Institute of Geo-Hydroinformatics - News

Figure caption. Multi-model ensemble mean of the change in predicted soil salinity represented by saturated paste electrical conductivity (ECe¬) in the mid- and long-term futures, relative to the reference period (1961 - 1990) under different greenhouse gas concentration trajectories (after Hassani et al., 2021).

Soil salinization has several socio-economic effects (on economic welfare, forced immigration, reduced GDP, social structure and stability of the community) and influences seriously ecosystem functioning (causing soil degradation, desertification, changes in soil structure and biodiversity and microbial community) and crop and food security.

In this paper, we utilized machine learning algorithms and comprehensive series of climatic, land and remote sensing data to predict soil salinization under different climate change scenarios in the 21st century. We could determine hotspots for soil salinization by the year 2100. Such information will contribute toward devising and implementing the necessary action plans for soil protection against salinization and degradation which is a crucial step for sustainable soil management and preservation. This is precisely at the heart of The European Green Deal, 2019 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals especially UN SDG15.

For more details, please check out our paper:

Hassani, A., Azapagic, A. & Shokri, N. Global predictions of primary soil salinization under changing climate in the 21st century. Nat Commun 12, 6663 (2021). <link www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26907-3 - ext "Externer Link">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26907-3</link>

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