Salinity Management in Agricultural Systems
Summary
Soil and water salinisation present a mounting challenge to crop productivity and food security, particularly in arid and semi-arid zones. Excess soluble salts raise osmotic pressure in the root zone, impair nutrient uptake and disrupt cellular homeostasis, triggering oxidative stress and reducing photosynthetic capacity. Effective management combines precision irrigation to control salt build-up through leaching, selection or breeding of salt-tolerant varieties, and use of soil amendments to improve structure and cation exchange. Organic-based biostimulants, mineral additives such as gypsum, and novel approaches—including magnetically treated water—have been shown to bolster antioxidant enzyme activity and maintain turgor under saline regimes. At the farm scale, integrated systems that exploit brackish groundwater with appropriate crop choices, intercropping or aquaculture associations offer pathways to sustainable biosaline agriculture. Advances in remote sensing and modelling now enable spatially resolved salinity monitoring, while biotechnological tools promise accelerated development of halophyte and crop genotypes with enhanced ionic regulation. Together, these strategies underpin a multidisciplinary response essential to safeguarding yields, conserving water resources and sustaining rural livelihoods in salt-affected landscapes.
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Salinity Management in Agricultural Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in salinity management in agricultural systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Electrical conductivity (EC): A measure of the salt concentration in water or soil solution, expressed in deciSiemens per metre (dS m⁻¹).
Osmotic stress: Cellular water deficit caused by high external solute concentration, leading to reduced turgor and growth inhibition.
Halophyte: A plant species naturally adapted to grow and reproduce in saline environments.
Biosaline agriculture: Integrated cropping systems that utilise saline water or soils, often combining halophytes, salt-tolerant crops and aquaculture.
Soil amendment: Additives (e.g. gypsum, organic matter) applied to improve soil physical or chemical properties under salinity stress.
References
- Magnetic technology to reduce the effects of saline stress on tomato plants. Environmental Technology & Innovation (2024).
- Salicylic Acid as a Salt Stress Mitigator on Chlorophyll Fluorescence, Photosynthetic Pigments, and Growth of Precocious-Dwarf Cashew in the Post-Grafting Phase. Plants (2023).
- Potential of Brackish Groundwater for Different Biosaline Agriculture Systems in the Brazilian Semi-Arid Region. Agriculture (2023).
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