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Lezíria Grande de Vila Franca de Xira, located in Portugal, is an important agricultural system where soil faces the risk of salinization due to climate change, as the level and salinity of groundwater are likely to increase as a result of the rise of the sea water level and consequently of the estuary. These changes can also affect the salinity of the irrigation water which is collected upstream of the estuary. Soil salinity can be assessed over large areas by the following rationale: (1) use of electromagnetic induction (EMI) to measure the soil apparent electrical conductivity (EC a , mS m -1); (2) inversion of EC a to obtain electromagnetic conductivity imaging (EMCI) which provides the spatial distribution of the soil electrical conductivity (σ , mS m -1); (3) calibration process consisting of a regression between σ and the electrical conductivity of the saturated soil paste extract (EC e , dS m -1), used as a proxy for soil salinity; and (4) conversion of EMCI into salinity cross sections using the obtained calibration equation. In this study, EMI surveys and soil sampling were carried out between May 2017 and October 2018 at four locations with different salinity levels across the study area of Lezíria de Vila Franca. A previously developed regional calibration was used for predicting EC e from EMCI. Using time-lapse EMCI data, this study aims (1) to evaluate the ability of the regional calibration to predict soil salinity and (2) to perform a preliminary qualitative analysis of soil salinity dynamics in the study area. The validation analysis showed that EC e was predicted with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 3.14 dS m -1 in a range of 52.35 dS m -1 , slightly overestimated (- 1.23 dS m -1), with a strong Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) of 0.94 and high linearity between measured and predicted data (R2=0.88). It was also observed that the prediction ability of the regional calibration is more influenced by spatial variability of data than temporal variability of data. Soil salinity cross sections were generated for each date and location of data collection, revealing qualitative salinity fluctuations related to the input of salts and water either through irrigation, precipitation, or level and salinity of groundwater. Time-lapse EMCI is developing into a valid methodology for evaluating the risk of soil salinization, so it can further support the evaluation and adoption of proper agricultural management strategies, especially in irrigated areas, where continuous monitoring of soil salinity dynamics is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Regression models were developed for soil salinity assessment in Lezíria Grande, Portugal; • Multi-year maxima of 9 vegetation indices were correlated to rootzone salinity; • The CRSI, vegetation cover and soil type were the inputs selected by stepwise regression; • Remote assessment of soil salinity is a viable option in future soil monitoring programs. Lezíria Grande is an important agricultural area in Portugal, prone to waterlogging and salinity problems due to the influence of estuarine tides on groundwater dynamics. Simple, non-invasive, practical approaches are need for monitoring soil salinity in the region and preventing further degradation of soil resources. The objective of this study was to develop regression models for soil salinity assessment in Lezíria Grande based on the relationship between multi-year crop reflectance data derived from Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery and rootzone salinity. Nine vegetation indices (VI), computed from the annual averages of the spectral bands, were tested between 2017 and 2019. The multi-year maximum from each pixel was then used for correlating the VI with the ground-truth dataset. This dataset was composed of average values of the electrical conductivity of the soil saturation paste extract (EC e mean) measured in 80 sampling sites (0–1.5 m depth) located in four agricultural fields representative of the salinity gradient in the region. The Canopy Response Salinity Index (CRSI), which uses the blue (490 nm), green (560 nm), red (665 nm), and infrared (842 nm) bands, provided the strongest correlation with measured data (r=−0.787). Regression models further considered vegetation cover and soil type as explanatory variables, with predictions resulting in a coefficient of determination (R2) ranging from 0.63 to 0.91 and a root mean square error (RMSE) varying from 1.63 to 3.26 dS m−1. The use of remote sensing data for soil salinity assessment showed to be an interesting option to consider in future soil monitoring programs. Nevertheless, more detailed covariates are needed for improving salinity assessment models at the regional scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• EC e , SAR and ESP are highly correlated with the true electrical conductivity, σ. • σ is able to predict the in-depth soil salinity and sodicity from EC e , SAR and ESP. • 2-D maps show the vertical variation of the soil salinity and sodicity. • Electromagnetic conductivity imaging can be used for efficient soil monitoring. Salt related problems in soils can refer to an excess of soluble salts (saline soils), a dominance of exchangeable sodium in the soil exchange complex (sodic soils), or a mixture of both situations (saline-sodic soils). These categories are important because the impacts and management vary accordingly. Electromagnetic induction (EMI) methods and inversion techniques have been used to obtain electromagnetic conductivity images of the soil true soil electrical conductivity (σ) which can be used to estimate soil salinity and other soil properties in-depth and over large areas. However the potential to predict both soil salinity and sodicity with these methods has not been fully investigated. In this study, data collected with an EMI instrument (EM38) at two modes and heights and an inversion algorithm were used to obtain σ. Soil samples were collected at five layers to a depth of 1.35 m, at sampling sites along the EMI transects, and used for laboratory determination of the soil physico-chemical properties – electrical conductivity of the soil saturation paste extract (EC e), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), volumetric water content (θ), and particle size distribution. A principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to analyze the correlation between σ and the soil physico-chemical properties. Correlations between σ and EC e , ESP and SAR could be established and prediction results were evaluated using the leave-one-out cross validation method and calculating the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP). It was possible to predict EC e (RMSEP = 2.03 dS·m−1), SAR (RMSEP = 4.68 (mmol c ·L−1)0.5), and ESP (RMSEP = 3.83%) from σ and to classify the soil according to salinity and sodicity. The results show that it is possible to use EMI to monitor soil salinity and sodicity in risk areas rapid and efficiently, which is required to conserve and improve the soil functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]