Review Article
Review on Impacts of Soil Salinity and Sodicity on Crop Yield and Management Option
Issue:
Volume 11, Issue 1, March 2026
Pages:
1-12
Received:
10 October 2025
Accepted:
25 October 2025
Published:
16 January 2026
Abstract: Soil salinity is a major environmental and agronomic challenge that severely constrains crop productivity, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions where evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation. As global food demand increases and irrigated agriculture continues to expand, the extent and severity of salt-affected soils are intensifying worldwide. This review synthesizes the current understanding of the causes, types, and mechanisms of soil salinization, while assessing its physiological and agronomic impacts on major crop species. It highlights how excessive accumulation of soluble salts in the root zone alters soil osmotic potential, inhibits water and nutrient uptake, and disrupts key plant metabolic functions such as photosynthesis and protein synthesis. The resulting physiological stress leads to poor germination, stunted growth, and significant yield reductions. Human-induced factors including inefficient irrigation, poor drainage, deforestation, industrial effluents, and inappropriate fertilizer use are further accelerating secondary salinization. The review also distinguishes between saline, sodic, and saline sodic soils, describing their chemical characteristics, formation mechanisms, and implications for plant growth and soil structure. Furthermore, the responses of both cash crops (cotton, tomato, sugarcane, and sunflower) and subsistence crops (wheat, rice, maize, and sorghum) to varying salinity levels are discussed, highlighting differences in species and varietal tolerance. Finally, the paper underscores the importance of integrated soil and water management practices including leaching, gypsum application, biological reclamation using halophytic grasses, and improved irrigation efficiency to mitigate the impacts of salinity and sodicity. Strengthening farmer awareness, promoting sustainable land management, and adopting innovative technologies for monitoring soil salinity are essential for enhancing agricultural productivity and ensuring food security in affected regions.
Abstract: Soil salinity is a major environmental and agronomic challenge that severely constrains crop productivity, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions where evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation. As global food demand increases and irrigated agriculture continues to expand, the extent and severity of salt-affected soils are intensifying worldwide...
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Research Article
Mainstreaming Climate Change Considerations in Small-scale Sand Mining: Practical Challenges in Selected Villages in Mvomero District, Tanzania
Issue:
Volume 11, Issue 1, March 2026
Pages:
13-22
Received:
23 November 2025
Accepted:
4 January 2026
Published:
26 January 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijnrem.20261101.12
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Abstract: Small-Scale Sand Mining (SSSM) is a common socio-economic activity that employs many members of rural communities in Tanzania. This is largely because it is practiced widely across nearly all districts in the country, where it provides earnings for youth, men and women and supports the construction sector, particularly in fast-growing urban areas. Nonetheless, SSSM appears to be less regulated compared to large-scale mining of precious metals, despite the fact that relevant mining, land and environmental laws formally apply to both scales of mining activities. Such a reality poses a significant threat, which is a pressing global concern, through practices such as clearance of indigenous vegetation, deep excavation, land degradation, and greenhouse gas emissions associated with sand transportation. Notably, this threat is exacerbated by legal, institutional and practical limitations in regulating SSSM. This study focuses on practical limitations, using Mvomero District as a model to exemplify practical limitations that impede mainstreaming of climate change considerations in SSSM activities. This paper adopted a qualitative research methodology. Data was collected through documentary review, interviews, focus group discussions and direct observation to examine how SSSM is practiced on the ground. It found that the manner in which SSSM activities are handled in Mvomero District may exacerbate climate change and its impacts, owing to practices such as unregulated expansion of mining areas beyond legal limits, minimal distance between adjacent SSSM sites, deep excavation that interferes with soil moisture and water tables, inadequate rehabilitation of exhausted sites, weak accountability mechanisms, and increased greenhouse gas emissions from sand transportation. The paper calls for concerted, consistent and inclusive efforts to prevent harmful SSSM practices from further contributing to climate variation in the District.
Abstract: Small-Scale Sand Mining (SSSM) is a common socio-economic activity that employs many members of rural communities in Tanzania. This is largely because it is practiced widely across nearly all districts in the country, where it provides earnings for youth, men and women and supports the construction sector, particularly in fast-growing urban areas. ...
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