). The average concentration of major ions in Sanjiang pain was lesser than the groundwater in Songnen Plain. The ion concentrations of groundwater in the central plain were higher than other areas (Fig. 2). The EC value of the groundwater S2 was the highest (1 042 μS cm–1) in Sanjiang Plain. Further, the concentrations of Ca, Cl, and SO42– in the groundwater S2 were higher than other sites in Sanjiang Plain (Fig. 2). The EC value (2 190 μS cm–1) of the groundwater N10 was the largest in Songnen Plain. The water sample N10 located in the center of Songnen Plain. The concentrations of Ca and Cl in the groundwater sample N10 were also the highest.
3.2. Water quality assessment To assess the groundwater for irrigation purposes, the salinity hazard, sodium hazard, and bicarbonate hazard need to be determined (Table 1). The excess sodium in waters produces undesirable effects of changing soil properties and reducing soil permeability (Nishanthiny et al. 2010). The number of groundwater samples with excellent, good and permissible irrigation water quality was nine, nine and
Latitude (N) 46°59´23.2´´ 47°13´39.5´´ 47°40´48.8´´ 48°0´04.0´´ 47°34´52.0´´ 47°03´24.7´´ 46°47´24.1´´ 46°0´09.0´´ 45°32´15.9´´ 46°20´07.1´´ 46°45´11.7´´ 45°50´06.2´´ 45°05´10.2´´ 45°36´25.9´´ 46°52´43.0´´ 47°05´15.6´´ 47°12´07.4´´ 48°29´03.4´´ 47°58´38.9´´ 47°34´49.1´´ 46°39´47.1´´ 45°58´15.2´´
Longitude Elevation (E) (m) 130°45´13.3´´ 87 131°56´56.1´´ 67 132°35´13.8´´ 58 133°16´27.4´´ 57 133°07´29.1´´ 49 133°15´28.7´´ 65 134°01´26.8´´ 50 133°38´04.2´´ 64 131°58´18.9´´ 114 132°15´06.5´´ 86 131°08´0.7´´ 97 126°28´01.5´´ 122 124°50´22.6´´ 135 123°51´22.5´´ 136 124°24´58.6´´ 156 123°58´02.6´´ 136 124°14´35.6´´ 145 124°34´53.1´´ 191 125°53´07.9´´ 212 126°05´43.5´´ 232 125°12´40.1´´ 155 126°35´13.7´´ 116
Water table (m) 80.2 65.5 52.0 – – – 48.0 – – – – – – – 149.2 – – – 209.7 229.5 150.6 113.7
EC Ca (μS cm–1) (meq L–1) 468 1.87 1042 8.37 242 1.15 222 0.90 273 1.48 466 3.56 310 1.62 454 2.70 328 2.06 201 1.24 371 2.33 383 1.77 5.95 1 025 990 3.30 6.24 1 053 460 1.75 504 1.92 283 1.13 289 1.97 270 1.85 12.09 2 190 685 4.67
Mg (meq L–1) 1.28 4.14 0.70 0.73 0.82 1.40 1.05 1.85 0.99 0.68 1.10 0.69 1.98 2.30 1.69 1.03 1.03 0.44 0.43 0.52 5.66 1.23
Na (meq L–1) 1.61 1.72 0.69 0.79 0.61 1.09 0.73 0.74 0.63 0.59 0.79 1.11 1.88 5.15 2.61 2.01 2.77 1.37 0.45 0.53 4.79 1.19
K (meq L–1) 0.07 0.29 0.01 0.03 0.01 – – – 0.03 – – 0.03 0.11 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.04
HCO3 (meq L–1) 1.82 6.07 1.73 1.95 2.63 5.31 3.23 3.19 2.19 2.41 3.22 3.35 2.87 6.98 3.28 4.18 4.78 2.10 0.87 1.75 2.61 2.60
2)
EC, SAR and RSC stand for the electrical conductivity, sodium adsorption ratio and residual sodium carbonate, respectively. S1–S11 indicate the water samples in Sanjiang plain; N1–N11 indicate the water samples in Songnen Plain. The same as below. – indicates no data or below the limits of detection.
1)
Sample no.2) S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 S11 N1 N2 N3 N4 N5 N6 N7 N8 N9 N10 N11
Table 1 The locations, major ions and irrigation water quality of water samples1) SO4 (meq L–1) 1.44 3.41 0.29 0.22 0.10 0.26 0.02 0.8 0.87 0.03 0.34 0.01 1.21 0.78 1.09 0.09 0.31 0.10 0.37 0.79 2.62 0.79
Cl (meq L–1) 1.38 4.47 0.43 0.18 0.08 0.24 0.01 1.08 0.51 0.05 0.62 0.28 3.00 3.49 5.50 0.37 0.91 0.92 1.36 0.51 11.64 4.05
Na (%) 33.33 11.85 27.06 32.24 20.89 18.02 21.47 13.99 16.98 23.51 18.72 30.91 18.97 47.71 24.69 41.63 48.21 45.88 15.77 18.16 21.23 16.69 1.28 0.69 0.72 0.88 0.57 0.69 0.63 0.49 0.51 0.60 0.60 1.00 0.94 3.08 1.31 1.70 2.29 1.54 0.41 0.49 1.61 0.69
SAR
RSC (meq L–1) –1.33 –6.44 –0.12 0.32 0.33 0.35 0.56 –1.36 –0.86 0.49 –0.21 0.90 –5.07 1.38 –4.66 1.40 1.83 0.52 –1.54 –0.62 –15.14 –3.30
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four of 24 water samples, respectively. The residual sodium carbonate (RSC) is the index to bicarbonate hazard because the calcium and magnesium ions precipitate in high concentration of bicarbonate waters. As a result, the relative proportion of sodium increases in the form of sodium bicarbonate. The number of groundwater samples with good irrigation water quality was 19, accounting for 86.4% of the total water samples in the Sanjiang and Songnen Plain. However, three water samples were doubtful for irrigation with RSC larger than 1.25 in Songnen Plain. These waters should be cautiously used with good irrigation management techniques (Nishanthiny et al. 2010). Consequently, groundwater in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain is good for irrigation without potential of bicarbonate hazard. The assessment of groundwater quality for irrigation in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain is shown in Fig. 3 (Richards 1954; Wilcox 1955). Three groundwater samples were low salinity hazard, grouped with C1S1. There are 14 water samples with medium salinity hazard, classified as C2S1. However, five groundwater samples with high salinity hazard were classified as C3S1 in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain (Fig. 3-A). Seventeen groundwater samples were excellent to good for irrigation, four water samples (S2, N2, N3, N4) were good to permissible, and one groundwater (N10) was doubuful for irrigation with high salinity hazard (Fig. 3-B). The hydrogeochemical characteristic of groundwater is an important aspect to understand water quality. Most groundwater samples were Ca·Mg-HCO3 type. The groundwater (N3, N5, N6, N7) with Na·Ca-HCO3 type located in the central west area of Songnen Plain. The groundwater with Na·Ca-HCO3 type was doubtful for irrigation with the value of RSC larger than 1.25 meq L–1. The flow direction of groundwater was from the west, north and south to the center in Songnen Plain. The weathering-dissolution,
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Fig. 2 The stiff diagram and groundwater ages in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain. The underlined number is the apparent CFC-12 age of sampled groundwater.
