Changes in status of soil salinity in North Crimea since 2013, as detected by Landsat 8 OLI data

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze the changes in salinity of arable soils in the north of Crimea peninsula from 2013 to 2019 using Landsat 8 OLI satellite data in order to obtain additional and objective information about the modern state of soil secondary salinization processes. Comparison of the satellite data of 2013 and 2019 showed that in the area of the North-Crimean Canal there is both a slight expansion of the areas of saline soils and their reduction. The expansion of areas is observed mainly in the coastal zones of lakes and estuaries, and the reduction of areas in the fields, irrigation of which in the analyzed period did not stop. Both expansion and reduction of areas with saline soils did not exceed 10% of the study area. There is no evidence that the expansion of areas of saline soils during the analyzed period was due to the cessation of water supply to the North-Crimean canal.