California is one of America’s leading agricultural-producing states. Losing any of California’s food production would lower the economy and the support of a growing population. However, an increasing problem in California is decreasing soil health, leading to unusable fields. Many causes result in reduced soil health, but the main one seen in the San Joaquin Valley is salinization or increased salt concentration in the soil. Salt in the soil ruins agricultural production as it causes the ground to become unusable and damaging to plant life. Therefore, reducing the salinity of the soil through basic farming techniques would save the San Joaquin Valley from future agricultural problems.
Water sources can increase the soil salinity of agricultural properties. The San Joaquin River runs through the valley providing farmers with easy access to water. However, ocean water continually contaminates the river water. As the salt in the water increases, farmers will add more salt directly to their crops. Even if the salt stops increasing in the river water, the current salt levels will eventually build up, creating soil salinization. Most coastal communities have an outlet for salt to return to the ocean, whereas the valley does not have an outlet for the salt to escape. Without an outlet, the salt build-up continues to increase, and only an artificial contraption will stop this. The natural water sources in the valley are one of the leading causes of salinization.
Another water source contributing to salinization is the wastewater used for irrigation. Wastewater, in this situation, refers to sprinkler water or pipe water filtered from the city. The problem is that daily activities like cooking, showering, and cleaning increase the salt concentration in the wastewater. Both the river water and wastewater are becoming saltier. Therefore, there is no good way for farmers to add water to their crops without salt. Roots absorb water, and the sun’s heat also causes water to evaporate. Salt, however, is not absorbed and does not evaporate, meaning salt builds up in the soil, adding continuously to the salinity. Overall, the water sources are one of the main problems causing salinization in the valley.
Another major cause of salts in the soil is fertilizer. Fertilizer is a needed farming tool. However, in some places, it is doing more bad than good. For example, in the San Joaquin Valley, fertilizer is used in excess to combat the unhealthy soil, resulting in excess nitrate salts. Therefore, fertilizer creates a loop in the valley. As salinity increases, soil health keeps decreasing. Farmers then add more fertilizer resulting in higher soil salts repeating the cycle. The way farmers are currently fertilizing is another way humanity is damaging soil health.
Nitrate salts also pose another problem to the environment. In small amounts, nitrates are essential for plants, but the increasing concentration is beginning to affect water and health. Nitrate salts are soluble, quickly leaching into state water sources, especially in high concentrations. These water sources are also what farmers use to water crops meaning the nitrates and other salts from the water will return to their fields, increasing the salt concentration even more. One source found that nitrate in the water affects “rural communities and contributes to higher rates of birth defects.” Therefore, soil salinization is beginning to affect the California population, not just the fields. The salinity in the San Joaquin Valley creates unhealthy drinking water and directly creates more saltiness, showing the need to lessen or end salinization.
Besides the California population and water health, salinity is beginning to ruin the agricultural industry within the valley. High levels of salt damage plant growth and production, resulting in unusable fields. In fact, “more than 80,000 hectares of irrigated lands have been retired from agriculture” due to salt in the valley’s soil. The quote shows that land is becoming unusable and that salt is the main contributor to useless land. The passage says the land has irrigation, meaning there is enough water, but it has become inoperable due to the high salt concentration not draining from the fields. Retiring fields due to salinity shows the growing problem salinization is creating.
An interesting aspect is how little Americans know about this problem compared to other environmental issues. However, salinization in the valley could create significant issues besides water health for California. Danika Desai notes that “the San Joaquin Valley produce(s) more food than any other comparably sized region in the world.” The fact that the valley is the largest producer in the world is impressive. However, it also means the valley’s businesses use many workers to meet production and revenue requirements. Therefore, the loss or decreasing use of the San Joaquin Valley could cause job losses and less food production for a growing population. Both would reduce the economy in the valley first and then any places where companies expected the valley’s regular food production. Therefore, the San Joaquin Valley farmland loss caused by salinization would negatively affect California.
Farmers can use different techniques to help reduce and stop soil salinity. Farmers with a high salt content affecting plant production can use specific crops that survive while they remove the salt. Crops like sorghum, wheat, triticale, ripe, oats, and barley are salt-tolerant cereal crops. For vegetable farmers, asparagus and red beets are the only two vegetable plants that are salt tolerant. Even though there is a limited supply of plant types, these select plants can still help farmers temporarily produce crops in high, salt-concentrated soils. They would still be able to earn money and fix their fields in the same process. Once improving the salinity problem, they can return to their original crops. Alternative crops would be short-term for profit while considering a long-term solution for salinization.
The first step would be to remove as much salt as possible from the soil. As Zaman notes, one way farmers can do this is by using acids or gypsum. Unfortunately, the article did not explain how these remove salts. Another way to remove salts is to use good irrigation water to flush the salts out of the field. Clean irrigation for the valley is becoming increasingly tricky as salt increases in the water sources, but it is essential to avoid losing more farm fields. Applying acid or gypsum to the land seems like a more expensive way to remove salt, meaning farmers could try the water version first. Removing the salt will be necessary, but maintaining the correct salt levels is equally important for farmers.
There are multiple steps to preserve appropriate salt levels that are all important, and when used together, they could be even more efficient at keeping the levels consistent. From personal experience in gardening, mulch is a good water retention technique. Mulch acts as a protective layer from the sun and heat during the summer and helps lessen evaporation in the fields. Evaporation was one cause of increased salt in the land, which means that decreasing evaporation would slow down the amounts of salt left in the areas. Mulching would be an expensive endeavor in entire fields but would help prevent losing entire lots or the valley. Even though mulching would not solve the salinization of soils, it would help slow down the process allowing farmers to reduce the salt concentration faster.
Fertilizer was one of the leading causes that increased salt in the soils and created health problems for water in California. Therefore, correctly using fertilizer needs to be a prominent solution for farmers. The correct way to fertilize accurately is by calculating the yield goal for the season and fertilizing based on that goal (Silva 19). Using the average yield for the past five seasons is how farmers should predict their yield goal. However, a study by Silva et al. found that farmers’ “yield goals averaged 9 percent higher than the actual.” For farmers with the high salinity in their soil, predicting a higher yield cannot happen because more fertilizer adds salt to the already salinized soil. Therefore, farmers need to use the correct amount of fertilizers so that the plants use all the nitrate. The primary step for farmers would be to find the accurate yield of the field instead of the outcome they want. Correct fertilizer would help reduce and maintain a lower salt level.
Even though fertilizer levels affect the salt amount, research also shows how farmers’ fertilization techniques and types of fertilizer can affect water quality. Figure 3 demonstrates that an ammoniacal form of nitrogen would be better since there is less leaching. Another technique is that farmers can fertilize with nitrate or urea forms of nitrogen at the end of an irrigation cycle. When done watering, the fertilizer will stay at the root level and absorb into the plants instead of leaching into nearby water sources. Either method of fertilizing is an option for farmers and should be done in the correct amounts to avoid salt build-up. Decreasing the fertilizer that leaches will also help reduce the nitrates and salts found in water, preventing future salinization from the water used for irrigation. Farmers need to consider the long-term effects of incorrect fertilization on their crops.
Salinization is a growing problem in California. Without farmers thinking of long-term issues or solutions, the San Joaquin Valley will become unusable for crop growth. Losing the valley cannot happen because of its high food production. However, the short-term goals of farmers will be environmentally and economically devastating for the Valley and California. Ultimately, farmers need to begin battling salinization to restore and prevent the loss of farmland.
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Alex Huerta is a writer from the Colorado Springs area.
