Is Soil Salinity a Threat to Our Food Security?
Soil is a vital resource for feeding the burgeoning global population which is expected to reach over 9.8 billion people by 2050. The presence of excess salts in the soil make it saline, and pose a significant threat to farm productivity, environmental health and financial welfare. Based on the FAO/UNESCO soil map of the world, the total area of saline soils is 397 million hectares (Mha) which is approximately 3.1% of the world’s land area (FAO, 2005). Moreover, future projections of climate change and human population growth suggest that the extent of saline soils will grow accordingly.