Fig. 3 The irrigation water quality of groundwater samples based on sodium adsorption ratio (SAR, A) and percent sodium (B). V.H in A means very high. The C1, C2, C3 and C4 indicate the groups of electrical conductivity; the S1, S2, S3 and S4 are groups of SAR.
evaporation-condensation and leaching of saline-alkaline soil might cause the shallow groundwater salinization during the groundwater flow process (Zhang et al. 2007).
3.3. Groundwater apparent ages by CFCs The concentrations of CFCs in groundwater were also
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determined in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain (Table 2). The groundwater sample was assumed unmixed. To assess the groundwater ages, the calculated partial pressures of CFCs in solubility equilibrium was compared to the water sample with historical CFCs concentrations in North American Air (Plummer et al. 2000). Water samples contaminated with CFC-11 may not necessarily contaminate with other CFCs. Therefore, we discussed CFCs ages in section 3.4 to consider water mixing. The average concentrations of CFC-11, CFC-12 and CFC-113 were 348.30, 0.54 and 0.20 pmol kg–1 water in Sanjiang Plain, respectively. The CFC-12 content in the water sample S2 was the highest (1.25 pmol kg–1), followed by the water sample S3 (1.17 pmol kg–1). The CFC-113 content in the water sample S1 was the highest, with the value of 0.71 pmol kg–1. The second one was water sample from S3 with the value of 0.44 pmol kg–1. The CFCs concentration of groundwater in Songnen Plain was lower than that its counterpart in Sanjiang Plain. The average concentrations of CFC-11, CFC-12 and CFC113 were 0.91, 0.29 and 0.05 pmol kg–1 water in Songnen Plain, respectively. The CFC-11 content in the water sample N5 was the largest, with the value of 1.96 pmol kg–1. The CFC-12 content in the water sample N5 was the
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highest (0.76 pmol kg–1), followed by the water sample N10 (0.61 pmol kg–1). The piston model was used to date groundwater in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain (Table 2). The average groundwater ages dating by CFC-11, CFC-12 and CFC-113 were 44.1, 47.9 and 32.8 years in Sanjiang Plain, respectively. The groundwater apparent ages of CFC-11, CFC-12 and CFC113 were 46.1, 53.4 and 40.7 years in Songnen Plain, accordingly. Thus, the groundwater apparent ages in Sanjiang Plain were younger than that in Songnen Plain.
3.4. Shallow groundwater renewability Groundwater renewability (groundwater age) should be considered for sustainable agricultural development, although most groundwater samples were suitable for irrigation in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain. CFC dating is successful in rural settings, with shallow water tables, where the groundwater is aerobic and not impacted by local contaminant sources. However the CFCs contents are sometimes affected by local sources or sampling equipment (Szabo et al. 1996). There are three compounds capable of defining age; contamination with respect to one or two CFCs does not necessarily preclude the possibility of ob-
Table 2 The groundwater ages dating by concentrations of chlorofluorocarbons Sample no. S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 S11 Mean N1 N2 N3 N4 N5 N6 N7 N8 N9 N10 N11 Mean 1)
2)
Concentrations (pmol kg–1) CFC-11 CFC-12 CFC-113 0.23 0.24 0.71 0.33 1.25 0.12 1.17 0.44 3 084.01 203.27 0.56 0.16 3.58 0.13 0.10 2.04 0.08 0.10 1.14 0.04 0.12 492.24 0.74 0.16 11.08 0.74 0.11 16.59 0.66 0.11 16.8 0.30 0.11 348.30 0.54 0.20 0.22 0.04 0.05 1.00 0.29 0.05 0.44 0.54 0.05 1.40 0.02 0.05 1.96 0.76 0.05 0.47 0.26 0.05 0.06 0.01 0.05 1.59 0.01 0.05 0.56 0.25 0.05 1.26 0.61 0.05 1.02 0.39 0.06 0.91 0.29 0.05
Model piston dates (yr-mon)1) CFC-11 CFC-12 CFC-113 1957-6 1958-6 1988-6 1959-6 1971-6 1975-1 – 1970-6 1984-6 – 1965-1 1977-1 1974-6 1954-6 1973-6 1970-1 1951-1 1973-6 1966-5 1948-1 1974-6 – 1967-1 1977-1 – 1967-1 1974-1 – 1966-1 1974-1 – 1960-6 1974-1 1965-7 1961-9 1976-10 1958-1 1949-1 1970-1 1966-6 1961-1 1970-1 1962-1 1965-6 1970-6 1968-6 1946-1 1969-6 1971-1 1968-6 1970-1 1962-6 1960-6 1970-1 1953-6 1944-6 1969-6 1969-6 1944-6 1969-6 1963-6 1960-1 1969-6 1968-1 1966-6 1969-6 1966-6 1963-6 1971-1 1964-6 1957-3 1969-10
Groundwater age (yr)2) CFC-11 CFC-12 CFC-113 52.2 51.2 21.2 50.2 38.2 34.7 – 39.2 25.2 – 44.7 32.7 35.2 55.2 36.2 39.7 58.7 36.2 43.2 61.7 35.2 – 42.7 32.7 – 42.7 35.7 – 43.7 35.7 – 49.2 35.7 44.1 47.9 32.8 52.6 61.6 40.6 44.1 49.6 40.6 48.6 45.1 40.1 42.1 64.6 41.1 39.6 42.1 40.6 48.1 50.1 40.6 57.1 66.1 41.1 41.1 66.1 41.1 47.1 50.6 41.1 42.6 44.1 41.1 44.1 47.1 39.6 46.1 53.4 40.7
– indicates no data were detected because the CFCs concentration in groundwater is greater than the maximum concentration in the atmosphere as the water sample may be contaminated. The groundwater age was calculated by the USGS_CFC spreadsheet program (http://water.usgs.gov/lab/software/USGS_CFC/). The same as below.
