Soil salinity
![Visibly salt-affected soils on rangeland in Colorado. Salts dissolved from the soil accumulate at the soil surface and are deposited on the ground and at the base of the fence post.](/Images/godic/202502/08/Salinity5810.jpg")
![Rain or irrigation, in the absence of leaching, can bring salts to the surface by capillary action](/Images/godic/202502/08/Salinity_from_irrigation5810.png")
![](/Images/godic/202502/08/Soil_profile5811.png")
Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization. Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salination can be caused by natural processes such as mineral weathering or by the gradual withdrawal of an ocean. It can also come about through artificial processes such as irrigation.