Arid Land Research and Management

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uasr20

Sources of spatial variability of soil salinity: the

case of Beni Amir irrigated command areas in the
Tadla Plain, Morocco

Amal El Hamdi, Moad Morarech, Yousra El Mouine, Amediaz Rachid,

Abderhamene El Ghmari, Suzanne Yameogo, Konstantinos Chalikakis,
Hasna Yachou, Ilias Kacimi, Abdelmjid Zouahri, Houria Dakak, Tarik
Bouramtane, Vincent Valles & Laurent Barbiero

To cite this article: Amal El Hamdi, Moad Morarech, Yousra El Mouine, Amediaz Rachid,
Abderhamene El Ghmari, Suzanne Yameogo, Konstantinos Chalikakis, Hasna Yachou,
Ilias Kacimi, Abdelmjid Zouahri, Houria Dakak, Tarik Bouramtane, Vincent Valles & Laurent
Barbiero (2022): Sources of spatial variability of soil salinity: the case of Beni Amir irrigated
command areas in the Tadla Plain, Morocco, Arid Land Research and Management, DOI:
10.1080/15324982.2022.2026531

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/15324982.2022.2026531

Published online: 16 Jan 2022.

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ARID LAND RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT
https://doi.org/10.1080/15324982.2022.2026531

Sources of spatial variability of soil salinity: the case of

Beni Amir irrigated command areas in the Tadla
Plain, Morocco
Amal El Hamdia,b,c, Moad Morarechb, Yousra El Mouinea,b,c, Amediaz Rachidd,
Abderhamene El Ghmarie, Suzanne Yameogof, Konstantinos Chalikakisa,
Hasna Yachouc, Ilias Kacimig, Abdelmjid Zouahric, Houria Dakakc,
Tarik Bouramtaneg, Vincent Vallesa,e, and Laurent Barbieroh
a
Laboratory Mediterranean Environment and Agro-Hydrosystem Modelling (UMR 1114 EMMAH),
Hydrogeology Department, Avignon University, Avignon, France; bLaboratory in Applied and Marine
Geosciences, Geotechnics and Geohazards (LR3G) Faculty of Science Tetouan, Abdelmalek Essa^adi
University, Tetouan, Morocco; cNational Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA), CRRAR, URECRN,
Rabat, Morocco; dOffice Regional de Mise en Valeur Agricole du Tadla, Fquih Ben Salah, Morocco;
e
Faculte des Sciences et Techniques (FSTBM), de Beni Mellal, Morocco; fGeoscience and Environment
Laboratory, (LaGE), Department of Earth Sciences, University Joseph KI-ZERBO, Ouagadougou, Burkina
Faso; gLaboratory of Geoscience, Water and Environment, (LG2E-CERNE2D), Department of Earth
Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco; hIRD, OMP, Universite
de Toulouse, Geoscience Environnement Toulouse, Toulouse, France

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

The origins and spatial variability of salinity within irrigated plots are Received 13 October 2021
a constraint to good long-term field management. Regional deple- Accepted 4 January 2022
tion of groundwater resources, as well as soil salinization, have been
KEYWORDS
reported in the Tadla plain, a key production area in Morocco. In the
Electromagnetic induction;
northwestern part, water supply is provided only by the local water irrigation; salinization;
table, whose evolution in level and salinity over the last 24 years has variance analysis
been analyzed. A mapping of 17 plots was carried out by electro-
magnetic induction (ECa) after calibration of the measurements with
salinity (R2 ¼ 0.94). These plots are cultivated with different crops
(wheat, olive, sugar beet, alfalfa, carrots) with little or no crop rota-
tion, or left fallow. The results highlight two main factors of saliniza-
tion. On the one hand, the type of crop leads to salinization that
increases according to water needs, which are rarely satisfied, thus
favoring the accumulation of salts in the upper part of the soil pro-
file. This first factor explained 80 to 85% of the variance in ECa mea-
surements. On the other hand, the gravity irrigation method
associated with numerous leaks is responsible for an unequal distri-
bution of water within the plots, associated with 15–20% of the vari-
ance. These results confirm the current unsustainable management
of this hydro cultural system and highlight the need for better
access to quality water and improved irrigation technology. A devel-
opment proposal is briefly presented.

CONTACT Laurent Barbiero laurent.barbiero@get.omp.eu IRD, OMP, Universite de Toulouse, Geoscience

Environnement Toulouse, Toulouse, France.
ß 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
2 A. EL HAMDI ET AL.

