Impact study of field inundation in Breezand

In the flower bulb cultivation, farmers flood their fields once few years to destroy unwanted plants and pests. The practice is normally done in autumn and the field remains flooded for a period of several months. The experimental field in Breezand was flooded in March 2017. 

Acacia Water has profited from the opportunity to study the impact of such flooding for an extended period of time on soil and groundwater chemistry and the depth of the saline water. Two piezometers were installed to continuously monitor groundwater salinity 0.9 (fresh) and 1.6 m depths (brackish). In addition, minifilter systems were installed to allow obtaining profile measurements of groundwater composition, showing changes in concentrations of nitrate, ammonium, phosphate and pesticides with depth in time. Soil samples will be used to detect changes in C and N concentrations as a result of flooding. The experiment will advance our knowledge on the impact of flooding on soil and groundwater chemistry.