Identification of Salt phases and mineralogical Composition of Saline Soils in Alwihda project

Abstract

This study was conducted to identify the salt phase and the causes of the chloritization phenomenon, which transforms the group of smectite or montmorillonite minerals into chlorite, or the chlorite originally present, inherited from the parent material of these soils. This negatively affects the soil properties, such as the specific surface area (SSA) and the cation exchange capacity (CEC), thus affecting the soil's chemical and fertility aspects. The research was carried out in the Al-Wahda project in Wasit Governorate, which is subject to conditions of drought and salinization. (6) surface samples representing the region's soil were collected to a depth of (0-30) cm. Chemical and mineralogical analysis was carried out using X-ray technology. However, the salinity standards were determined and the predominant salt phases in the samples under study were identified. The results indicated that the salt phases ranged between the chloride phase, which indicates the predominance of chloride salts, and the sulphide phase, which indicates the predominance of sulphide salts. Moreover, the results revealed the presence of the mineral chlorite type (Real chlorite), which causes the prevailing chloritization phenomenon in the study area, and not of the type of chlorite formed pedogenically. As well as the presence of metamorphic mica minerals was also identified, the most prevalent of which is mica-smectite as an interstratified mineral, and the mineral biotite, which belongs to a group of minerals Tri-octahedral, affects the exchange reactions in these soils and also the availability of nutrients in the exchange complex.