Temporal and Spatial Variability of Soil Salinity in Effluent-Irrigated Fairways.

As the use of effluent irrigation increases, salinity and sodicity issues associated with its use continue to be of great concern to the golf course industry.  The purpose of our research was to quantify salinity accumulation patterns in golf course fairways irrigated with effluent water.  Temporal and spatial accumulation patterns were measured using Decagon 5TE in-situ soil sensors located at two depths (15 and 30 cm).  Sensors measured electrical conductivity (EC), volumetric soil water content (VWC), and temperature (Celsius); data were collected continuously throughout the growing season using dataloggers located in each fairway. A linear correlation was observed between sensor-measured soil salinity vs. saturated paste extracted soil salinity (r = 0.77).  However, soil salinity levels were highly variable across individual fairways. Additional soil testing and irrigation audits were implemented to verify and explain the observed spatial variability within the fairway research plots. In-situ sensors continued to monitor temporal and spatial data for the duration of 2009 growing season.