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taining a reliable age (Plummer and Busenberg 2000). The thickness of the unsaturated zone in the study area is less than 10 m, causing the error of groundwater ages less than 2 years. However, the additional data and parameters, such as dissolved oxygen, air and water contamination, sorption and etc., need to assist the interpretation of CFCs apparent ages (Plummer and Busenberg 2000). Six water samples were contaminated with CFC-11 (S3, S4, S8, S9, S10, S11). However, contamination with respect to one CFC compound does not contaminate with other CFCs. The CFC apparent ages were calculated by the concentrations in solutions, assuming the water samples to be unmixed (Table 2). In other cases, the water was assumed to be a conservative binary mixture of young (uncontaminated) and old (CFC-free) water. CFC ages were modeled based on the ratios of concentrations of paired CFCs (CFC-11/CFC-12, CFC-113/CFC-12, and CFC-113/CFC-11) (Table 3). Eight water samples were not determined by using the ratios of two CFCs. CFC ages were assigned as the final ages based on mixing model. The groundwater ages in Sanjiang Plain were younger than that in Songnen Plain according to the final CFC ages. All CFC ages based on mixing model were younger than the unmixed model. The oldest water samples were N6 (40.6 years) and S6 (28.7 years) in Songnen Plain and Sanjiang
Plain, respectively. The ages of water samples (N4, N5, N9, N10) in central Songnen Plain were older than 30 years. The unconfined and confined groundwater table declines 2–5 and 1–2 m in Songnen Plain, respectively (Zhao et al. 2010). However, the groundwater table increases the nearly same altitude in the next April in Sanjiang Plain (Yao 2008; Yan et al. 2010). Groundwater samples nearby rivers or lakes were younger than the groundwater in the center of plain. The groundwater hydraulic gradient is about 1/5 000 to 1/10 000 in the central plain (Zhang and Li 2005). Groundwater ages near rivers may be influenced by the interaction between river and groundwater (Dor et al. 2011; Zhang B et al. 2014, 2015). Furthermore, groundwater renewability in Sanjiang Plain is faster than groundwater in Songnen Plain. Consequently, groundwater in Sanjiang Plain was more suitable for irrigation than groundwater in Songnen Plain.
4. Conclusion The irrigation quality and the renewability of groundwater were analyzed for sustainable agricultural development. Most groundwater samples are excellent to good for irrigation in Sanjiang Plain and Songnen Plain. However, some groundwater has to be processed appropriately prior to
Table 3 The chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) ages based on mixing model Ratio of CFC partial pressures (pptv/pptv)
Young Young Groundwater Groundwater Groundwater Young fraction fraction fraction in mix age by Final Sample age by age by in mix in mix from from CFC113/ groundwater no. CFC13/ from CFC 113 CFC11/ CFC113/ CFC113/ CFC11/ CFC12 CFC113 CFC11 age (yr) CFC12 (yr) (%) CFC12 CFC12 CFC11 CFC12 (yr) (%) (%) (yr) S1 0.240 2.287 9.523 – – – – S2 0.065 0.077 1.173 – 29.7 52.1 – 29.7 S3 655.330 0.291 0.000 – – – – S4 89.580 0.217 0.002 – – – – S5 6.864 0.588 0.086 – – – – S6 6.674 1.019 0.153 – – 28.7 36.9 28.7 S7 7.602 2.414 0.318 – – 18.2 13.7 18.2 S8 165.042 0.169 0.001 – 18.2 19.2 – 18.2 S9 3.732 0.112 0.030 – 24.7 23.9 – 24.7 S10 6.270 0.129 0.021 – 22.2 18.5 – 22.2 S11 13.883 0.276 0.020 – – – – N1 1.331 1.015 0.763 – – – – N2 0.858 0.139 0.163 – 22.1 9.0 28.6 20.0 22.1 N3 0.204 0.080 0.392 – 30.1 25.4 – 30.1 N4 21.592 2.463 0.114 – – 33.1 35.4 33.1 N5 0.646 0.053 0.083 – 35.1 47.2 – 35.1 N6 0.456 0.163 0.357 40.6 28.9 19.1 7.5 – 40.6 N7 1.668 4.097 2.456 – – – – N8 42.329 4.137 0.098 – – – – N9 0.553 0.158 0.285 33.6 13.8 19.6 7.3 20.6 7.8 33.6 N10 0.519 0.065 0.125 35.6 39.2 32.6 32.8 32.1 30.6 35.6 N11 0.655 0.119 0.181 – 24.6 13.9 27.1 19.1 24.6 –, not determined.
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irrigation in Songnen Plain. Groundwater in Sanjiang Plain was younger compared to Songnen Plain. Furthermore, the groundwater in the central plain was older than the other area. Consequently, groundwater in Sanjiang Plain is more suitable for irrigation than groundwater in Songnen Plain. The groundwater can be used directly as irrigation water to enhance the grain production in Sanjiang Plain. However, the groundwater near river has to be reasonably explored as irrigation water, and groundwater in the central plain has to leach moderately before irrigation in Songnen Plain. For agricultural sustainable development, not only the irrigation quality, but also the renewability of groundwater should be considered.
Acknowledgements This research was supported by the Main Direction Program of Knowledge Innovation of Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q06-1), the Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (40830636), the Joint Program of Tianjin Science Foundation, China (15JCQNJC44200) and the Doctoral Found of Tianjin Normal University, China (52XB1401).
