Assessing soil quality for rehabilitation of salt-affected agroecosystem: A comprehensive review

Abstract

One billion hectares of land worldwide is affected by several kinds of salinity and associated problems. The soil quality (SQ) in salt-affected soil (SAS) is impaired because of the presence of excess electrolytes, disproportionate Na and Ca in soil solution and exchange phase, rhythmic changes in the hydrological cycle, decreasing soil organic matter, poor vegetative cover, low soil biological activity, and crop residue return. Sodic and saline–sodic soils have the potential to provide alkaline reactions and soil physical constraints to regulate the soil attributes affecting SQ. Because of high spatial variability and rapid temporal changes, selection of simple, robust, low cost, and high-throughput master indicators for assessing SQ is very essential for monitoring the aggradation or degradation of SAS. Therefore, screening the master indicators for developing a minimum dataset for SQ assessment of SAS is an important issue for sustainable management of soil in these agro-ecologies. We captured the SQ indicators for SAS from several ecosystems of different countries and discussed the problems of parameterization for assessing SQ. Improved SQ for optimum soil functioning is needed for confirming agricultural productivity and food security around the globe. This review describes the causes and drivers for sodification/salinization and mechanism-oriented rehabilitation options such as the application of mineral gypsum, flue-gas–desulfurized gypsum, elemental S, acidified biochar, polymer, salt tolerance mechanisms, and other agro-techniques for improving the quality of SAS. Based on the SQ assessment, a suite of site-specific soil management practices are advocated for the greening of SAS and prosperity.

Effects of Exogenous Melatonin on the Growth and Physiological Characteristics of Ginkgo biloba L. under Salinity Stress Conditions

“…Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba L.), a member of the Ginkgoaceae family, is often referred to as the "golden living fossil" [2], and ranks among the top five street trees worldwide. Unfortunately, the environments in which Ginkgo trees thrive are increasingly affected by salinity stress, which can impede their growth [3,4]. Excessive salinity adversely affects plant life, hindering seed germination [5][6][7][8] and overall growth and development [9,10], and disrupting photosynthesis [11].…”

The combined application of salt-alkali tolerant phosphate solubilizing microorganisms and phosphogypsum is an excellent measure for the future improvement of saline-alkali soils

“…The application of gypsum in improving saline-alkali soil has been widely recognized, and the key lies in effectively reducing soil salt content through the displacement of Ca 2+ and Na + (Basak et al, 2022). Non-renewable natural gypsum minerals pose challenges for large-scale agricultural use.…”

Pore‐scale freezing of a sandy saline soil visualized with micro‐computed tomography

“…Freezing processes in soils are relevant to climate change impacts, 4–6 carbon (including CO 2 and methane) emission, 7,8 engineering practices in cold regions, 9–11 and leakage prevention of nuclear contamination 12 . Salinization, on the other hand, is one of the most widespread soil degradation processes that threaten agriculture 13,14 and ecological systems 15,16 . Ice and salt distributions at scales of pores or larger affect dissolved gas and contaminant transport, 17–21 and ground settlement under external load 22–25 .…”