It is important to study the mechanisms associated with the spatial distribution of soil water and salt to control soil salinization and promote the sustainable development of farmland. Six plots in a slight farmland with different spatial locations were selected to determine the spatial distribution of soil water and salt and their correlation using the multifractal method. Each plot was applied using the grid method (15 m × 15 m, 3600 m²), where each sampling site was located at the center point coordinates. The 0–20 and 20–40 cm soil layers were sampled.The spatial variability of the soil water and salt were 1.41 and 1.73 fold higher in the upstream farmland than in the downstream farmland. The spatial variability of the soil water and salt was significantly correlated. In addition, the spatial variability of the soil water and salt significantly correlated in the 0–20 and 20–40 cm layers. The spatial distribution of both soil water and salt in the entire soil layer had similar characteristics at this sampling scale. Our results provide a theoretical basis to study the interactive mechanisms associated with the distribution of soil water and salt.

Revealing the spatial distribution mechanism of the coupling effect between soil water and salt is essential for managing saline-alkali farmland. This study utilized the multifractal method to analyze soil water and salt under varying water content levels in arid saline-alkali farmland. Soil samples were collected on the second (S1), fifth (S2), eighth (S3), eleventh (S4), and fourteenth (S5) days after a rainfall event. The findings showed that a significant decrease in soil water content, contrasting with an increase in soil salt content throughout the soil layers post-rainfall. As water content decreased, the spatial variability of soil water initially increased from S1-3 and then decreased, while the spatial variability of soil salt decreased. The spatial distribution between soil water and salt exhibited a high correlation at S3-4 (with relative water content of soil ranging from 0.52 to 0.75) due to their coupling effect. However, soil salt was unevenly leached by rainfall at high water content levels (S1-2) and precipitated at low water content levels (S5), resulting in low spatial variability correlations between soil water and salt. This study elucidated the coupling process of soil water and salt, identifying their spatiotemporal distribution mechanism in dryland agricultural areas.