Abstract

Background: Soil salinization represents one of the most significant threats to global agricultural productivity, affecting approximately 831 million hectares worldwide. Climate change exacerbates this challenge through altered precipitation patterns, increased evapotranspiration rates, and rising temperatures, creating a complex web of environmental stressors that threaten food security and ecosystem sustainability.
Objective: This comprehensive review examines the intricate relationship between climate change and soil salinization, analyzing current trends, identifying key challenges, and evaluating adaptive measures for sustainable land management.
Methods: A systematic analysis of peer-reviewed literature from 2010-2025 was conducted, incorporating data from 127 studies across different climatic zones. Meta-analysis techniques were employed to quantify the relationship between climate variables and salinization rates. Spatial analysis using GIS mapping identified global hotspots of climate-induced salinization.
Results: Our analysis reveals that climate change has accelerated soil salinization rates by 23-35% in arid and semi-arid regions over the past decade. Rising temperatures (average increase of 1.2°C globally) combined with altered precipitation patterns have intensified evapotranspiration processes, leading to increased salt accumulation in surface soils. Coastal regions show the highest vulnerability, with sea-level rise contributing to 15-20% of new salinization cases.
Conclusion: Climate change significantly amplifies soil salinization processes through multiple pathways. Immediate implementation of adaptive measures, including salt-tolerant crop varieties, improved irrigation management, and soil amelioration techniques, is crucial for maintaining agricultural productivity and ecosystem health in the face of changing climatic conditions.