Soil salinization is a key problem limiting the sustainable development of agriculture in arid areas. To explore the quantitative influence of irrigation on soil salinity and groundwater quality, spatial variability of salt at different soil depths and total dissolved solids in groundwater before and after irrigation was analysed in the Hetao Irrigation District, China. The spatial variability of soil salinity before and after irrigation was moderate, with high coefficients of variation observed in shallow soil. After irrigation, amounts of salt were transferred into the groundwater, leading to the deterioration of groundwater quality, the average salt flux through each interface was −153.66, 169.12, 130.13 and 318.48 g/m², for 20, 50, 100 and 150 cm soil depths, respectively. All salt moved downward vertically except for 0–20 cm soil layer, and the average soil salt flux of shallow layers was significantly lower than that of deep layers. Compared soils of different depths and land types, salt discharge occurred in cultivated land, while salt accumulation occurred in shallow soil in wasteland after irrigation. Irrigation could help remove salt from cultivated land and deeper soil; however, it had almost no effect on shallow soil of other land uses.

土壤盐渍化是限制干旱地区农业可持续发展的关键问题。为了探讨灌溉对土壤盐分和地下水质量的定量影响，分析了河套灌区灌溉前后不同土壤深度的盐分和地下水中总溶解固体的空间变异性。灌溉前后土壤盐分的空间变异性中等，在浅层土壤中观察到较高的变异系数。灌溉后，盐分被转移到地下水中，导致地下水质量下降，通过每个界面的平均盐分通量为-153.66、169.12、130.13和318.48 g / m ^2。分别适用于20、50、100和150厘米的土壤深度。除0–20 cm土层外，所有盐都垂直向下移动，浅层的平均盐分通量明显低于深层。比较不同深度和土地类型的土壤，灌溉后在耕地中盐分流失发生在耕地中，而盐分则在浅层土壤中发生。灌溉可以帮助从耕地和更深的土壤中去除盐分；但是，它对其他土地利用的浅层土壤几乎没有影响。