Soil Degradation in the Effect of Long Term Application of River sediments Case Study: Cucumber Cultivation in Lorestan Province

To study effects of long term application of river sediments in cucumber cultivation on some physical and chemical soil properties, two similar sites of Kashkan river terraces (Lorestan province) were selected. One site (control) was never under sand treated cucumber cultivation but in the other one, river sediments were applied for more than 30 years. The sites were studied as two independent statistical populations. To compare the mean quantities of different soil properties of two sites, 10 surface soil samples were selected and in laboratory analyzed. The means were compared statistically using t-test. Results showed that the effect of long term application of river sediments on texture ,soil particles, infiltration, %SP, %FC, %PWP, EC, organic carbon, available P, available B, cations (Ca, Mg , Na) and HCO3- anion was significant (p=0.99). The Effect of river sediments on soil structure (MWD index) and gravel percentage was also significant (P=0.95). The effect of river sediments on pH, lime percentage, available K, available Zn, available Mn, available Cu, anions (SO42-, Cl-, CO32-) and bulk density was not significant.