Introduction
Irrigation overcomes the main constraint of dryland agriculture, namely water scarcity.
It is, however, accompanied by an input of soluble salts that accumulate and can lead to
soil salinization when evapotranspiration exceeds water input (Bernstein 1975). Crop
yields can be affected by osmotic imbalance reducing water uptake and transpiration or
by toxicity phenomena depending on the type of salts accumulated. In this context,
studying soil salinity in irrigated areas is crucial for the sustainable development of local
agriculture based on scientific management of water resource and salt impact. It is esti-
mated that 1–2% of the world’s irrigated areas are affected by salinization problems
each year, a phenomenon that is all the more pronounced in arid conditions, with
strong economic consequences (Ayers and Westcot 1985; Welle and Mauter 2017).
Since the 1970s, techniques for calculating irrigation rates have been proposed, aiming
both to save water and maintain a minimum leaching fraction to reduce the impact of
salinization on yields (Bower, Ogata, and Tucker 1969; Tanji and Kielen 2002; FAO 2018;
Qiu et al. 2017). The objective of the leaching fraction is to remove salts from the root
zone so as not to exceed the crop’s salinity tolerance threshold (Shahrokhnia and Wu
2021). These calculations are based on the estimation or measurement of average soil sa-
linity, whereas this is very often heterogeneously distributed within the irrigated plots
(Barbiero et al. 2001). The impact on crops may be local, but understanding the origin of
this intra-plot variability often requires an analysis at the landscape level (Furian et al.
2011, 2013). Knowing the sources of spatial variability of salinity within and/or between
irrigated plots is an important issue in agronomy, in order to best adapt technical itinera-
ries to improve the long-term management of the soil heritage (Ardahanlioglu et al.
2003). Visual observations of soil salinity provide only qualitative information and labora-
tory methods are usually time-consuming, expensive, and labor-intensive (Huang et al.
2015). Electromagnetic induction methods with portable equipment have been used for
three decades to perform bulk apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) measurements
(Rhoades, Corwin, and Lesch 1999; Corwin and Rhoades 1982; Guo et al. 2019;
Khongnawang et al. 2021). This cost-effective, noninvasive technique provides a high
number of quantitative measurements, that may be easily georeferenced and are therefore
well suited to assess the temporal and spatial variability of soil salinity (Triantafilis,
Laslett, and McBratney 2000).
The Tadla Plain is recognized as a key production area, providing the bulk of agricul-
tural production in central Morocco (Molle and Tanouti 2017; Ennaji et al. 2018;
Barakat et al. 2017). However, several studies have highlighted soil salinization, attributed
to poor irrigation management in an arid climate context (Hammani, Kuper, and
Debbarh 2005; Barbouchi et al. 2015; Dakak et al. 2017), which seems to highlight cur-
rent unsustainable management. What is the impact of irrigation and/or the type of crop
on the salinization of the plots, and how can the study of the distribution of salinity be
used to highlight this? What is the medium-term evolution of this hydro-agricultural sys-
tem of the Tadla, and can we propose solutions to avoid a possible degradation of the
water and soil resources? In this framework, the objective of this work is twice: It is to
analyze the evolution of the local water resource from existing data, and to quantify the
intra- and interplot spatial variability of salinity within the irrigated area in order to
relate it to the cropping history and distribution of irrigation and drainage networks.
 ARID LAND RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 3

Material and methods

Study area
The Tadla Plain is a major hydro agricultural region of Central Morocco. Formerly barren
and exploited for pastoral purposes, this region has become a fertile agricultural area fol-
lowing the installation of an irrigation network, and nowadays contributing to a large pro-
portion of national agricultural production, up to 30% for sugar beets, 12% for fodder,
11% for citrus fruits and olives, 10% for market gardening, 6% for cereals and 10% for
milk (local government agricultural office communication). The development of agricul-
tural activity has been accompanied by the establishment of roads, agro-industrial and
commercial infrastructure, with a direct effect of accelerating the integration of the Tadla
Plain into the national economy. Located about 180 km southeast of Casablanca (Figure 1),
it covers an area of about 3,600 km2 in the north of the High Atlas mountains and in west
of the Middle Atlas (N’da et al. 2016). It is bordered on the north by phosphate plateaus,
to the east it narrows along the Oum Er-Rbia River toward the relief of the Zayan coun-
tries, and to the west, the Bahira Basin follows the Tadla Plain without any natural geo-
graphic boundary. The maximum length and width of the plain are about 125 km and
50 km, respectively. The Oum Er-Rbia River crosses and drains the plain meandering for
about 160 km in its center from east to west. The Tadla is thus divided into two large irri-
gated areas of unequal size, with different hydrological and hydrogeological characteristics
(Figure 1). On the left bank, these are the Beni-Moussa areas, with about 69,500 ha irri-
gated nowadays from the Bin-El-Ouidane Dam water. On the right bank, the Beni-Amir
areas, with about 35,000 ha is supplied with water by a diversion from the Oum Er-Rbia
River and by local boreholes for the most distant part from the river (Jebbour 1995).

