BOOK REVIEW: "Agricultural salinity and management", K.K. Tanji, (Ed.)

Salinity problems have challenged mankind for thousands of years and likely caused the collapse of some early civilizations. Today, salinity problems confront agriculture worldwide in arid and semiarid regions, and in spite of the fact that we know more than enough to prepare a book like this one on the subject, these problems threaten the closing of some irrigation districts. In a sense, minicivilizations that are supported by irrigation districts with severe salinity problems are threatened with collapse. Unfortunately, we learned much of what we know too late. Water rights were allocated and irrigation projects developed without sufficient attention given to the quality and quantity of drainage water that would result from the irrigation. New drainage water quality problems continue to be recognized and identified. In addition, nonagricultural needs for water are increasing, strong arguments are being developed favoring the use of more water for urban and wildlife use and less for irrigation, and the competition for high quality water is critical. Salinity problems could become more limiting as more water is used for other purposes and less for irrigation. Many important decisions lie ahead on this complex problem