What can too much water do to the soil?
Now that we have seen what happens to the plants, it is time to consider what occurs below the surface. Below ground, there are water table areas that are in charge of collecting the excess water. However, when those become too full, the water reaches the aerated soil above.
Once again, this is harmful to the plants since this is the part of the ground where their roots are. In addition, if there is more water than plants can drink, all that extra water can even cause the roots to rot and eventually kill the plants./p>
Besides doing direct damage to the plants, over-irrigation disrupts many essential balances in the soil. For example, too much water affects the pH balance and oxygen and nitrogen levels in the ground. In the long term, this will have negative consequences on soil fertility.
Also, too much water can clog the pathways usually reserved for bringing oxygen from the aerated layer of the soil deeper into the ground. Thus it will disrupt the entire air exchange system.
What are the long-term effects of
over-irrigation?
All of the changes listed above are not even the ultimate damage that overwatering can do. As we have seen, waterlogging disrupts the balance in your soil. Additionally, it dissolves all the nutrients in the ground, making them less powerful and useful.
To make matters even worse, weeds are far less demanding than any of the plants people usually are trying to grow. This means that you might end up with far more weeds growing than you normally would. In addition, all these unwanted plants will take away the much-needed food from your plants and take up valuable space.
Fewer nutrients mean more salt will be accumulating on the surface of the ground. In turn, those salts will make it even harder for the remaining plants to get the food they need and make their survival even harder.
As a result of over-irrigation, soil can eventually become too acidic to support life. It might take several seasons of good care for the ground to return to its normal state and give nutrients that the plants need again.
Of course, the same doesn’t hold true for weeds since they are much more resilient and don’t mind the soil acidity nearly as much.
The impact of over-irrigation on the environment
Believe it or not, the harmful effect of overwatering does not end there.
Irrigation systems involve taking water from rivers and lakes, and other bodies of water. Therefore they have a direct environmental impact.
These effects include higher levels of groundwater in irrigated locations, a reduction of downstream water flow in the sourced streams and rivers, and an increase in evaporation.
Higher evaporation can cause atmosphere instability and even increase rainfall levels in the irrigated areas. All of this is a direct consequence of changes to the natural humidity in the local atmosphere.
Excess irrigation that lasts for too long can lead to a decrease in river flow. In addition, it can cause wetlands to disappear and insufficient municipal, drinkable, and industrial water supplies.