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ScienceDirect
RESEARCH ARTICLE
The renewability and quality of shallow groundwater in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain, Northeast China ZHANG Bing1, 2, SONG Xian-fang2, ZHANG Ying-hua2, HAN Dong-mei2, TANG Chang-yuan3, YANG Lihu2, WANG Zhong-liang1 1
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Environment, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, P.R.China
2
Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R.China 3 Departments of Environmental Science & Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Horticulture, Chiba University, Chiba 271-8510, Japan
Abstract Groundwater is a key component for water resources in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain, an important agriculture basement in China. The quality and the renewability of irrigation groundwater are essential for the stock raising and agricultural production. Shallow groundwater was sampled and analyzed for various variables. The salinity sodium concentration and bicarbonate hazard, were examined with regard to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) irrigation water standards. The concentration of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) was determined to analyze the age of groundwater. Most groundwater samples labeled as excellent to good for irrigation with low salinity hazard or medium salinity hazard. Four groundwater samples were good and suspected for irrigation with high salinity hazard. Generally groundwater in Sanjiang Plain was younger than the groundwater in Songnen Plain. Meanwhile, groundwater nearby river is younger than the groundwater further away inside the watershed. The mean age of groundwater in Sanjiang Plain is in average of 44.1, 47.9 and 32.8 years by CFC-11 (CCl3F), CFC-12 (CCl2F2) and CFC-113 (C2Cl3F3), respectively. The mean ages of groundwater in Songnen Plain is in average of 46.1, 53.4, and 40.7 years by CFC-11, CFC-12 and CFC-113, respectively. Thus, groundwater nearby rivers could be directly exploited as irrigation water. Partial groundwater has to be processed to lower the salt concentration rather than directly utilized as irrigation water in Songnen Plain. Both water quality and renewability should be put in mind for sustainable agricultural development and water resources management. Keywords: groundwater, irrigation water quality, renewability, agricultural development, Sanjiang and Songnen Plain
1. Introduction Received 12 November, 2015 Accepted 23 March, 2016 ZHANG Bing, Tel: +86-22-23766557, E-mail: zhangbingcn@126. com; Correspondence SONG Xian-fang, Tel: +86-10-64889849, E-mail: [email protected] © 2017, CAAS. All rights reserved. Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi: 10.1016/S2095-3119(16)61349-7
Groundwater almost accounts for half of the global freshwater demand for domestic and agricultural use (IAEA 2006). Groundwater provides a reliable source to sustain agricultural production (Steward et al. 2013). The water quality for irrigation is dramatically important for soils and crops yield, especially for the saline-alkali soil. Salinity and sodium haz-
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ard indicators are used as criterion to classify the suitability of irrigation waters (Nishanthiny et al. 2010). The sodium absorption ratio (SAR) is an effective evaluation index for most irrigation water (Al-Bassam and Ai-Rumikhani 2003). Elevated values of SAR indicate hydraulic conductivity, aggregate stability, clay dispersion, swelling of expandable clay, surface crusting and reducing tillage (Suarez et al. 2006). Meanwhile, the water quality might furtherly jeopardize food security and public health via agriculture and food (Zhang X N et al. 2015). Safety of sustainable extraction yield depends on groundwater flow and renewability of the related aquifer (Bruce 2011). Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), including CFC-11 (CCl3F), CFC-12 (CCl2F2) and CFC-113 (C2Cl3F3), were gradually used commercially and industrially during the second half of the 20th century (Hurtley 2011). These nonflammable, noncorrosive and nonexplosive CFCs were low in toxicity and resistant to degradation, making them an ideal marker for modern groundwater (Plummer and Busenberg 2000). The detectable CFCs are only related to groundwater after 1940 or its mixtures (Szabo et al. 1996; Han et al. 2012). The CFCs were devised for quantifying modern groundwater recharge (Clark and Fritz 1997; IAEA 2006; Qin et al. 2011). The Sanjiang Plain and Songnen Plain are the main grain production bases in Northeast China. The wetlands dramatically shrunk due to agricultural development during the last 60 years, especially in Sanjiang Plain (Huang et al. 2010b; Zhang et al. 2010). Songnen Plain is one of the three major regions with its soda saline-alkali soil in the world (Zhang et al. 2007). The area of saline-alkalization land was 2.4×106 ha in the 1950s, reached to 3.20×106 ha at the beginning of the 1990s, and is still increasing at a rate of 2×104 ha yr–1 in Songnen Plain (Wang et al. 2004). Most upland crops are wheat, corn, and soybean. The crop-growing season is May to September. The average grain yields of rice, wheat, corn, and soybean during the period of 1978–2008 were 5.23, 2.81, 4.36, and 1.82 t ha–1, respectively (Heilongjiang Land Reclamation Bureau 2009). To raise grain production and agricultural revenue, the wetlands and saline land were consistently reclaimed and cultivated to farmland, especially after 2004. The irrigation area, especially groundwater irrigation area, thus significantly expanded since then. The bulk grain production, especially the rice and corn, increased resultantly. Many water and environmental issues were related to the large amount of groundwater irrigation. The groundwater table declined sharply in Sanjiang Plain (Wang and Tian 2003). Groundwater with high salinity was abstracted arbitrarily from the unconfined aquifer for irrigation by local farmers, causing a large area of secondary saline-alkaline phenomena (Zhang et al. 2007).
Sanjiang-Songnen Plain was once well known for its massive production of quality beans, corn, and rice. The research on groundwater is essential for its sustainable agricultural production (Pereira et al. 2002). To assess the renewability and irrigation water quality, the groundwater was sampled and analyzed. The objectives of this study include: (1) assessment of the irrigation water quality; (2) calculation of groundwater ages via CFCs; and (3) discussion on the sustainable agricultural water management.
2. Materials and methods 2.1. Study area The Sanjiang Plain (129°11´–135°05´E, 43°49´–48°27´N), is an alluvial deposit of rivers and lake in Northeast China, including the Songhua River, Heilongjiang River (Amur), Wusuli River (Ussuri), and Xingkai Lake (Khanka) (Fig. 1). The annual precipitation is 500–650 mm, and 80% of rainfall occurs during May to September. The frost-free period is 120–140 days (Huang et al. 2010a). The annual potential evaporation is 550–840 mm. The mean annual temperature ranges from 1.4 to 4.3°C. The two most common landscape types are wetland and farmland occupying area of 0.9 and 4 million ha, respectively (Zhang et al. 2010). The main soil types are albic soil, meadow soil and marsh soil. The natural land cover is mainly marsh vegetation, with woodland meadow scattered on relatively high altitudes. The water and soil in marshes are completely frozen from October to next April, and begin to thaw in late April (Pan et al. 2010). The unconfined aquifer consists of sand, sandstone, and gravel. The groundwater table is about 3–5 m in depth, flowing from southwest to northeast (Fig. 1). The Songnen Plain (121°27´–128°12´E, 43°36´–49°45´N) is an alluvial, lacustrine and aeolian deposit in the central part of Northeast China, which is developed on a faulted basin in the Mesozoic (Fig. 1). The whole area of this plain is 1.87×105 km2 , surrounded by Changbai Mountain in the east, Daxing’an (Greater Khingan) Mountain in the west, and Xiaoxing’an (Leesser Khingan) Mountain in the north. The annual precipitation is 350–600 mm, with 70–80% of precipitation occurring during June to September. The average annual temperature is 4.0–5.5°C. The potential evaporation depth is 700–1 100 mm. The main types of soils are black soil, chernozem, meadow soil, swamp soil, halic soil, sandy soil, and paddy soil (Zhang et al. 2007). The major types of aquifers are Quaternary unconfined aquifer. Neogene Taikang Group confined aquifer and Da’an Group confined aquifer. The depth to groundwater table is about 6–8 m with flow direction from the east, north, and west mountain areas into the central area (Fig. 1).
