Salinization

Salinization is the process by which excessive salts build up on land, especially agricultural land, making it unfit for use. The most common cause of salinization is insufficient drainage, which leads to water evaporating from the soil and leaving dissolved salts. This frequently occurs when irrigation has been used to increase the yields of agricultural land, but the irrigation is insufficiently drained. Improving the drainage, consequently, can help to rectify the problem. However, where there is insufficient water to provide drainage, the salinization can become a wide-scale problem. This has occurred in the Nile Delta, the Aral Sea, and the southwest United States. Salinization is an example of nonsustainable use of land.

Although salinization is assumed to be a phenomenon primarily affecting arid and semiarid zones ...