Figure 1. Location of the study area, Beni Amir irrigated scheme, Tadla Plain, Morocco. White spots
are piezometers from the Tadla Groundwater Observatory. Coordinates are UTM coordinates in meter
using Lambert conical conformal projection (Morocco zone 1).
4 A. EL HAMDI ET AL.

Irrigation started in 1938, using groundwater pumped from two large aquifer systems esti-
mated to be 190 Mm3 for Beni Amir and 250 Mm3 for Beni Moussa. The water supply was
later considerably strengthened with the commissioning of the Bin-El-Ouidane Dam in
1954, built on the El Abid wadi, a major tributary of the Oum Er-Rbia River (Arag€ ues
et al. 2011; Aghzar et al. 2002), the latter having been regulated since the commissioning of
the Hamed El-Hansali Dam in 2001.
The climate is arid to warm Mediterranean with dry summers; that is, BSh to Csa
type according to the K€ oppen-Geiger classification. Over the year, the average tempera-
ture is 20  C and the average rainfall is 430 mm. Precipitation is not uniformly distrib-
uted over the plain decreasing from the Atlas chains in the east to the plain in the west.
Evapotranspiration rate is around 1,800 mm. From a geological point of view, the Tadla
is a vast asymmetrical depression; that is, a syncline whose axis is located on the edge
of or under the Atlas. The depression is covered by heterogeneous Mio-Pliocene and
Quaternary deposits, which are the terminal deposits of thick series ranging from
Triassic to Quaternary (Namous et al. 2021). The topography of the plain is regular
except near the slightly incised wadis and in the foothills, which are made up of series
of alluvial fans.
This study includes the results of groundwater monitoring on a regional scale, and a
soil salinity survey at the scale of cultivated plots located in the downstream part of the
Beni Amir irrigation command area; that is, in the area supplied exclusively by local
wells between the agricultural plots. In this area, the water table fluctuates between 10
and 15 m depth and the plots are not subject to capillary rise. The source of soil salinity
is therefore more likely anthropogenic through irrigation and salt accumulation through
evaporation. Today, farmers are limited by the number of wells, many of which are
now dry due to water scarcity and increasing groundwater depth, and the many leaks
along irrigation networks. Dominant soils in the region are calcareous isohumic soils
(Typic Calcixerolls) with a low organic matter content (<1%) and developed in the fine
alluvium, which in this area is about 2.5 m thick (Soudi, Bouabid, and Badraoui 2020).
The spatial variability of soil characteristics is low. They have a loamy-sand texture, and
the structure, which is not very clear, is granular with a tendency to compaction in the
most saline areas. Below, a calcareous crust cements the coarser pebbly alluvium at a
depth of 4–5 m, testifying to the presence of a shallower water table over the whole area
in the past.

Tadla groundwater level and salinity monitoring

In recent years, farmers have complained about a decreasing groundwater level in the
study area; that is, in a part of the plain where the water comes exclusively from local
wells. They even mention periods of drying leading to the abandonment or deepening
of wells. Groundwater levels in the Beni Amir and Beni Moussa regions have been
monitored since 1995 from 103 wells constituting an observatory of the Tadla aquifers
(Figure 1). Groundwater level and salinity data were acquired monthly. Data from the
three closest wells, referenced n 50901, n 50903 and n 50904, located respectively at
5.7, 3.8 and 1.8 km from the plots studied, were analyzed to verify this trend.
 ARID LAND RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 5