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Fig. 1 The location and groundwater samples in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain. S1–S11 indicate the water samples in Sanjiang Plain, N1–N11 indicate the water samples in Songnen Plain. The same as below.
There are five major rivers in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain, among which the Second Songhua River, Nen River, and Songhua River locate in China. While the Heilongjiang River, Wusuli River and Xingkai Lake are international ones between China and Russia. The length of the Second Songhua River is about 958 km, with an annual mean discharge of 14.8 km3 (Lin et al. 2008). The stretch of the Nen River is about 1 370 km, with annual mean discharge is 225 km3. The Second Songhua River and Nen River merge in the center of Songnen Plain, and then contribute to the Songhua River. The discharge rate of the Songhua River is 408 km3 yr–1 at the Harbin Station (Xiao et al. 2009). The length of mainstream Songhua River is about 939 km, with the discharge of 759 km3 yr–1.
than 60 m in depth. Two 50-mL polyethylene bottles with watertight caps were used to store these water for cations and anions analyses after filtration (0.45 μm Millipore membrane filter). Additionally, two 100-mL brown glass bottles with a special foil-lined cap were used to store groundwater for CFCs analysis. The refrigeration grade copper tubing was required to conduct water from the well to the bottles. Bottles and caps were thoroughly rinsed with the groundwater prior to sampling. The bottles were filled underneath water level in a steel beaker and sealed under water (IAEA 2006). So all water samples for ions and CFCs analyses were free of air bubble, and tightly sealed to prevent evaporation. After labelling, all samples were stored at 4°C.
2.3. Analytical methods 2.2. Water sampling The groundwater was sampled from the Sanjiang Plain and Songnen Plain during September 10th–18th, 2009 and August 4th–10th, 2010, respectively (Fig. 1). S1–S11 indicate the water samples in Sanjiang Plain, N1–N11 indicate the water samples in Songnen Plain. Fresh groundwater was sampled after precedent water being pumped out from the well. Then water samples were obtained from wells less
Electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and water temperature were measured in situ via an EC/pH meter (WM22EP, Toadkk, Japan). Calibration for this EC/pH sensor was carried out each time before field trip. The HCO3– concentration was determined by titration with 0.02 N sulfuric acid on the day of sampling before filtration. Methyl orange endpoint titration was used to adjust final pH to 4.2–4.4. The major ions (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+) of water samples
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were treated and analyzed in the laboratory of the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The concentrations of major cations in these groundwater samples were measured by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) (Perkin-Elmer, USA). The concentrations of major anions (Cl–, SO42–) were measured by ion chromatography (IC) (Shimadzu, Japan). Limits of detection of ICP-OES and IC are 1 µg L–1 and 1 mg L–1, respectively. Analytical precision for major ions was within 1%. For all water samples, ion balance errors (IBE) were <10%, and most of them were <5%. The CFCs concentration of shallow groundwater was determined by using a closed system of purge and trap gas chromatography with an electron capture detector (ECD) (GC-14A, Shimadzu, Japan) in Chiba University, Japan. The limit of detection is 0.01 pmol kg–1, and the precision of the measurement is 1%. The groundwater ages were subsequently calculated by the spreadsheet program for preliminary evaluation of CFC data (http://water.usgs. gov/lab/software/USGS_CFC/). The assumed recharge temperature in Sanjiang Plain and Songnen Plain was 2.5 and 5.0°C (the average air temperature in the study area), respectively. The recharge elevation was the same with land surface altitude of the groundwater sample.
2.4. Water quality indices Excessive concentrations of sodium and salinity in irrigation water result in sodium hazard and salinity hazard. Sodium ion from irrigation water would replace calcium and magnesium ions in soil, thus causes reduced permeability and soil hardening (Shaki and Adeloye 2006). Thus the assessment of irrigation water quality was based on the parameters, such as percent sodium, SAR and residual sodium carbonate (Singh et al. 2005). The indices of irrigation water quality include: Na+ ×100 Na (%)= (1) + 2+ Na +Ca +Mg2++K+ Where, the Na (%) is the parameter of percent sodium and the SAR is calculated as: (2) SAR=Na+ / (Ca2++Mg2+)/2 The residual sodium carbonate (RSC) is calculated as: RSC=(CO32–+HCO3– )–(Ca2++Mg2+) (3) Where all the ionic concentrations are expressed in mill equivalents per liter (meq L–1) of its corresponding ions. The SAR is generally considered as an effective evaluation index for most water used in irrigated agriculture (Ayers and Westcot 1985). The salinity hazard is valued on the total concentration of soluble salts in water. It can be classified into four levels
as low (EC<250 μS cm–1), medium (250–750 μS cm–1), high (750–2 250 μS cm–1), and very high (2 250–5 000 μS cm–1) (Richards 1954). Whereas, sodium hazard is usually expressed in terms of percent sodium (Na%) and SAR. Water can be classified as low (<10), medium (10–18), high (18–26), and very high (>26) sodium hazard based on the sodium adsorption ratio (Richards 1954; Wilcox 1955). Meanwhile, the classification of water based on percent sodium is grouped as excellent (<20%), good (20–40%), permissible (40–60%), doubtful (60-80%), and unsuitable (>80%) (Nishanthiny et al. 2010). Lastly, water can be classified based on RSC as good (<1.25), doubtful (1.25–2.5), and unsuitable (>2.5) (Sadashivaiah et al. 2008).
