Saline soil reclamation

Gypsum is not widely used as an S source because of its low S content (13 to 19%). It is a useful fertilizer for peanuts, a crop that has high Ca requirements. Large tonn es of gypsum are used, however, in the reclamation of saline soils according to the following reaction ... 

Kovda, V.A. and Samoilova, V.A., 1969. Some problems of soda salinity. Proc. Symp. on Reclamation of Sodic and Soda-Saline Soils. Res. Inst. Soil Sci. Agric. Chem., Hung, Acad. Sci., Budapest, pp. 21—36. 

As stated previously, a saline soil is one with saturated paste EC in excess of 4dS/m. Reclamation is indicated when the salt level limits or alters the intended land use. The only way to reclaim a saline soil is to leach it with fresh water. Soluble salts are carried with the water to a maximum depth of penetration that will prevent the return of salt by capillary action. 

Sulfur has been recognized since the mid-1800 s as an essential element in plant nutrition, crop requirements being similar to P needs. Sulfur is also used as a soil amendment in the reclamation of saline and alkali soils. 

J. Akhter, R. Murray, K. Mahmood et al.. Improvement of Degraded Physical Properties of a Saline-Sodic Soil by Reclamation with Kallar Grass (Leptochloa fusca), Plant Soil, 258(1), 207-216, Jan. (2004). 

The leaching of saline-sodic soil with good water (low salinity, low SAR) causes the pH to rise. This can result in the mobilization of trace elements such as selenium in some soils (selenium exists in the soil as an oxyanion, selenite or selenate), elements that adsorb better at low pH than high pH. How would you prevent this potential environmental risk to groundwater during the reclamation of the saline-sodic soil ... 

Ashraf M, Hasnain S, Berge O. Bacterial exo-polysaccharides a biological tool for the reclamation of salt-afiected sods. In Shahid SA, Abdelfattah MA, Taha FK, editors. Developments in soil salinity assessment and reclamation. Springer Netherlands 2013. p. 641—58. 

Grauby, A., and A. Saas. 1974. Reclamation of saline, waterlogged and bog soils. The changes in the soils under the impact of reclamation, pp. 92-102. In Tenth International Congress of Soil Science, Vol. X, Commission VI. Science Press, Moscow (in French with Russian, German, and English summaries). 

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