Excess salt in the soil destroy terrains the size of Manhattan every week

A new study of the United Nations (UN) reveals that the excess salt in the soil, destroyed over the past 20 years, about 20% of all global irrigated land â€" an area equivalent to the size of France. This corresponds to the average daily destruction of 2,000 acres of irrigated plantations in arid or semi-arid areas spread across 75 countries over the last two decades.

In 2050, the world population is expected to reach 10 billion people and, as such, human civilization cannot afford to lose agricultural land fertile and arable. The amount of land destroyed by excess salt increased from 45 million hectares in 1990 to 62 million at present.

The destruction of land by salt happens in areas where rainfall is too low to generate a regular flow of rainwater through the soil and where irrigation is practised without a natural or artificial drainage system. The salt then begins to accumulate in the soil, even if irrigation is done with the cooler water as possible, and as the water evaporates, the salt particles are piling up in the grounds. Additionally, the crops selectively filter the salt water through its root system, further concentrating the load of salt in the soil, referred to Inhabitat.

The study, "Economics of salt-induced land degradation and restoration" was published in Natural Resources Forum. Additionally, the document reveals the extensive costs of salinisation, including €21,9 billion in agricultural losses per year.

Foto: BITS_flux/Creative Commons

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