Soils Salinity

Saline Soils

Salts

are deposited when the water which had carried them evaporates.
Saline

areas can develop from upward capillary movements of water, groundwater seepage, internal drainage, and water tables being close to the surface.
salts As

that are naturally found int he ground are brought to the surface as dissolved substances in water. the water evaporates, the salts are left behind, thereby increasing the salinity of the soil.
Higher

salt levels negatively affect plants and soil organisms.

At

a cellular level, a higher concentration of salt outside cells means that there is a lower concentration of water outside the cells. This can interfere with water intake.
The

process of osmosis is water moving from an area of higher water concentration to an area of lower concentrations through a membrane.
In

non-saline soils, water usually moves from the soil into the cells. If a salty soil has about the same or lower water concentration than living cells, water may leave the cells.
The

result of water leaving the cells is a plant which wilts and eventually dies, from lack of water intake. Salts may enter the cells and can interfere with the intake of needed nutrients by the cells or have to ic effects on the cells.

Small

soil organisms are similarly affected by high salt concentrations in the soil.
Salts

also affect the structure of soils by causing soil clumps to break down more !uickly. This leads to soil layers becoming more dense, restricting air and water movements and making conditions less favourable for plant roots and microorganisms.
Sodium

is another salt found in soils and, if concentrated in the upper soil, the accumulation is called alkalinization.
Alkali

soil behave like clayey soils" they are sticky when wet, usually crusty on the surface and when dry, becomes hard.