COMPARATIVE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE MINERALOGICAL STATE OF IRRIGATED AND NON-IRRIGATED ORDINARY CHERNOZEMS OF SOUTH OF MOLDOVA

Abstract

Irrigation of ordinary chernozems in the South of Moldova with water of good quality from the Dniester river for 12 years caused changes in the composition of primary and clay minerals. They were expressed in a marked decrease in the content of both groups of minerals and in the relative accumulation of quartz in the soil. Among the primary minerals, feldspars and layered silicates were destroyed, while among the clay minerals, smectite, chlorite, and kaolinite were destroyed. Signs of smectite transfer along the profile and accumulation in horizon B, as noted by other researchers, have not been established. Indicators of changes in the mineralogical state indicate that the upper part of the irrigated Chernozem, along with quartz, receives additional enrichment with illite. The destruction of silicate minerals and the relative accumulation of quartz in the soil should be attributed to the negative impact of irrigation on the soil.