Hillel 2005

Hillel, D., 2005: Salinity; Management. In Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment. D. Hillel, J.H. Hatfield, D.S. Powlson, C. Rosenzweig, K.M. Scow, M.J. Singer, and D.L. Sparks, Eds., vol. 3. Elsevier/Academic Press, pp. 435-442.

The term 'salinity' refers to the presence in soil and water of electrolytic mineral solutes in concentrations that are harmful to many agricultural crops. Except along seashores, saline soils seldom occur in humid regions, thanks to the net downward percolation of fresh water though the soil profile, brought about by the excess of rainfall compared with evapotranspiration. In arid regions, on the other hand, there may be periods of no net downward percolation and hence no effective leaching, so salts can accumulate in the soil. Hence the combined effect of meager rainfall, high evaporation, the presence of salt-bearing sediments, and — in many places, particularly river valleys and other low-lying areas — the occurrence of shallow, brackish groundwater which gives rise to saline soils.

Less obvious than the appearance of naturally saline soils, but perhaps more insidious, is the inadvertent induced salination of originally productive soils, caused by human intervention. Irrigation waters generally contain appreciable quantities of salts. (For example: Even with relatively good-quality irrigation water containing no more than 0.3 kg salts /m³, applying 10,000 mm water per season would add as much as 3000 kg salts /ha per year!) Crop plants normally extract water from the soil while leaving most of the salt behind. Unless leached away (continuously or intermittently), such salts sooner or later begin to hinder crop growth. Where internal drainage is impeded, attempts to leach the soil can do more harm than good, by raising the water table, waterlogging the soil, and causing capillary rise to the surface, where evaporation infuses the topsoil with cumulative quantities of salt.

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Hillel, D.: Salinity; Management, in: Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment, edited by Hillel, D., Hatfield, J.H., Powlson, D.S., Rosenzweig, C., Scow, K.M., Singer, M.J., and Sparks, D.L., vol. 3, 435-442, Elsevier/Academic Press, Amsterdam et al., 2005.

Hillel, D. (2005), Salinity; Management, in Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment, vol. 3, edited by D. Hillel, J.H. Hatfield, D.S. Powlson, C. Rosenzweig, K.M. Scow, M.J. Singer, and D.L. Sparks, pp. 435-442, Elsevier/Academic Press, Amsterdam et al.

Hillel, D., 2005: Salinity; Management. In Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment. D. Hillel, J.H. Hatfield, D.S. Powlson, C. Rosenzweig, K.M. Scow, M.J. Singer, and D.L. Sparks, Eds., vol. 3. Elsevier/Academic Press, pp. 435-442.

Hillel, D. 2005, in Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment, ed. Hillel, D., Hatfield, J.H., Powlson, D.S., Rosenzweig, C., Scow, K.M., Singer, M.J., & Sparks, D.L., vol. 3, 435 (Amsterdam et al.: Elsevier/Academic Press).

Hillel D. Salinity; Management. In: Hillel D, Hatfield JH, Powlson DS, Rosenzweig C, Scow KM, Singer MJ, Sparks DL, editors. Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment, vol. 3, pp. 435-442. Amsterdam et al.: Elsevier/Academic Press; 2005.

D. Hillel, In Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment, D. Hillel, J.H. Hatfield, D.S. Powlson, C. Rosenzweig, K.M. Scow, M.J. Singer, D.L. Sparks, Eds. (vol.3, Elsevier/Academic Press, Amsterdam et al., 2005), pp. 435-442.