Abstract
The process of salt accumulation in soils, poses a very real threat to the land user. Salt accumulation is a global problem; in some countries the problem is localized whereas in others, 40–50 per cent of the total land surface is already salt-affected. Historically salinization has caused the decline of whole civilizations (Whyte, 1961; Evenari, Shanan and Tadmor, 1971) and has long been the subject of study in many countries (Kelly, 1951; UNESCO, 1961). Salinization suppresses agricultural productivity and may even make crop growth impossible (Amon, 1972) due to the inhibitory effect of high concentrations of salts (Szabolcs, 1987). High salt concentrations in water courses and storage bodies limit their utility as irrigation and domestic water sources since beyond certain threshold values salt concentrations are toxic to humans, animals and plants (Kovda, 1947).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alekseevsky, E.E., 1971, Irrigation and Drainage of the World. Isdatelstvo Kolos, Moscow. (In Russian.)
Arnon, I., 1972, Crop Production in Dry Regions Volume 1: Background and Principles. Leonard Hill, London.
Barry, RG. and Chorley, RJ., 1982, Atmosphere, Weather and Climate 4th Edition. Methuen, London and New York.
Darab, K. and Ferencz, K, 1969, Soil mapping and control of irrigated areas. National Institute for Agricultural Quality Testing, Budapest.
Dregne, H.E., 1976, Soils of Arid Regions. Eslevier, Amsterdam.
Evenari, M., Shanan, L. and Tadmor, N., 1971, The Negev. The Challenge of a Desert. OUP, London.
Fersman, A.E., 1934, Geochemistry. Leningrad. (In Russian)
Kelly, W.P., 1951, Alkali Soils. Reinhold, New York.
Kovda, V.A., 1947, Origin and regime of salt-affected soils. Volumes I and II. Izadatelstvo Akademii Nauk, SSSR Moscow. (In Russian.)
Kovda, V.A., 1980, Problems of combating salinization of irrigated soils. UNEP, Nairobi.
Polynov, B.B., 1956, Selected papers. Izdatelstvo Akademii Nauk, SSSR. Moscow. (In Russian.)
Szabolcs, I., 1947, Salt-Affected Soils in Europe. Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, The Netherlands, and Research Institute for Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest.
Szabolcs, I., 1979, Review on Research of Salt-affected Soils. UNESCO, Paris.
Szabolcs, I., 1987, The global problems of salt-affected soils. Acta Agronomica Hungaric, 36 (1–2), 159–172.
Szabolcs, I. and Darab, K., 1982, Irrigation water quality and problems of soil salinity. Acta Agronomica Hungarica, 31 (1–2), 173–179.
Szabolcs, I., Darab, K. and Várallyay, G., 1969a, The Tisza irrigation systems and the fertility of the soils in the Hungarian Lowland. II. The “critical depth” of the water table in the area belonging to the irrigation system of Kisköre. Agrokémia és Talajtan, 18 (3–4), 211–218.
Szabolcs, I., Darab, K. and Várallyay, G., 1969b, The Tisza irrigation systems and the fertility of the soils in the Hungarian Lowland. III. Methods of the preparation of 1:25,000 scale maps indicating the possibilities and the conditions of irrigation. Agrokémia és Talajtan, 18 (3–4), 221–231.
UNESCO, 1961, Salinity Problems in the Arid Zones. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Paris.
Whyte, RO., 1961, Evolution of land use in south-western Asia. In A History of Land Use in Arid Regions. UNESCO, Paris.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Szabolcs, I. (1991). Salinization Potential of European Soils. In: Brouwer, F.M., Thomas, A.J., Chadwick, M.J. (eds) Land Use Changes in Europe. The GeoJournal Library, vol 18. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3290-9_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3290-9_13
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-5453-9
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-3290-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive