Condition Assessment of Subsurface Drained Areas and Investigation of their Operational Efficiency by Field Inspection and Remote Sensing Methods

Abstract

Abstract The extreme weather events highlight the need to develop action concepts to maintain agricultural production security in the future. Hydrological extremes can occur within a year in the form of surplus water (i.e. inland excess water), water scarcity or even drought. These adverse effects are influenced, inhibited and also facilitated by human activity. Previously, complex amelioration interventions, including subsurface drainage, aimed to improve the productivity of agricultural areas with unfavourable water management properties. The current efficiency of the subsurface drain networks in the regulation of groundwater level or soil moisture content can be questioned from several aspects. After the end of the socialist era (after 1990s), lack of maintenance and operation tasks have become typical, and are still a problem today in Hungary. Unfortunately, there is no exact national cadastre on the tile drained areas, and data is only available to a limited extent in the original amelioration plan documentations. In the present study, we aimed to reveal the possibilities of delineating the subsurface drained areas, and to develop a new method of condition assessment. Three tile drained study sites were selected on the Great Hungarian Plain in Central Europe. Our field investigations revealed the typical problems of the drained areas: (1) excessive vegetation of the receiving channels; (2) inadequate condition of the receiving main channel bed; (3) soil compaction in multiple layers above the drainage network; and (4) poor condition of outlets of the drain pipes. The developed methodology enabled us to evaluate the soil and the surface/subsurface water of the tile drained areas, and the technical condition of the drains. The necessary action plans or treatments were also outlined to replace the unused drain networks into use. Based on the scientific literature, we also sketched the target conditions and technological solutions that are required for the installation of new drains. The organization of the derived data into a GIS database could serve as a basis for the development of a cadastre of the tile drained areas based on a regional approach.