Kuti L., Tóth T., Zöld A. and Szentpétery I. 2002. The fluctuation of 
groundwater level, and its consequences in the soil - parent material - 
groundwater system of a sodic grassland. Agrokémia és Talajtan. 51:253-262

Our data verified the relationship between meteorological factors and 
fluctuation of groundwater level. The rate of evaporation effected dominantly 
the rise and depth of groundwater level.
It is characteristic for the study site that there is an inverse relationship 
between the elevation of the groundwater observation wells and the depth of 
groundwater, and the difference between the levels of groundwater in the 
separate wells reflected the differences in the elevation between the wells.
The fluctuation of groundwater level reached the value of 1.5-2 m, depending on 
the geological structure of the individual area, and it showed that this 
fluctuation can affect shallow surface layers and therefore the groundwater can 
transport through capillary rise in silty and less frequently in clayey areas 
salt into the neighborhood of the surface. In sandy areas, on the other hand, 
where the capillary rise of the formations is small, the dissolving effect of 
waters is more effective.Our observations refuted our previous assumptions,
since in the wells not only the concentration of salts changed but also the
chemical type of the water. This might be attributed with large probability to
the lateral flow of the groundwater which is caused by the vertical fluctuation,
but can be caused by other geological factors as well.Based on our results
received so far, we reached the conclusion that the vertical and sometimes
lateral movement of the groundwater affects the development of soils in a given
area. It means that the reason behind the mosaic-like appearance of the soil
cover of a given area can be searched in the local differences of the chemical
composition of the groundwater, which is major factor of the spatial variability
of the salt accumulation of soils.The observations and analytical results point
to that the soils of the study site have been developed under the effect of
fluctuating groundwater and the elevation is a dominant factor of the spatial
variability of the soil salt accumulation. The level of groundwater, the flow of
groundwater and its composition show relationship to the surface elevation, and
their effect is modified by the geological stratification, which results in a
variable appearance of soil salt accumulation and native vegetation.