Bio-shielding Coastal Saline Soils to Combat Climate Change in Coastal Areas: Coastal Region of Western India as a Case Study

Abstract

Salinity in coastal soils, unlike that in inland soils is caused during the process of their formation under marine influence and subsequently due to periodical influence of saline water either through inundation or capillary rise from shallow underground water or saline water irrigation. Coastal saline soils are having dominant salts of sodium chloride and sodium sulphate with abundance of soluble cations with dominance of Na followed by Mg, Ca and K and chloride as the predominant anion followed by sulphate. The coastal land needs protection against tidal inundation through protective embankment like bio-shield for control of sea ingress, soil erosion and salinity. Monsoonal rainfall intensity has increased during later period of Monsoon in the Western Coastal region. Unsuitable climatic conditions, soil and water degradation, marine influence in the coastal areas and secondary salinization in irrigation command areas minimized the land suitable for arable farming. Technological knowledge generated till date has helped in taming the problem in large tracts of land in different countries to restore their full productive potential. However, new challenges are set to be faced either due to changing climate or land use anomalies, leading to exponential increase in the area under salinity. With the new challenges cropping up, soil salinity related stresses, particularly in coastal area can be more pronounced and more damaging to crop production. The productivity of these soils can be restored by management and reclamation using different available technologies. Providing adequate drainage, leaching out soluble salts below root zone, cultivation of salt-tolerant varieties (halophytic plants), bio-saline agriculture, and plantation of bioshield including mangroves in coastal area have to be ensured for enhancing the productivity of these soils. For management and enhancing the productivity in coastal black soils of Gujarat, different interventions have been evolved. Coastal ecosystems being rich in a wide variety of natural resources offer large scope to develop alternate and sustainable farming packages.