Salinisation is the accumulation of water-soluble salts in the soil solum or regolith to a level that impacts on agricultural production, environmental health and economic welfare. Salt-affected soils occur in more than a hundred countries of the world with a variety of extents, nature and properties. No climatic zone in the world is free from salinisation, although the general perception is fo...

micromorphology is the branch of soil science that is concerned with the description, interpretation and, to an increasing extent, the measurement of components, features and fabrics in soils at microscopic level. the advantage of micromorphology is that, in micromorphological studies the soils are studied in their natural and undisturbed form and so, one can follow the processes that take plac...

Sodic soils have immense productivity potential, if managed through proper technology interventions. Biocompost is prepared by composting pressmud (a sugar industry byproduct) received from cane juice filtration and spent wash received from distilleries through microbial aerobic decomposition and can be used to reclaim sodic soils. Field experiments were conducted during the wet season of 2011 ...

Accumulation of soluble salts in arid areas which are similar to most regions of Iran is inevitable in soil surface and profile because of low precipitation and high evaporation. High concentration of soluble salts in soil profile caused severe problems for root water uptake thus plant growth stopped. Reducing soil salinity to optimized content by leaching and avoiding soil pounding must be con...

Many avocado growers are debating the question of whether or not to apply calcium to their groves. Some advocates say calcium is a necessary soil additive, creating almost magical improvements in soil chemical balance and tree growth. Others maintain that, since calcium is common in California soils, it serves only to improve soil structure in sodic soils or soils with permeability problems due...

Plant communities in abiotically stressful, or 'harsh', habitats have been reported to be less invaded by non-native species than those in more moderate habitats. Here, we synthesize descriptive and experimental evidence for low levels of invasion in habitats characterized by a variety of environmental stressors: low nitrogen; low phosphorus; saline, sodic or alkaline soils; serpentine soils; l...