Model of resalinization by capillary rise in reclaimed land

Large areas of reclaimed land have recently been required to be developed as environmentally friendly centers of vegetation, such as dryland fields for cultivation of high-income crops and green fields. However, reclaimed lands in coastal areas such as reclaimed tidal flats have a setback in this regard: The capillary rise of groundwater from deeper levels causes resalinization, resulting in concentration of salt at the surface. The existing studies conducted on resalinization of soils in reclaimed lands are either insufficient or employ complex experimental and analytical methods. In this study, resalinization testing equipment was developed, and a laboratory model test on reclaimed-land soil was carried out. We identified the relationship between the capillary rise rate and initial volumetric water content and proposed a simple experimental model. The proposed model was verified by a comparison with experiment results and measured data of the field and could more accurately predict the resalinization according to the volumetric water content. In addition, proposed model can be applied in the field as the predicted results showed a similar trend to that of the measurements of the field.