Effects of banqueting on water infiltration and physico-chemical properties of soil in semi-arid lands

Banqueting is a simple and cheap soil conservation practice in natural rangelands under dry climates. Little research exists about its impacts compared to other land uses, where agriculture and land abandonment may be important reasons for degradation. This study has evaluated water infiltration and key physico-chemical properties of soil in natural rangelands with banquets in West Azerbaijan (North-Western Iran) compared to: (i) undisturbed sites (assumed as reference condition) and (ii) cultivated or abandoned dry farmlands. Under these soil conditions, the texture, bulk density, porosity, water content, pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon and carbonate contents of soil (using common physical-chemical methods) as well as the hydraulic conductivity (using a single-cylinder infiltrometer) were measured in the topsoil (0–20 cm). This data was further processed by applying the Principal Component Analysis and the Agglomerative Hierarchical Cluster Analysis. In areas with banquets, soil hydraulic conductivity was higher by 84% compared to dry farmlands (abandoned or not), where water infiltration was noticeably reduced (−44%) compared to the reference soil condition. Moreover, a noticeable increase in organic carbon content (+80%) and a lower salinity (−36%) of soil compared to cultivated areas was measured. These effects are important to enhance soil fertility on one side, and resistance to erosion on the other side. Therefore, in the experimental areas, banqueting may counteract the degradation of soil due to the agricultural activity as well as its abandonment, and restore the properties of the undisturbed soils that are typical of natural rangelands. The results of this study may be of help for landscape managers and agronomists for the pressing needs for soil conservation and productivity in semi-arid areas that are prone to degradation and abandonment.