3. Results and discussion 3.1. Major ions in groundwater The concentrations of major ions in groundwater were tested to understand the hydrochemical characteristics and water quality (Table 1). Most groundwater was labeled as Ca·MgHCO3 type, however, some groundwater in the central area of Songnen Plain was Na·Ca-HCO3 type. The average value of EC was 398 μS cm–1 in Sanjiang Plain and 739 μS cm–1 in Songnen Plain, respectively. The mean concentration of sodium in Songnen Plain was 2.17 mg L–1, which was 2.4 times of its counterpart in Sanjiang Plain (0.91 mg L–1). The content of chloride in Songnen Plain (2.91 mg L–1) was more than three times of that in Sanjiang Plain (0.82 mg L–1). The average concentration of major ions in Sanjiang pain was lesser than the groundwater in Songnen Plain. The ion concentrations of groundwater in the central plain were higher than other areas (Fig. 2). The EC value of the groundwater S2 was the highest (1 042 μS cm–1) in Sanjiang Plain. Further, the concentrations of Ca, Cl, and SO42– in the groundwater S2 were higher than other sites in Sanjiang Plain (Fig. 2). The EC value (2 190 μS cm–1) of the groundwater N10 was the largest in Songnen Plain. The water sample N10 located in the center of Songnen Plain. The concentrations of Ca and Cl in the groundwater sample N10 were also the highest.
3.2. Water quality assessment To assess the groundwater for irrigation purposes, the salinity hazard, sodium hazard, and bicarbonate hazard need to be determined (Table 1). The excess sodium in waters produces undesirable effects of changing soil properties and reducing soil permeability (Nishanthiny et al. 2010). The number of groundwater samples with excellent, good and permissible irrigation water quality was nine, nine and
Latitude (N) 46°59´23.2´´ 47°13´39.5´´ 47°40´48.8´´ 48°0´04.0´´ 47°34´52.0´´ 47°03´24.7´´ 46°47´24.1´´ 46°0´09.0´´ 45°32´15.9´´ 46°20´07.1´´ 46°45´11.7´´ 45°50´06.2´´ 45°05´10.2´´ 45°36´25.9´´ 46°52´43.0´´ 47°05´15.6´´ 47°12´07.4´´ 48°29´03.4´´ 47°58´38.9´´ 47°34´49.1´´ 46°39´47.1´´ 45°58´15.2´´
Longitude Elevation (E) (m) 130°45´13.3´´ 87 131°56´56.1´´ 67 132°35´13.8´´ 58 133°16´27.4´´ 57 133°07´29.1´´ 49 133°15´28.7´´ 65 134°01´26.8´´ 50 133°38´04.2´´ 64 131°58´18.9´´ 114 132°15´06.5´´ 86 131°08´0.7´´ 97 126°28´01.5´´ 122 124°50´22.6´´ 135 123°51´22.5´´ 136 124°24´58.6´´ 156 123°58´02.6´´ 136 124°14´35.6´´ 145 124°34´53.1´´ 191 125°53´07.9´´ 212 126°05´43.5´´ 232 125°12´40.1´´ 155 126°35´13.7´´ 116
Water table (m) 80.2 65.5 52.0 – – – 48.0 – – – – – – – 149.2 – – – 209.7 229.5 150.6 113.7
EC Ca (μS cm–1) (meq L–1) 468 1.87 1042 8.37 242 1.15 222 0.90 273 1.48 466 3.56 310 1.62 454 2.70 328 2.06 201 1.24 371 2.33 383 1.77 5.95 1 025 990 3.30 6.24 1 053 460 1.75 504 1.92 283 1.13 289 1.97 270 1.85 12.09 2 190 685 4.67
Mg (meq L–1) 1.28 4.14 0.70 0.73 0.82 1.40 1.05 1.85 0.99 0.68 1.10 0.69 1.98 2.30 1.69 1.03 1.03 0.44 0.43 0.52 5.66 1.23
Na (meq L–1) 1.61 1.72 0.69 0.79 0.61 1.09 0.73 0.74 0.63 0.59 0.79 1.11 1.88 5.15 2.61 2.01 2.77 1.37 0.45 0.53 4.79 1.19
K (meq L–1) 0.07 0.29 0.01 0.03 0.01 – – – 0.03 – – 0.03 0.11 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.04
HCO3 (meq L–1) 1.82 6.07 1.73 1.95 2.63 5.31 3.23 3.19 2.19 2.41 3.22 3.35 2.87 6.98 3.28 4.18 4.78 2.10 0.87 1.75 2.61 2.60
2)
EC, SAR and RSC stand for the electrical conductivity, sodium adsorption ratio and residual sodium carbonate, respectively. S1–S11 indicate the water samples in Sanjiang plain; N1–N11 indicate the water samples in Songnen Plain. The same as below. – indicates no data or below the limits of detection.
1)
Sample no.2) S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 S11 N1 N2 N3 N4 N5 N6 N7 N8 N9 N10 N11
Table 1 The locations, major ions and irrigation water quality of water samples1) SO4 (meq L–1) 1.44 3.41 0.29 0.22 0.10 0.26 0.02 0.8 0.87 0.03 0.34 0.01 1.21 0.78 1.09 0.09 0.31 0.10 0.37 0.79 2.62 0.79
Cl (meq L–1) 1.38 4.47 0.43 0.18 0.08 0.24 0.01 1.08 0.51 0.05 0.62 0.28 3.00 3.49 5.50 0.37 0.91 0.92 1.36 0.51 11.64 4.05
Na (%) 33.33 11.85 27.06 32.24 20.89 18.02 21.47 13.99 16.98 23.51 18.72 30.91 18.97 47.71 24.69 41.63 48.21 45.88 15.77 18.16 21.23 16.69 1.28 0.69 0.72 0.88 0.57 0.69 0.63 0.49 0.51 0.60 0.60 1.00 0.94 3.08 1.31 1.70 2.29 1.54 0.41 0.49 1.61 0.69
SAR
RSC (meq L–1) –1.33 –6.44 –0.12 0.32 0.33 0.35 0.56 –1.36 –0.86 0.49 –0.21 0.90 –5.07 1.38 –4.66 1.40 1.83 0.52 –1.54 –0.62 –15.14 –3.30
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four of 24 water samples, respectively. The residual sodium carbonate (RSC) is the index to bicarbonate hazard because the calcium and magnesium ions precipitate in high concentration of bicarbonate waters. As a result, the relative proportion of sodium increases in the form of sodium bicarbonate. The number of groundwater samples with good irrigation water quality was 19, accounting for 86.4% of the total water samples in the Sanjiang and Songnen Plain. However, three water samples were doubtful for irrigation with RSC larger than 1.25 in Songnen Plain. These waters should be cautiously used with good irrigation management techniques (Nishanthiny et al. 2010). Consequently, groundwater in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain is good for irrigation without potential of bicarbonate hazard. The assessment of groundwater quality for irrigation in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain is shown in Fig. 3 (Richards 1954; Wilcox 1955). Three groundwater samples were low salinity hazard, grouped with C1S1. There are 14 water samples with medium salinity hazard, classified as C2S1. However, five groundwater samples with high salinity hazard were classified as C3S1 in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain (Fig. 3-A). Seventeen groundwater samples were excellent to good for irrigation, four water samples (S2, N2, N3, N4) were good to permissible, and one groundwater (N10) was doubuful for irrigation with high salinity hazard (Fig. 3-B). The hydrogeochemical characteristic of groundwater is an important aspect to understand water quality. Most groundwater samples were Ca·Mg-HCO3 type. The groundwater (N3, N5, N6, N7) with Na·Ca-HCO3 type located in the central west area of Songnen Plain. The groundwater with Na·Ca-HCO3 type was doubtful for irrigation with the value of RSC larger than 1.25 meq L–1. The flow direction of groundwater was from the west, north and south to the center in Songnen Plain. The weathering-dissolution,
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Fig. 2 The stiff diagram and groundwater ages in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain. The underlined number is the apparent CFC-12 age of sampled groundwater.
