Salt-affected soils are a global issue
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Naturally saline or sodic soils host valuable ecosystems, including a range of rare plants, that are adapted to the extreme conditions. However, salt-affected soils may develop quickly in response to human activities. Soils may thus become affected by salinity and sodicity due to inappropriate management or through saline water intrusion from sea, river or groundwater and undergo a rapid decline of health, losing their capacity for biomass production, natural filtration, carbon sequestration and other necessary ecosystem functions. This third issue of the ITPS letters demonstrates how in some regions adverse effects of soil salinity and sodicity will likely be exacerbated by climate change and have further impacts on the prices of commodities produced in vulnerable areas while increasing mass migration of peoples in the future. It also highlights how FAO and its Global Soil Partnership are currently addressing this through a range of activities, including the recently launched International Network of Salt-Affected Soils (INSAS) and the development of the Global Map of Salt-Affected Soils that will provide an improved assessment of the salinity status of the world’s soils.