Alianza Mundial por el Suelo

Training on soil salinity in Ukraine

Soil salinization is one of the major forms of soil degradation identified in the Eurasian region that hinders sustainable development and the achievement of food security. Concerted and coordinated efforts are needed to increase the sustainable management of saline soils, involving different stakeholders and countries in the region. This includes the need to master advanced technologies and sharing accumulated experience in managing saline soils for wider application to not only manage saline soils, but also prevent soil salinization. 

19/12/2017

To address this, a Training Workshop on Soil Salinity Management was jointly organized by FAO the Eurasian Center for Food Security and the National Scientific Center “Institute for Soil Science and Agrochemistry Research named after O.N. Sokolovsky” (NSC ISSAR) under the framework of the Global Soil Partnership (GSP). The training was held from 26 to 29 September 2017 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, attended by representatives from 12 countries in the Eurasian region. The main objective of the event was to provide training on the severity of soil salinity in the Eurasian region and existing efforts and technologies to sustainably manage saline soils.

The training programme was mostly structured around the “Handbook for saline soil management”, with six (6) Technical sessions focused on 1) the origin, identification, classification, causes, impacts and distribution of saline soils, 2) methods of soil survey, mapping and monitoring of saline and alkaline soils, 3) monitoring and assessment of salt-affected soils, 4) rational use of salt-affected and alkaline soils, 5) innovative technologies for the reclamation and restoration of salt-affected and Solonetz soils and marginal landscapes in the EA region, and 6) participatory identification and prioritization of management options. The event included a field trip excursion to some of the NSC ISSAR research stations to view three different Chernozem soils under different types of management, as well as various research trials conducted on these soils.  

The training was given by a range of presenters from Armenia, Russia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, as well as a various representatives from NSC ISSAR in Ukraine. Overall feedback from workshop participants was positive, highlighting the need for future cooperation within the region and with the GSP Secretariat towards improving the management of saline soils. It was noted, however, that the concept of sustainable soil management (SSM) as defined under the GSP was not yet clearly understood prior to the training and needs further elaboration in future GSP activities.

Details of the event  |  Presentations