Soil salinity control Puns

I know this technically isn't GIS but the RS sub is smaller and i figured people here likely have similar skillsets

Im a student right now and currently working a project for my remote sensing class. I am looking at saltwater intrusion in coastal california and I have been given free reign to gather whatever data I want and try to draw some conclusions from it.

So I am starting by calculating the watershed in the area just to get an idea of how water moves and where it ends up. But since my specific focus here is on the saline intrusions, I started looking into a way to differentiate soil with higher salinity vs soil with lower salinity through remote sensing. I thought maybe this could show some interesting relationships between the intrusions and soil quality, especially in agricultural areas.

From what i gathered, there is a way to do this using landsat 8 data and a specific index. A group of researchers were able to do something similar in the Ebinur Lake Basin in Xinjiang, China. Ill link that paper here.

Any advice? Am i overthinking this?

Literature Review The aim of this literature review is to assess current research on the impact of salinity of pore water on the engineering properties of the soil, including shear strength and classi.

Soil salinity refers to the amount of salt trapped in the soil. While salt naturally occurs in soil, high levels of salinity make it difficult for plants to grow and it can damage plants, cables, bricks, and pipes that are located in the soil. Reducing salinity isn’t necessarily hard to do, but it can take some time for the soil to bounce back and become healthy again. In fact, the trickiest part of this process is the measuring and monitoring of the soil, but all you need for this is an electrical conductivity meter, more commonly known as an EC meter.

Measuring the Salinity

Get an electrical conductivity (EC) meter designed for testing salinity in soil. An EC meter is a small device with a screen and 1-2 metal probes. Since salt is highly conductive, you can get a sense for how much salt is in the soil based on how quickly an electrical current passes through it. This is the best way to get a solid sense of whether your soil is highly saline or not.

• Since it’s a specialized tool, you’ll need to buy your EC meter online. Expect to spend $75-300 on an EC meter.
• These meters work by sending an electrical signal through the probe and measuring how long it takes the current to travel. The faster the current travels, the more salt there is in the soil.
• There are other ways to measure salinity in soil, but this is the easiest way to do it without laboratory equipment or multiple instruments.
• Warning: Do not purchase an EC meter that is designed for testing water. These meters do not have probes for soil, and they tend to give inaccurate readings when used to assess salinity in anything other than water.

Turn the meter on and stick the probes into the soil you’re testing. Press the power button to turn the EC meter on. Then, take the metal probe and stick it 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6 cm) into the soil. If there are 2 probes, stick both of them in the soil 6–12 inches (15–30 cm) away from one another. Hold the probes in steady and wait for the meter to send and read an electrical current.

• Some EC meters have a temperature setting to determine how hot or cold soil and water is. If the screen reads “F” or “C,” your EC meter is in temperature mode. To change it, press the button that says “Conductivity” or “EC” to switch the meter over to read conductivity.

Use the reading to figure out the salinity. The numbers on the screen will jump up and down as the probes continue to send and receive rea

i seem to be seeing a lot of posts recommending use of epsom salts and baking soda as miracle fixes for vegetables (sweetening tomatoes, making them bigger etc). i'm not saying don't use them or they can't be helpful but read on.

i know epsom salt is not salt per se but it does increase the salinity of your soil as does baking soda. if you have soil that is well drained and you use them in moderation you probably won't have an issue but i thought it would be good for beginner gardeners to know before they go using it all over the garden when it's not needed.

on that same note many fertilizers will also increase salinity (gypsum, potash, limestone, even some manures can be high in salts) so always do a soil test before just adding unneeded fertilizers. none of these are a magic bullet. if your soils are lacking those minerals, yes they will help them but that's because you're fixing a deficiency.

So basically I'm looking to start off small with watering on a timer, then watering via a soil sensor which controls a water pump,then moving along to all the rest 1 by one, to eventually create a fully automated system?