The publication of this Handbook was supported by the Russian Federation

S.A. Balyuk (Ukraine) and I.P. Aidarov (Russia)
Soil tests provide reliable and long-term data on soil salinity and alkalinity and serve as a method of  
assessment of  modern processes of  salt accumulation in soils. Measurements of  salt concentrations 
in soils allow the analysis of  spatial development of  salinization and alkalinization processes on 
currently and formerly irrigated fields and adjacent lands [5, 7].
Measurements of  salt concentrations in soils allow the determination of  the following:
a)  the chemistry (chemical type) of  soil salinity based on the concentrations of  salt anions and 
cations;
b)  the degree of  soil salinity (based on determinations of  the total amounts of  salts and toxic 
salts in water extracts of  soils and sediments characterized by different types of  salinity);
c)  the depth of  the upper boundary of  the first salt-containing horizon;
d)  the mean content of  the reserves of  salts;
e)  the hydrochemical type (based on anion and cation concentrations) and the salinity of  the 
groundwater (fresh - up to 1g /dm
3
; weakly saline -1-3; moderately saline -3-5; strongly saline 
-5-10; very strongly saline -10-35; brine - more than 35 g / dm
3
 [7]);
f)  the irrigation water quality and the risk of  irrigation salinity occurrence [7].
The information gained is used for creating data bases and maps of  soil salinization.
The development of  strategies for controlling water and salt regimes of  irrigated lands requires 
the knowledge of  the scale and trends of  natural processes of  salt accumulation under different 
hydrogeological and hydrochemical conditions that existed in soils before irrigation started [1]. 
Specific calculation techniques [1, 3] for the evaluation of  contents and distribution of  salts in a soil 
at a specific moment of  time. A change in at least one of  the factors leads to a change in salt regime.
In cases of  fluctuating groundwater tables and other parameters, the salt accumulation trends can 
be assessed via simultaneous soil tests over a wide area.
The assessment procedure involves statistical processing of  the data to reveal the distribution 
patterns of  random values of  toxic salt (or ion) concentrations within a two-meter-thick layer of  
soil, which excludes the influence of  seasonal fluctuations in salt composition. Practical calculations 

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Chapter 2.Methods of studying, mapping and monitoring saline and alkaline soils 
can be conducted using a simpler method for mass processing of  data [2], which is widely used in 
hydrology and amelioration.
An example of  statistical calculations for practical exercises is given in Annex  C.2.
2.3. Organizing and conducting soil monitoring in conjunction with 
European experience