Field salinity measurements

A total of 17 plots were studied, spread over three areas, referred to as Sector 1, 2, and
3, not far from each other (Figures 2 and 3). All the plots show flat topography and a
very similar soil profile. This 3-sector study includes different cropping conditions; that
is, cultivated and irrigated, dry cultivated and non-cultivated plots. Sector 1 have many
plots of non-woody crops, mainly wheat, sugar beet, and alfalfa. Crops are grown in
succession with little or no rotation. Sector 2 consists of a plot of olive trees and others
with sugar beets, alfalfa, wheat, and carrots. Sector 3, located between the two previous
ones, was chosen because of the presence of a plot that has never been cultivated. This
plot is only used for pasture and was considered a non-irrigated and non-cultivated ref-
erence plot.
In Sectors 1 and 2, irrigation is done by gravity using flexible sleeves, onto which sec-
ondary sleeves are grafted to allow furrow irrigation. These flexible sleeves are moved
according to irrigation needs, except for the olive plot where their position is permanent
(Figure 3). Although the olive tree requires little water, two permanent irrigation sleeves
are installed, one intersecting the plot by its middle, the other located on the western
edge of the plot, in order to irrigate the neighboring vegetable plots. The study was con-
ducted based on two field campaigns; that is, in April (beginning of the dry season) and
June 2019 (middle of the dry season). The type of crops present in the plots during
these campaigns is shown in Figure 2. The water needs of these different crops, in
ascending order of crop coefficient for the mid-season growth stage, are the following:
olive (0.70), carrots (1.05), wheat (1.15), alfalfa and sugar beets (1.2) (Allen et al. 1998).
These water needs are rarely satisfied by irrigation because of the difficulties of water
supply (distance from wells) and the poor technology of irrigation. The needs are

Figure 2. Crop distribution during the two field campaigns in April and June 2019 and electromag-
netic induction conductivity measurement points in Sector 1 (dots).
6 A. EL HAMDI ET AL.

Figure 3. Crop distribution in Sector 2 during the second field campaign, and electromagnetic induc-
tion conductivity measurement points in Sectors 2 and 3 (dots).

qualitatively estimated by the farmers and the distribution remains very uneven within
the plots because of the gravity irrigation method by sleeves.
Field salinity surveys were conducted using low frequency electromagnetic induction
with a portable electromagnetic conductivity meter (EM38 from Geonics Ltd, Ontario,
Canada) to delineate the location and shape of saline areas. This instrument measures
the apparent electrical conductivity of the soil (ECa) in millisiemens per meter (mS
m1). It has been used with both vertical (ECaV) and horizontal (ECaH) modes, and
under these conditions it is estimated that about 75% of the signal comes from the
upper 1.8 meter and 1 meter of the ground, respectively (McNeill 1980). The combi-
nation of these two measurement modes (ECaV/ECaH) therefore allows estimating the
saline profile, either upward (salinity increasing toward topsoil) for lower values or
downward (salinity increasing with depth) for higher values (Corwin and Rhoades
1982). The ECa measurements were georeferenced with a GPS to an accuracy of
approximately 4 m. After checking the normality of the sampling, the ECa distribution
maps were established by ordinary kriging, using a model of omnidirectional variogram
adjusted to the experimental variogram. Rather than adjusting a variogram for each
plot, which could create an artifact in the assessment of salinity distribution on the
edges and between plots, a single variogram was used on each sector. To monitor the
evolution of the electromagnetic conductivity, 5 plots located in Sector 1 were surveyed
in April and June 2019. It can be noted that the boundaries of the plots have changed
slightly between these two periods, but this was of no consequence for our study. The
location of measurement points for the electromagnetic survey for the 3 sectors is
shown in Figures 2 and 3. Over the two campaigns, there were 1,126 ECa measurement
points, each measured in a vertical and horizontal position. The measurement points
were not spaced in a uniform manner, but on average with a density of about 1
 ARID LAND RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 7

measurement per 310 m2. For Sector 1, in April, the survey in the area covered 5 plots,
including 2 alfalfa plots, and 3 plowed plots, one of which was recently plowed. In June,
it covered 3 wheat plots, 2 alfalfa plots, 1 sugar beet plot, 2 plowed plots and 2 fallow
plots. In Sector 2, the survey carried out only in June 2019 involved one plot of olive
trees, one of wheat, one of alfalfa, one of beet, one of carrots, and one fallow plot.