Fig. 3 The irrigation water quality of groundwater samples based on sodium adsorption ratio (SAR, A) and percent sodium (B). V.H in A means very high. The C1, C2, C3 and C4 indicate the groups of electrical conductivity; the S1, S2, S3 and S4 are groups of SAR.
evaporation-condensation and leaching of saline-alkaline soil might cause the shallow groundwater salinization during the groundwater flow process (Zhang et al. 2007).
3.3. Groundwater apparent ages by CFCs The concentrations of CFCs in groundwater were also
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determined in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain (Table 2). The groundwater sample was assumed unmixed. To assess the groundwater ages, the calculated partial pressures of CFCs in solubility equilibrium was compared to the water sample with historical CFCs concentrations in North American Air (Plummer et al. 2000). Water samples contaminated with CFC-11 may not necessarily contaminate with other CFCs. Therefore, we discussed CFCs ages in section 3.4 to consider water mixing. The average concentrations of CFC-11, CFC-12 and CFC-113 were 348.30, 0.54 and 0.20 pmol kg–1 water in Sanjiang Plain, respectively. The CFC-12 content in the water sample S2 was the highest (1.25 pmol kg–1), followed by the water sample S3 (1.17 pmol kg–1). The CFC-113 content in the water sample S1 was the highest, with the value of 0.71 pmol kg–1. The second one was water sample from S3 with the value of 0.44 pmol kg–1. The CFCs concentration of groundwater in Songnen Plain was lower than that its counterpart in Sanjiang Plain. The average concentrations of CFC-11, CFC-12 and CFC113 were 0.91, 0.29 and 0.05 pmol kg–1 water in Songnen Plain, respectively. The CFC-11 content in the water sample N5 was the largest, with the value of 1.96 pmol kg–1. The CFC-12 content in the water sample N5 was the
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highest (0.76 pmol kg–1), followed by the water sample N10 (0.61 pmol kg–1). The piston model was used to date groundwater in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain (Table 2). The average groundwater ages dating by CFC-11, CFC-12 and CFC-113 were 44.1, 47.9 and 32.8 years in Sanjiang Plain, respectively. The groundwater apparent ages of CFC-11, CFC-12 and CFC113 were 46.1, 53.4 and 40.7 years in Songnen Plain, accordingly. Thus, the groundwater apparent ages in Sanjiang Plain were younger than that in Songnen Plain.
3.4. Shallow groundwater renewability Groundwater renewability (groundwater age) should be considered for sustainable agricultural development, although most groundwater samples were suitable for irrigation in Sanjiang and Songnen Plain. CFC dating is successful in rural settings, with shallow water tables, where the groundwater is aerobic and not impacted by local contaminant sources. However the CFCs contents are sometimes affected by local sources or sampling equipment (Szabo et al. 1996). There are three compounds capable of defining age; contamination with respect to one or two CFCs does not necessarily preclude the possibility of ob-
Table 2 The groundwater ages dating by concentrations of chlorofluorocarbons Sample no. S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 S11 Mean N1 N2 N3 N4 N5 N6 N7 N8 N9 N10 N11 Mean 1)
2)
Concentrations (pmol kg–1) CFC-11 CFC-12 CFC-113 0.23 0.24 0.71 0.33 1.25 0.12 1.17 0.44 3 084.01 203.27 0.56 0.16 3.58 0.13 0.10 2.04 0.08 0.10 1.14 0.04 0.12 492.24 0.74 0.16 11.08 0.74 0.11 16.59 0.66 0.11 16.8 0.30 0.11 348.30 0.54 0.20 0.22 0.04 0.05 1.00 0.29 0.05 0.44 0.54 0.05 1.40 0.02 0.05 1.96 0.76 0.05 0.47 0.26 0.05 0.06 0.01 0.05 1.59 0.01 0.05 0.56 0.25 0.05 1.26 0.61 0.05 1.02 0.39 0.06 0.91 0.29 0.05
Model piston dates (yr-mon)1) CFC-11 CFC-12 CFC-113 1957-6 1958-6 1988-6 1959-6 1971-6 1975-1 – 1970-6 1984-6 – 1965-1 1977-1 1974-6 1954-6 1973-6 1970-1 1951-1 1973-6 1966-5 1948-1 1974-6 – 1967-1 1977-1 – 1967-1 1974-1 – 1966-1 1974-1 – 1960-6 1974-1 1965-7 1961-9 1976-10 1958-1 1949-1 1970-1 1966-6 1961-1 1970-1 1962-1 1965-6 1970-6 1968-6 1946-1 1969-6 1971-1 1968-6 1970-1 1962-6 1960-6 1970-1 1953-6 1944-6 1969-6 1969-6 1944-6 1969-6 1963-6 1960-1 1969-6 1968-1 1966-6 1969-6 1966-6 1963-6 1971-1 1964-6 1957-3 1969-10
Groundwater age (yr)2) CFC-11 CFC-12 CFC-113 52.2 51.2 21.2 50.2 38.2 34.7 – 39.2 25.2 – 44.7 32.7 35.2 55.2 36.2 39.7 58.7 36.2 43.2 61.7 35.2 – 42.7 32.7 – 42.7 35.7 – 43.7 35.7 – 49.2 35.7 44.1 47.9 32.8 52.6 61.6 40.6 44.1 49.6 40.6 48.6 45.1 40.1 42.1 64.6 41.1 39.6 42.1 40.6 48.1 50.1 40.6 57.1 66.1 41.1 41.1 66.1 41.1 47.1 50.6 41.1 42.6 44.1 41.1 44.1 47.1 39.6 46.1 53.4 40.7
– indicates no data were detected because the CFCs concentration in groundwater is greater than the maximum concentration in the atmosphere as the water sample may be contaminated. The groundwater age was calculated by the USGS_CFC spreadsheet program (http://water.usgs.gov/lab/software/USGS_CFC/). The same as below.
