The excess accumulation of salts, typically most pronounced at the soil surface, can result in salt-affected soils. Salts may rise to the soil surface by capillary transport from a salt-laden water table and then accumulate due to evaporation. As soil salinity increases, salt effects can result in degradation of soils and vegetation.
Salinization as a process can result from:
- high levels of salt in water
- landscape features that allow salts to become mobile (movement of water table)
- climatic trends that favour accumulation
- human activities such as land clearing, irrigation, aquaculture activities and the salting of icy roads.
The level of soluble salts above 4 dS/m in soil moisture inhibits the seed germination and growth of most commercial crops. This adversely affects the biomass production and economic yield.
A CASE STUDY Soil Salinity Monitoring at Dubai – Download the PDF