Inter- and intraplot ECa variance

The mean and standard deviation of the ECaV and ECaH values were calculated for each
plot. To clarify the components of variability in the ECa measurements, the inter- and
intraplot variance was measured using root mean square error (RMSE) procedure and
expressed as a percentage of the total variance for all plots in the 3 Sectors; that is, on
all ECa data acquired.
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
1X n
 
RMSE ¼ Zðxi Þ  m 2 , (1)
n i¼1

where n is the number of sample points, Z(xi) and m denote the ECa value at xi and
the mean value, respectively, applied to each plot to calculate the intraplot variance
(Vi), and to whole dataset to calculate the total variance (VT). Interplot variance (VI)
was deducted from the difference:
X
p
VI ¼ VT  Viy , (2)
y¼1

where p is the number of plots

Calibration of electromagnetic response

In order to be able to express the electromagnetic measurements (ECa) in terms of soil
salinity of the root zone, a sampling was carried out for a calibration of the response of
the device at six points covering the entire range of salinity. The samples were taken
with a hand auger at 0.2–0.3 m depth and stored in sealed plastic bags. On returning
from the field, the electrical conductivity (ECe) was measured on saturated paste
extracts in the laboratory. Due to the higher sensitivity of the device in surface horizons
(root zone) in horizontal mode (McNeill 1980), a linear relation was established
between ECaH obtained in the field and ECe measured on the saturation extracts, with a
correlation coefficient (r2) of 0.94.

Results
Groundwater level and salinity trends
According to the results of the regional monitoring over the last 24 years, the water table is
falling by 1.2 mm per day, or 45 cm per year on average (Figure 4) in the 3 piezometers clos-
est to our study area. The drop in the piezometric level is less pronounced for well n 50901,
which is further away from our studied plots. At the same time, the salinity of the water table
8 A. EL HAMDI ET AL.

Figure 4. Raw data and linear trends in (a) water level and (b) salinity for the three piezometers clos-
est to our study area.

(electrical conductivity) tends to increase, especially over the recent period (2003–2019). The
increase in salinity appears to be negligible in piezometer n 50901 located within the reach
of irrigation via the Oum Er-Rbia river diversion structure, i.e., in the area irrigated with an
external water supply.
The decrease in the piezometric level between the periods 1997–1999 and 2017–2019
on the Tadla Plain is presented in Figure 5. An almost generalized drop in level is
observed, with local decreases of more than 15 m.

Apparent electromagnetic conductivity

The distribution of ECa values (ECaV, ECaH and the ratio ECaV/ECaH) are presented in
Figures 6 and 7 for Sector 1 (April and June, respectively), and Figure 8 for Sectors 2.
In the reference plot in Sector 3, the ECaV and ECaH values were fairly constant, rang-
ing from 16 to 24 mS m1 and 5 to 14 mS m1, respectively. In April, in Sector 1, the
 ARID LAND RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 9

Figure 5. Decrease in average groundwater level (m) between the periods 1997–1999
and 2017–2019.

conductivity range was 5–85 mS m1 and 5–65 mS m1 for ECaV and ECaH, respec-
tively. Based on the established calibration function, this corresponds to a saturation
extract conductivity range of 0.3–7 dS m1. In the same area, a substantial increase in
conductivity was observed in June, particularly on the nonfallow alfalfa plots, with ECaV
values up to 140 mS m1; that is, 16 dS m1 of saturation extract. In Sector 2, the range
of values observed was 10–43 mS m1 and 5–50 mS m1 for ECaV and ECaH,
respectively.
The variograms and correlograms of the conductivity values are illustrated by the
case of Sector 1 during the second field campaign in Figures 9a and 9b. For the two
variables, ECaV and ECaH, the structure was very similar. The experimental variogram
can be approximated for distances less than 100 m by a linear model with a weak nug-
get effect. There was a clear structural effect of the distribution of the variables over
the study area with a decrease in the semivariance at around 220 m and then beyond
310 m. The variables were well correlated for short distances, with a correlation
coefficient > 0.8 (Figure 9b), which decreased to zero for a distance of 100 m. For the
ECaV/ECaH ratio, the structure was local with a smaller range of around 30 m
(Figure 10).
The kriged maps of Sectors 1 and 2 showed that the strongest conductivity contrasts
correspond to the boundaries of the plots (Figures 6–8), resulting in a clear narrowing of
the ECa iso-curves. This observation is systematic when two plots, one irrigated, the other
dry-farmed, are in contact. The same was true for the distribution of the ECaV/ECaH con-
ductivity ratio, which clearly reflected the plot boundaries, especially in Sector 2 (Figure 8).
Figures 6–8 also indicate that plots with high conductivity had a lower ECaV/ECaH ratio.
The means and standard deviations of the ECaV and ECaH values for each plot are
presented in Figure 11a,b for the April and June campaigns, respectively, and the
10 A. EL HAMDI ET AL.

