الفهرس 
l. Definition of salt-affected soils:Only 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
1
INTRODUCTION
The current increase rate of world inhabitants (annually 2%) should
be met by the same increase in the rate of food production in order that
humanity could continue. Most foods come from soi~ thus increasing
food is directly relevant with increasing productive soil areas. Soils
called salt-affected soils are oflow agricultural production, or mostly of
no validity to plantation. Treatment of salt-affected soils converts them
into arable land. Some statistics indicate that about 954.832 thousands
hectares throughout the world could be considered as salt-affected soils,
Szabolcs (1989).
Big efforts in all parts of the world have been exerted to plant new
soils which are not previously planted especially in the arid and semi-arid
regions. But these regions could not be considered as productive soils
since their contribution to food production are scant because firstly of the
insufficient water and secondly of the scarcity of rainfall which is needed
with certain amount in specific time for leaching salts. After a while the
agricultural production of these soils decreases and features or aspects of
salt-affected soils appear.
Since wide acreage’s of agricultural soils in Arab countries are
located in arid and semi-arid regions, their reliance on rainfall will limit
food production. Consequently, increasing food production necessitates
the introduction of irrigation systems for plantation. Under dry climate
and mismanagement of irrigation and drainage, the danger that threatens
the agricultural soils is represented in the conversion of the arable land
into saline soils. This is induced due to higher evaporation rates than
precipitation.