Use of Remote Sensing Techniques in the Study of Distribution of Salt-Affected Soils in North-west India

Salt-affected soils of a part of north-west India have been studied using Landsat data and aerial photographs. These soils are closely associated with river systems and the origin of primary salts has been attributed mainly to the hydrology, river shifting, and tectonics of the area, considering the conditions such as absence of columnar or prismatic structure in sodic soils, non-saline shallow sub-soil water, low salts in the present river waters and various catastrophic phenomena in the past. There had been redistribution of these primary salts to various physiographic positions. The problem further increased due to aridity, high evapotranspiration and ground water conditions.