Seasonal changes of fertilizer impacts on agricultural drainage in a salinized area in Adana, Turkey

Seasonal changes in the impacts of fertilizer on the composition of agricultural drainage water were examined by analyzing the 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio and chemical composition of drainage water samples. Samples of drainage water were taken from the main drainage canals of the Lower Seyhan Irrigation Project, at sites designated as D10, D11, and D12. Plots of 87Sr/86Sr vs. 1/Sr indicated that the 87Sr/86Sr ratio of drainage water was positively related to those of fertilizer and irrigation water. The origins of Sr in two of the end-components were fertilizer and irrigation water. The data from the end-drain in winter suggested that the origin of Sr in the third end-component was fossil seawater. Analysis of a mixing model incorporating these three end-components showed that the origins of Sr in drainage differed markedly between summer and winter. Fertilizer made the greatest contribution to Sr in drainage water both in summer and winter, contributing 38–72% of total Sr in summer and 64–87% of total Sr in winter. In summer, fertilizer contributed 72% of total Sr in drainage water in D12, 44% in D10, and 38% in D11. This result implies that fertilizer was applied excessively at the D12 site. In winter, seawater accounted for 10% of Sr in drainage water in D12, whereas it accounted for 19–27% of Sr in drainage water in D10 and D11. Therefore, at least 70% of the salt in drainage water originates from fertilizer and irrigation water. At this study site, the salt originating from seawater is replaced by that from fertilizer and irrigation water, due to intensive agricultural management. The study site is a delta that lay on the ocean subsurface at least 3000 years ago, and therefore, was originally a primary salinization area. This result suggests that anthropogenic secondary salinization progressed over time via fertilizer and irrigation applications.