Figure 6. Distribution of ECaV, ECaH and ECaV/ECaH ratio in Sector 1 in April.

Figure 7. Distribution of ECaV, ECaH and ECaV/ECaH ratio in Sector 1 in June.

percentages of intra- and interplot variance are summarized in Table 1. These results
highlight a high interplot variance (of about 80% of the total variance calculated using
all measurements) compared to the intraplot variance. A small but significant part of
the variance was intraplot, low within nonirrigated plots, and much higher in the irri-
gated plots. In general, the salinity of the irrigated plots is substantially higher than that
of the fallow or nonirrigated plots (see standard deviation error bars on Figure 11).
 ARID LAND RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 11

Figure 8. Distribution of ECaV, ECaH and ECaV/ECaH ratio in Sector 2 in June.

Figure 9. Variograms (a) and correlograms (b) for variables ECaV and ECaH from Sector 1 in June.

It should also be noted that plots with alfalfa or sugar beet crops, which require higher
water inputs, have a higher salinity than crops with little or no irrigation such as wheat
or olive groves.

Intraplot variability
The plot selected to illustrate the intraplot variance is the irrigated olive plot located in
Sector 2, as it had 448 measurement points evenly distributed over a surface area of
5,600 m2; that is, a high measurement density of one point per 12.5 m2. However, the
northern part of the plot was not considered due to the presence of numerous pieces of
12 A. EL HAMDI ET AL.

Figure 10. Variograms (a) and correlograms (b) for the ratio ECaV/ECaH from Sector 1 in June.

Figure 11: Mean and standard deviation of ECaV and ECaH values for each plot, showing inter- and
intraplot variation.

Table 1. Percentage of intra- and interplot variance.

April June
ECaV ECaH ECaV ECaH
Intraplot variance % 15.8 12.6 18.6 16.1
Interplot variance % 84.2 87.4 81.4 83.9

metal debris that interfered with the measurements. Correlogram, variogram and krig-
ing map are presented in Figures 12–14.
The variograms calculated for the variables ECaV and ECaH were quite similar and
showed a similar increase although with a slightly different slope. The fitted linear var-
iogram model was appropriate in this case for the kriged map calculation. There was,
however, a slight dip in the variogram shape centered on a distance of 30 m.
 ARID LAND RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 13

Figure 12. Variograms (a) and correlograms (b) for variables ECaV and ECaH from the irrigated olive
plot in Sector 2 (448 measurement points).

Figure 13. Variogram (a) and correlogram (b) for the ratio ECaV/ECaH from the irrigated olive plot in
Sector 2.

The semivariance for ECaV was slightly higher than for ECaH, due to higher values. A
small nugget effect was observed, which might be related to both the oscillation and the
reading accuracy on the equipment but also to abrupt variations within the surveyed
plot. The sill, above 40 mS m1 was not reached over the whole plot, and the range was
over 80 m. For the distance of 2.5 m, which is the maintained spacing between succes-
sive measurement points, the semivariance was between 5 and 10 mS m1; that is, less
than one third of the sill value (40 mS m1). On the correlogram, the auto-correlation
coefficient is significant at short distances and only cancels for a distance of 40 meters
between measurements (Figure 12b). All these characteristics of the variogram and cor-
relogram show that the density of measurements was sufficient to evaluate the distribu-
tion of ECa values on the olive plot. Negative values for long distance on Figure 12b
also point to the existence of a gradient in the distribution from one end of the plot to
14 A. EL HAMDI ET AL.

Figure 14. Distribution of variables ECaV and ECaH in olive plot, Sector 2.

the other, which is confirmed by the map, with high values observed toward the north-
ern corner, while in the southern corner low values were found. Finally, although well
fitted with a linear model, the inflection of the experimental variogram centered on a
value of 30 m reflects some structuring in the distribution of the ECa variables. These
structures are of the order of 30 m in size, which corresponds to the distance between
the two irrigation sleeves, and the maps confirm that the two lines of higher values are
roughly located below the sleeves. The ECaV/ECaH ratio, showed a local structure of the
salinity profile, with a sill obtained for a distance of about 40 meters.

