Glossary Term

Saline-alkali soil

(i) A soil containing sufficient exchangeable sodium to interfere with the growth of most crop plants and containing appreciable quantities of soluble salts. The exchangeable-sodium percentage is >15, the conductivity of the saturation extract >4 dS m-1(at 25 °C), and the pH is usually 8.5 or less in the saturated soil. (ii) A saline-alkali soil has a combination of harmful qualities of salts and either a high alkalinity or high content of exchangeable sodium, or both, so distributed in the profile that the growth of most crop plants is reduced. See also saline-sodic soil.