The publication of this Handbook was supported by the Russian Federation

SEL – solonetzic eluvial 
horizon
BSN – solonetzic B horizon
BCA – horizon of 
carbonate accumulations
BC – transient horizon 
between B and C hor
s – salic features
dc – dispersed carbonates
Fig. 1.2. Morphology and salt distribution within the profile of Episalic Solonetz. The West 
Kazakhstan, village of Borsi; 50.10808 N, 47.4963 E.
Table 1.1. Soil salinity grades depending on the chemistry of salinization (Bazilevich and Pankova, 
1972)
Soil  
salinity grades
Salinization chemistry (by dominant ion concentrations, mmol (equiv.) /100 g of  soil)
Neutral salinization (pH<8.5)
Alkaline salinization (pH>8,5)
Chloride, 
sulphate-
chloride
Chloride- sulphate
Sulphate
Soda and  
soda-chloride
Sulphate-soda 
and  
soda-sulphate
Sulphate-
chloride-
carbonate
HCO
3
HCO
3
HCO
3
HCO
3
>Ca+Mg
HCO
3
>Ca+Mg
HCO
3
Toxicity treshhold 
(non-saline soils)
<0,1
<0,05
<0,2
<0,1
<0,3(1,0)**
<0,15
<0,1
<0,1
<0,15
<0,15
 <0,2 
<0,15
Low
0,1-0,2 
0,05-0,12
0,2-0,4(0,6)
0,1-0,25
0,3(1,0)-0,6(1,2)
0,15-0,3
0,1-0,2
0,1-0,15
0,15-0,25
0,15-0,25
0,2-0,4
0,15-0,3
Medium
0,2-0,4
0,12-0,35
0,4(0,6)-0,6(0,9)
0,25-0,5
0,6(1,2)-0,8(1,5)
0,3-0,6
0,2-0,3
0,15-0,3
0,25-0,4
0,25-0,4
0,4-0,5
0,3-0,5
High
0,4-0,8
0,35-0,7
0,6(0,9)-1,0(1,4)
0,5-1,0
0,8(1,5)-1,5(2,0)
0,6-1,5
0,3-0,5
0,3-0,5
0,4-0,6
0,4-0,6
Does not 
occur
Very high
>0,8
>0,7
>1,0(1,4)**
>1,0
>1,5(2,0)
>1,5
>0,5
>0,5
>0,6
>0,6
“
 
Note: above line - the total amount of  salts, below line - the sum of  toxic salts, %, in water extract 1:5. The sums of  toxic salts were calculated according to [1, 7].
Numbers in brackets characterize salinity levels in gypsum-containing soils with more than 1% of  CaSO
4
 •2H
2
O.

---

6
Soil salinity manаgement manual | Part I.Soil salinity management in the Eurasian Region 
Table 1.2. Classification of alkaline and non-alkaline saline soils based on analyses of saturated soil-
paste extracts [20] 
Soil groups
EC
ESP**
pH
SAR
Main ions and their 
concentrations
Gypsum*
Carbonates 
of   
earth metals*
Non-saline,  
non-alkaline 
<4
<15
<7<
low
+, -
+, -
Saline > 4
>4
<15
<8.5
medium
Cl
-
, SO
4
2-
,HCO
3
-
 - low, 
CO
3
2-
 - absent,
Na
+
>Ca
2+ 
+Mg
2+
+
+
Non-saline,  
alkaline
medium
>15
Usually
>8.5
high
Na
+
 , may be present 
in form of  NaHCO
3
2-
 - 
NaCO
3
Rare 
+
Saline, 
alkaline >4
>4
>15
Usually
<8.5
Like in the 2nd group, 
but with higher content 
of  sodium
Note: * + present, - absent * * the relative amount of  the sodium ion expressed as a percentage (%) of  the CEC or the sum of  exchangeable bases
Table1.3. Soil salinity assessment based on the electrical conductivity of saturated soil-paste extracts 
[20], the data on gypsum-containing Greyzems and analyses of water extract 1:5 (the sum of toxic 
salts and sodium ion concentration), according to Kopikova and Skulkin, 1990 [12]
The impact of  salinity on crp yields
Degree of  
salinization
Criteria by USDA 
(1954), ECe, 
mCm/cm
Criteria according to [12]
ECe,
mCm/cm
The sum of  
toxic salts %
Na+
cmol(equiv.)/kg
Insignificant influenceofsalinity
Absent
Up to 2
0-3
0-0.15
0-1
Limited yields of  very sensitive crops 
Low
2-4
3-5
0.15-0.30
1-3
Limited yields of  many crops
Medium
4-8
5-10
0.30-0.60
3-6
Satisfactory yields of  many salt-resistant 
crops most 
High
8-16
10-16
0.60-1
6-11
Satisfactory yields of  very few salt-resistant 
crops most 
Very high
>16
>16
>1
>11
Table1.4. The water content of saturated extracts (WCSE) depending on the particle-size distribution 
and humus content (in mineral soils) [15]