Discussion
A negative hydrogeological balance and increasing groundwater salinity
In our study area, the depth of the water table has been increasing over the last 24 years.
This trend is in agreement with the observations of farmers who mention episodes of
drying up of wells in recent years. This result probably highlights the effect of water
withdrawal from wells on the local hydrogeological balance as observed in many irri-
gated plains in arid regions (Qadir et al. 2007; Angelakis et al. 2020; Ait-Mouheb et al.
2018; Bouchaou et al. 2017). Thus, despite the recharge of the water table in the areas
supplied by external water from either the Atlas Mountains or the Oum Er Rbia River,
the general trend in the study area is the weakening of the resource due to a negative
water balance. The study therefore takes place in a local context of overuse of the aqui-
fer and thus unsustainable management in the medium term. In addition, it seems that
the local recharge of the water table is done by more mineralized water, possibly a con-
sequence of the soil salinization and of a local recharge by the leaks along the irrigation
 ARID LAND RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 15

networks. The salts accumulated due to irrigation are leached to the underlying aquifer
just like nitrate as observed in some downstream wells in west Beni Moussa (Aghzar
et al. 2002). This increase in salinity is small and insignificant for the point furthest
from the study area (n 50901), although it is a general trend on the Beni Amir irriga-
tion command area (data not shown). The water table beneath the area of Beni Moussa,
on the left bank of the river, is not saline, but there is also a trend toward increasing
water electrical conductivity (De Waegemaeker, Asselin de Williencourt, and Debruyne
2020; Abdelfattah and Shahid 2007).

Interplot variance in relation to crop type and irrigation

The range of ECa conductivities obtained is very similar to what has been reported in
other areas of the Beni Amir irrigation command area (Dakak et al. 2017). The means
and standard deviations of the electromagnetic induction (ECa) measurements clearly
show the influence of the cropping practice on soil salinity (Figure 11). Whatever the
period considered (April or June 2019), most of the variance is interplot, with strong
contrasts in conductivity in line with plot boundaries (Figures 6 and 7). Thus, the type
of crop, associated with a near absence of crop rotation, seems to be an essential factor
in the spatial variability of salinity. Crops requiring a high water input, whether annual
crops such as sugar beets or more perennial crops such as alfalfa, lead to soil saliniza-
tion. In contrast, the nonirrigated plots; that is, those with cereals and fallow plots used
for grazing, have the lowest salinity. On the salinity maps, this is reflected in a very
high salinity gradient at the border between plots with a strong tightening of the iso-
value curves. Plots with higher ECa values having a lower ECaV/ECaH ratio suggest that
the salinity progressively accumulates in the upper part of the soil profile; that is, the
root zone. The low water availability on these plots leads to insufficient irrigation below
the water demand of the crops. As a result, salts brought by irrigation are not leached
and accumulate in the upper part of the soil. The most saline plots show an electrical
conductivity of the saturation extract (ECe) higher than 8–10 dS m1. Under these con-
ditions, and depending on the tolerance of the crops present, the impact on certain
crops is already significant (Table 2). Thus, despite a certain tolerance, salinization has
reached a level that is beginning to affect sugar beet and alfalfa yields (Mountadar et al.
2018; Dakak 1996). These two crops, under irrigation management conditions, have led
to a level of salinization that makes it impossible to switch to a sensitive crop such as
olives (Chehab et al. 2020; Hassena et al. 2021). This result clearly shows that the

Table 2. Tolerance of some crops and impact on yield at 8 and 10 dS cm1 salinity (from Tanji and
Kielen 2002).
Tolerance threshold Slope % loss per Yield loss for 8 dS Yield loss for 10 dS
Crop (EC0) dS m1 dS m1 m1 of salinity (%) m1 of salinity (%)
Barley (Hordeum vulgare) 8 5 0 10
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) 2 7.3 44 58
Wheat (Triticum aestivalum) 6 7.1 14 28
Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) 7 5.9 6 18
Olive (Olea europaea) 2.7 9 48 66
16 A. EL HAMDI ET AL.

current management is not sustainable in the medium term due to the low availability
of water, which prevents crop rotation.

