Climate change and salinity-vulnerable ecosystems in Latin America

VIGLIZZO, ERNESTO FRANCISCO; RICARD, MARIA FLORENCIA

Saline and Alkaline Soils in Latin America - Natural Resources, management and Productive Alternatives

Springer

Año: 2020;

Soil salinization is cause of soil degradation in agricultural lands that are exposed to rain-fed, irrigation or flood conditions. In turn, it also affects the functional integrity of ecosystems by threatening the habitat and the local biodiversity.While rainfall, aeolian deposits, mineral weathering, and stored salts are the sources of salts, surface and groundwater can redistribute the accumulated salts and may also provide additional amounts. In general, sodium salts dominate in many saline soils, but salts of other cations such as calcium, magnesium, and iron are also found in specific locations (Rengasamy, 2006). An increasing concern rises in areas that are menaced by drought and aridity expansion due to climate change (FAO, 2011). In response to this, the scientific community is urged to detect early-warning signals of salinization in fragile areas that are exposed to rapid temperature, precipitation and evapotranspiration changes.The salt-water balance and thus the water quality of arid and semiarid lands are particularly sensitive to temperature increase and precipitation decrease, depending of the litology of area (Pankova and Konyushkova, 2013). Signals of water quality change and trends can be detected in rivers, streams and water bodies, as well as underground aquifers. It also should be noted that such changes can directly affect the above- and below-ground biodiversity of soils, which in turn will indirectly affect the development of plants that are necessary to provide food for humans and animals (Várallya, 2010).