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taining a reliable age (Plummer and Busenberg 2000). The thickness of the unsaturated zone in the study area is less than 10 m, causing the error of groundwater ages less than 2 years. However, the additional data and parameters, such as dissolved oxygen, air and water contamination, sorption and etc., need to assist the interpretation of CFCs apparent ages (Plummer and Busenberg 2000). Six water samples were contaminated with CFC-11 (S3, S4, S8, S9, S10, S11). However, contamination with respect to one CFC compound does not contaminate with other CFCs. The CFC apparent ages were calculated by the concentrations in solutions, assuming the water samples to be unmixed (Table 2). In other cases, the water was assumed to be a conservative binary mixture of young (uncontaminated) and old (CFC-free) water. CFC ages were modeled based on the ratios of concentrations of paired CFCs (CFC-11/CFC-12, CFC-113/CFC-12, and CFC-113/CFC-11) (Table 3). Eight water samples were not determined by using the ratios of two CFCs. CFC ages were assigned as the final ages based on mixing model. The groundwater ages in Sanjiang Plain were younger than that in Songnen Plain according to the final CFC ages. All CFC ages based on mixing model were younger than the unmixed model. The oldest water samples were N6 (40.6 years) and S6 (28.7 years) in Songnen Plain and Sanjiang
Plain, respectively. The ages of water samples (N4, N5, N9, N10) in central Songnen Plain were older than 30 years. The unconfined and confined groundwater table declines 2–5 and 1–2 m in Songnen Plain, respectively (Zhao et al. 2010). However, the groundwater table increases the nearly same altitude in the next April in Sanjiang Plain (Yao 2008; Yan et al. 2010). Groundwater samples nearby rivers or lakes were younger than the groundwater in the center of plain. The groundwater hydraulic gradient is about 1/5 000 to 1/10 000 in the central plain (Zhang and Li 2005). Groundwater ages near rivers may be influenced by the interaction between river and groundwater (Dor et al. 2011; Zhang B et al. 2014, 2015). Furthermore, groundwater renewability in Sanjiang Plain is faster than groundwater in Songnen Plain. Consequently, groundwater in Sanjiang Plain was more suitable for irrigation than groundwater in Songnen Plain.
4. Conclusion The irrigation quality and the renewability of groundwater were analyzed for sustainable agricultural development. Most groundwater samples are excellent to good for irrigation in Sanjiang Plain and Songnen Plain. However, some groundwater has to be processed appropriately prior to
Table 3 The chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) ages based on mixing model Ratio of CFC partial pressures (pptv/pptv)
Young Young Groundwater Groundwater Groundwater Young fraction fraction fraction in mix age by Final Sample age by age by in mix in mix from from CFC113/ groundwater no. CFC13/ from CFC 113 CFC11/ CFC113/ CFC113/ CFC11/ CFC12 CFC113 CFC11 age (yr) CFC12 (yr) (%) CFC12 CFC12 CFC11 CFC12 (yr) (%) (%) (yr) S1 0.240 2.287 9.523 – – – – S2 0.065 0.077 1.173 – 29.7 52.1 – 29.7 S3 655.330 0.291 0.000 – – – – S4 89.580 0.217 0.002 – – – – S5 6.864 0.588 0.086 – – – – S6 6.674 1.019 0.153 – – 28.7 36.9 28.7 S7 7.602 2.414 0.318 – – 18.2 13.7 18.2 S8 165.042 0.169 0.001 – 18.2 19.2 – 18.2 S9 3.732 0.112 0.030 – 24.7 23.9 – 24.7 S10 6.270 0.129 0.021 – 22.2 18.5 – 22.2 S11 13.883 0.276 0.020 – – – – N1 1.331 1.015 0.763 – – – – N2 0.858 0.139 0.163 – 22.1 9.0 28.6 20.0 22.1 N3 0.204 0.080 0.392 – 30.1 25.4 – 30.1 N4 21.592 2.463 0.114 – – 33.1 35.4 33.1 N5 0.646 0.053 0.083 – 35.1 47.2 – 35.1 N6 0.456 0.163 0.357 40.6 28.9 19.1 7.5 – 40.6 N7 1.668 4.097 2.456 – – – – N8 42.329 4.137 0.098 – – – – N9 0.553 0.158 0.285 33.6 13.8 19.6 7.3 20.6 7.8 33.6 N10 0.519 0.065 0.125 35.6 39.2 32.6 32.8 32.1 30.6 35.6 N11 0.655 0.119 0.181 – 24.6 13.9 27.1 19.1 24.6 –, not determined.
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irrigation in Songnen Plain. Groundwater in Sanjiang Plain was younger compared to Songnen Plain. Furthermore, the groundwater in the central plain was older than the other area. Consequently, groundwater in Sanjiang Plain is more suitable for irrigation than groundwater in Songnen Plain. The groundwater can be used directly as irrigation water to enhance the grain production in Sanjiang Plain. However, the groundwater near river has to be reasonably explored as irrigation water, and groundwater in the central plain has to leach moderately before irrigation in Songnen Plain. For agricultural sustainable development, not only the irrigation quality, but also the renewability of groundwater should be considered.
Acknowledgements This research was supported by the Main Direction Program of Knowledge Innovation of Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q06-1), the Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (40830636), the Joint Program of Tianjin Science Foundation, China (15JCQNJC44200) and the Doctoral Found of Tianjin Normal University, China (52XB1401).
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