Converting CRP to Cropland -
Soil Salinity and Management
Helping People Help the Land
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service - North Dakota
February 2008
Salinity in North Dakota
Several factors contribute to the development of saline soils in North Dakota, but high water
table is a major requirement. Recognizing how and why salts accumulate is the first step in
production sustainability on land interspersed with saline soils. Preventing encroachment of
salinity by utilizing conservation practices is an important step. When salinity levels are low,
there is a slight to moderate decrease in yield, but as salinity levels rise, crop yields will be
drastically reduce.
Saline Soils
In cropland, it is common for wetlands and slow-moving natural drains to have accumulation of
salts near the wetland edge. As water moves laterally away from the wetland and beneath the
soil surface, salts are dissolved. This water quickly moves to the wetland edge where it
evaporates from the soil surface and leaves the salts behind. This condition is also common
along road ditches and field drainage ditches. Reducing evaporation at the soil surface with
vegetation will control the encroachment of salinity into adjacent farmland.
Another major salinity problem west and
south of the Missouri River is saline seeps.
Saline seeps form in landscapes where
water percolates from higher elevations,
reaches impermeable layer such as a
clayey material or coal seams, and exits at
the side or bottom of the hill. Controlling
saline seeps involves intercepting water in
the higher elevation, known as recharge
areas, by using alfalfa or a similar deep
rooted perennial.
All programs and services are offered on a nondiscriminatory basis.
CRP and Salinity Management
Land in CRP has been beneficial in controlling salinity. Permanent vegetation utilizes water
throughout the growing season, keeping evaporation at the soil surface to a minimum. Where
saline seeps occur, CRP land