Spatial-temporal dynamics of soil chloride distribution in a coastal saline plain: implication for ocean and climate influences

Purpose Restoration of saline soil in coastal areas requires detailed understanding of spatial and temporal soil salt distribution and how the distribution is affected by different environmental factors (e.g., precipitation and evaporation), particularly under the influence of salt water intrusion. Because of the high accuracy of chloride measurement, and chloride as a common ion in soil salt, we used soil chloride as a proxy of soil salt in a coastal area of southeastern China.