ABSTRACT
Soil salinity is a critical problem in many arid and irrigated agricultural areas of the world because of saline parent material, intensive irrigation, shallow water table, and inadequate drainage that prevents the leaching of soluble salts. Excessive salinity negatively affects crop productivity and eventually results in land degradation. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the extent and progression of soil salinity in order to select agricultural, irrigation, and drainage management practices that will help alleviate salinization. Soil salinity has traditionally been assessed from soil sampling and laboratory analyses that are labor-intensive, time-consuming, and expensive. The electromagnetic (EM) induction technique has become a very useful and cost-effective tool to monitor and diagnose soil salinity over large areas, because it allows for rapid, above-groundmeasurements with noninvasive sampling. Additionally, when coupled with a GPS and data logging capabilities, a mobilized EM system can provide automated and georeferenced measurements of soil salinity over vast areas.
