JWSS - Journal of Water and Soil Science

Sugarcane is cultivated in the wide area in Khuzestan province. In these areas, irrigated sugarcane cultivation consumes more than 30,000 cubic meters per hectare annually. This research was carried out to determine the effect of sugarcane cultivation on the soil development process and forms of iron oxides. Different sugarcane fields with different utilization times were selected and soil physico-chemical properties and different Fe forms were measured. The results showed that with enhancing the utilization time, the total amount of total iron oxides (Fe_d) and crystalline iron oxides (Fe_d-Fe_o) was increased. The average value of the Fe_d from 6958 mg/kg in the fields with a medium utilization history was decreased to 4560 mg/kg in fields with a short utilization history. Similarly, the average amount of crystalline iron oxide from 5888.3 mg/kg in the fields with a long utilization history was decreased to 5003.9 mg/kg in the fields with a short utilization hostory. This increase reflected the effect of sugarcane cultivation on the soil development process in the cultivated fields. The amount of non-crystalline iron oxides (Fe_o) was decreased from 443.9 mg/kg from the soil surface to 273.8 mg/kg to the subsurface. This increase was related to the more organic matter and the microbial activity in the surface soil. The amount of active iron (Fe_o/Fe_d) was dropped in all fields after the cultivation. Also, this ratio was dropped from 0.055 in the fields with a long cultivation history to 0.064 in the fields with a short utilized field. The results, therefore, showed that the increase of crystalline iron oxides was due to sugarcane and its heavy irrigation.