Intraplot variance and distance to the irrigation network

The interplot variance study highlights the relationship between crop type and irrigation
on the one hand and salinity on the other. This relationship is also confirmed by the
intraplot variance study, which highlights the relationship between salinity and proxim-
ity to the irrigation network as already observed in other sites (Amezketa 2007).
Although measurements were not possible in the northern part of the plot, Figure 14
shows high salinity in the vicinity of the irrigation water tank supplied by the wells,
with the disappearance of some olive trees. Numerous leaks were detected there and
along the irrigation sleeves, which illustrates that the irrigation system needs to be opti-
mized, both from an agronomic and economic point of view, in the short- and medium
term (Bouchaou et al. 2017; Singh 2017). Thus this permanent functioning leads to a
gradient of irrigation dose over the long term, with the areas closest to the water tank
receiving a higher dose than the areas further away. This gradient contrasts the more
saline north of the plot with the less saline south. Such an inverse correlation with dis-
tance explains the negative values on the correlogram for long distances (Figure 13).
Salinization therefore appears to be linked to the presence of these leaks, the intensity
of which can lead to an upward saline profile, for low to moderate leaks, or a down-
ward one, for higher leaks causing a leaching fraction that favors the migration of salin-
ity in depth. The local character of the leakage intensity is consistent with the local
character of the ECaV/ECaH ratio distribution. The areas receiving more water may be
points of groundwater recharge, of low volumes but with more saline water, which
could explain the observed increase in groundwater salinity (Figure 4).

Sustainability of the Tadla hydro-agricultural system

As described in this work, the irrigation system studied is not sustainable and will lead
in the medium term to a dead end with scarcity and degradation of the local water
resource and salinization of the plots due to the impossibility of maintaining a crop
rotation. In addition to improving the technicality of the irrigation system, heavier
works seem indispensable to increase the availability of good quality water in the long
term. For the moment, the water table is higher and thus apparently still drained by the
Oum Er Rbia River, allowing for the export of even a small amount of salinity from the
water table. However, the drop in groundwater level is likely to soon cause a reversal of
drainage on the right bank, i.e., a probability of reversal of flows from the river toward
the water table beneath the plots. Then, the export of salts will no longer take place,
and there will instead be an additional supply of salts from the river.
This would be a tipping point in the functioning that could worsen toward a critical
situation in terms of salinity of the local water resource. One of the solutions, or at least
a line of thought, would be to transfer more abundant and less mineralized water from
the left to the right bank. There is currently such a transfer, which has enabled the
water supply of the eastern part of the Beni Amir area, but the transferred water is
 ARID LAND RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 17

collected upstream from the Oum Er Rbia river, which is much more mineralized than
the water available in the Atlas (Barakat et al. 2016).

Conclusion
The Tadla Plain is a key region for Moroccan agricultural production, but its develop-
ment under the current conditions highlights unsustainable use in the long term. On a
regional scale, the region is suffering from overuse and degradation of water resources.
The depletion of the local water resource is particularly clear for the area distant from
the diversions from the Oum Er-Rbia River or the Bin El Ouidane Dam; that is, down-
stream of the Beni Amir area where irrigation is supplied by local wells. The depletion
in the local resource is accompanied by a trend of degradation through salinization of
the water table. In this area, the plots closest to the wells are cultivated with the most
water-intensive crops (alfalfa, sugar beet, etc.), with little or no crop rotation. The irri-
gation doses applied and the quasi absence of crop rotation lead to salinization of these
plots, as shown by the study of the variance of interplot salinity, which represents
approximately 80–85% of the total variance of our sampling. On the other hand, dry-
land crops (nonirrigated cereals) maintain salinity at levels comparable to those
observed in the uncultivated plots. The salinity levels reached in the alfalfa and sugar
beet plots are starting to be a problem, especially in the perspective of switching to
other more salinity-sensitive crops. For crops that are less demanding in terms of water,
such as olive cultivation, the impact on soil salinity is less marked.
Within plots, the salinity variance can be attributed to the spatial heterogeneity of
irrigation water supplies, and in particular to leakage from the irrigation network. This
heterogeneity is responsible for about 15–20% of the total variance in salinity. The leak-
age points of the irrigation network lead probably to very low volume of water input
toward the aquifer, but loaded with dissolved ions, which lead to its salinization. The
study of the intra- or interplot variance therefore reflects the same process of saliniza-
tion of the plots due to irrigation by the local groundwater resource. The study there-
fore shows a situation that will become worrying in the medium- to long term, with a
depletion and degradation of the local groundwater resource, and salinization of the
soils without the possibility of slowing down this process through crop rotations. It is
now necessary to stop the degradation of the system by increasing the availability of
good quality water in the most remote area of the Beni Amir irrigation command area,
and by improving the quality of the irrigation systems at the plot level in order to limit
the losses that generate soil salinization.

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