Salt Removal in a Reclaimed Tidal Land Soil with Gypsum, Compost, and Phosphate Amendment

High salinity and sodicity of soils play a negative role in producing crops in reclaimed tidal lands. To evaluate the effects of soil ameliorants on salt removal in a highly saline and sodic soil of reclaimed tidal land, we conducted a column experiment with treating gypsum, compost, and phosphate at 0-2 cm depth and measured the salt concentration of leachate and soil. Electrical conductivity of leachate was $45-48dSm^{-1}$ at 1 pore volume (PV) of water and decreased to less than $3dSm^{-1}$ at 3 PV of water. Gypsum significantly decreased SAR (sodium adsorption ratio) of leachate below 3 at 3 PV of water and soil ESP (exchangeable sodium percentage) below 3% for the whole profile of soil column. Compost significantly decreased ESP of soil at 0-5 cm depth to 5% compared with the control (20%). However, compost affected little the composition of cations below a depth of 5 cm and in leachate compared with control treatment. It was concluded that gypsum was effective in ameliorating reclaimed tidal lands at and below a soil layer receiving gypsum while compost worked only at a soil layer where compost was treated.