ABSTRACT
Soil salinization can be described as the excess of salts and/or of sodium ions, either in the soil solution or in its cation exchange sites (Qadir et al. 2000). The main causes for this accumulation of salts in the soil profi le derives from natural events (geological deposition, saline groundwater) or is anthropogenically formed or is enhanced by degradation processes. These include loss of vegetative cover, poor irrigation schemes, saline wastewater, saline intrusion due to aquifer overexploitation, etc. A saline soil is characterized by an electrical conductivity of the saturated soil paste (ECe) above 4 dS m-1 and a sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) below 13. A sodic soil, on the other hand, is characterized by an ECe under 4 dS m-1 and a SAR above 13. A saline-sodic soil is a combination of the previous ones with an ECe above 4 dS m-1 as well as a SAR above 13 (US Soil Salinity Laboratory Staff 1954; Qadir et al. 2000).
