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Concept
Soil salinity
Summary
Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization. Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salination can be caused by natural processes such as mineral weathering or by the gradual withdrawal of an ocean. It can also come about through artificial processes such as irrigation and road salt.
Salts are a natural component in soils and water.
The ions responsible for salination are: Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and Cl−.
Over long periods of time, as soil minerals weather and release salts, these salts are flushed or leached out of the soil by drainage water in areas with sufficient precipitation. In addition to mineral weathering, salts are also deposited via dust and precipitation. Salts may accumulate in dry regions, leading to naturally saline soils. This is the case, for example, in large parts of Australia.
Human practices can increase the salinity of soils by the addition of salts in irrigation water. Proper irrigation management can prevent salt accumulation by providing adequate drainage water to leach added salts from the soil. Disrupting drainage patterns that provide leaching can also result in salt accumulations. An example of this occurred in Egypt in 1970 when the Aswan High Dam was built. The change in the level of ground water before the construction had enabled soil erosion, which led to high concentration of salts in the water table. After the construction, the continuous high level of the water table led to the salination of arable land.
When the Na+ (sodium) predominates, soils can become sodic. The pH of sodic soils may be acidic, neutral or alkaline.
Sodic soils present particular challenges because they tend to have very poor structure which limits or prevents water infiltration and drainage. They tend to accumulate certain elements like boron and molybdenum in the root zone at levels that may be toxic for plants. The most common compound used for reclamation of sodic soil is gypsum, and some plants that are tolerant to salt and ion toxicity may present strategies for improvement.
Official source
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