Soil waterlogging: causes, possible problems and preventive measures

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

Marshes are gloomy and mysterious parts of the planet, it was not for nothing that they were considered in ancient times to be the dwelling place of devils and all evil spirits. Only in Russia there are many such territories, and some of them are quite extensive. Swamps are frightening, even terrifying, but at the same time they attract people. There are the most unusual species of animals and birds. There are also beautiful places that attract tourists very much. Still, the swamps are really dangerous. Therefore, waterlogging of soils is considered an extremely undesirable phenomenon. These areas are often impassable. There are dangerous areas in the swamps where the bog sucks in, and therefore many people die there. In addition, swamps are capable of igniting in the most unexpected way due to the special composition of the environment. And they are unfit for economic activity.

Features of the swampyterrain

Territories where soil waterlogging occurs are primarily located in areas where there is severe waterlogging. This may be due to climate change. An example of this in Russia is the north of the European region, the swampy areas of the Far East, the Siberian taiga, and the Non-Black Earth region. All this is in the middle climatic zone, where, at high humidity, insufficient evaporation is usually observed due to temperature characteristics. But swamps also appear further south.

Sudd is one of the largest swamps in the world. This area is located in the bed of the White Nile in eastern Africa in South Sudan. The size of this vast swamp is about 130 thousand km². This site has been given the nickname "water eater". The course of the White Nile in these places is very insignificant due to the slight slope of the terrain. That is why the water of the river in tropical creeks spreads freely through the labyrinth of lagoons and canals and does not soak into the ground due to its dense clay base. This is the key to why waterlogging occurs in this region.

More about the reasons

Bogs are areas not only with significant waterlogging, but also, as a rule, with a dense peat top layer with a thickness of three tens of centimeters or more. The close natural location of low-flowing reservoirs with an abundance of vegetation and the lack of sufficient groundwater flow provokes a natural accumulation of moisture. Most often, swamps form in the forest zone, but also on the plains, inlowlands and floodplains of large rivers overflowing their banks quite often. These factors are aggravated by insufficient evaporation, an abundance of precipitation, the presence or gradual formation of a dense subsoil layer, which makes it difficult for moisture to absorb into the ground and go to its lower layers. These are the main causes of waterlogging.

Harming business activities

Marshes on the planet occur not only for natural reasons. Often this is facilitated by the person himself and his ill-conceived economic activities: the construction of extensive reservoirs and irrigation systems, excessive felling of trees in humid wooded areas. To spoil the top layer of the earth, to make it impervious to moisture, the use of heavy agricultural machinery in too large quantities is capable. In addition, the unfortunate consequence of human activity on the planet is soil pollution, the accumulation of garbage, harmful substances, and solid waste in it. Toxic elements that the earth absorbs cause salinization and waterlogging of soils. This is facilitated by the lack of drainage and unsystematic immoderate watering of cultivated plants, as a result of which s alt accumulation occurs in irrigated areas.

If ground mineralized waters lie shallow in the earth, then, moving up through its capillaries and further evaporating, they are able to leave harmful s alts that have previously descended below on the surface. From this, the visible surface of the soil is covered with ugly white s alt spots, and the earth becomes not onlyexcessively hydrated, but also barren. This is secondary salinization and waterlogging of soils. And such a process can lead to very detrimental consequences.

Soil gleying

The vast water layer, accumulating in the earth close to its surface and unable to go lower, underlies the mystery of the origin of swamps. This process is called soil gleying. Sooner or later, peat deposits are formed in this environment. They arise due to the impossibility of dying leaves, grass and animal remains to rot naturally, since organic substances are not fully mineralized due to increased acidity. They are soon compressed in a natural way and form peat layers, which only increase over time, creating a special microclimate and microrelief of swamps.

Peat beds

Peat soils of swamps are poor in useful substances. Phosphorus, calcium, nitrogen are present in them only in a small amount. Therefore, in such an environment, only certain types of vegetation take root, and primarily sphagnum mosses. A thick layer of sod formed does not allow enough air to pass through. And chemical processes with the release of methane and hydrogen sulfide, occurring in such a biomass, kill beneficial bacteria. This leads to a new change of vegetation cover that can take root in such conditions. He, in turn, dies, not having time to rot. All this leads to an increase in the dense peat layer,consisting of the lower, completely decomposed layer; transitional middle and undecomposed upper. This waterproof base encourages waterlogging.

Preventive measures

For agriculture, such areas are completely unsuitable. There is not enough oxygen and nutrients for the growth and development of plants, especially since the peat acid reaction makes itself felt. It is impossible to grow grain and vegetable crops, arrange hayfields and pastures there.

But various preventive measures are being taken to combat waterlogging. These include, first of all, the conduct of well-thought-out economic activities, taking into account its impact on the entire ecosystem, systemic irrigation of the land, the construction of canals and reservoirs only in suitable areas, as well as moderate deforestation in areas with a humid climate and low evaporation of moisture from the surface of the earth. All this should be done with due regard for possible consequences. But the most effective way to solve the problem of waterlogging is drainage.

Draining swamps

The essence of this method is to remove excess moisture from a certain area. To do this, open ditches and drainage systems are created, when special pipes are buried underground to drain water. The resulting dryness prevents valuable minerals from being washed out of the earth. Thus, they gradually begin to accumulate in the soil. Soon the humus content in it rises.

But forproductive agriculture in this area, these measures are not enough. Regular mineral soil fertilization with phosphorus, nitrogen and potash fertilizers with the addition of copper sulphate is also necessary. Manure and its substitutes are often used as organic top dressing. Forage crops and perennial grasses are first planted on the territory freed from swamps, and only then fruit trees are grown and vegetables are cultivated.

Drainage of swamps is also often done to simplify the process of deforestation and facilitate the extraction of peat.

The role of swamps in the ecosystem

Soil waterlogging is considered to be a negative phenomenon. And draining the swamps is, without a doubt, an important and useful undertaking. But in addition to benefits, it can also bring significant harm. And therefore, when performing this action, it is important to take into account the consequences, to calculate not only the advantages, but also the disadvantages.

Marshes have their positives. They are wonderful storages of moisture, feeding the rivers, and turn out to be unique natural filters for natural water purification. Taking into account how waterlogging of soils occurs, it can be considered natural that swamps contain a huge amount of carbon dioxide. And with the ill-conceived destruction of this environment, it all gets into the atmosphere. In addition, vegetation is suffering: coniferous forests, thickets of blueberries, cranberries, cloudberries, and many unique representatives of the fauna of such territories are dying out.

Shoulddestroy swamps?

In establishing the ecological balance in nature, swamps, of course, play an important role. And therefore, draining them, people subsequently very often realize that they have made a mistake and, recognizing it, restore the natural state of the area. However, often the drainage of swamps is really necessary, since the areas freed from them are used by people reasonably and for the common good. But it should be remembered that the formation of such territories is a natural process. And their occurrence is not necessarily a negative phenomenon, if new swamps do not occupy too large areas. After all, they are important for nature and are its integral part.