Abstract:
Saline-alkali land is becoming one of the most important potential reserve farmland resources to guarantee national food security as the population increases. As one of the 13 major grain-producing areas in China, Hebei Province has three types of saline-alkali soil. These are a typical type of saline-alkali soil with an area of 3.889×10
5 hm
2, representative of the coastal area, Huanghuaihai, and inland saline-alkali areas. Therefore, it is of great significance to implement a food security strategy and promote the development of characteristic agriculture in the saline-alkali land region to study the comprehensive utilization of saline-alkali land in Hebei Province. Based on data from the second and third soil surveys on saline-alkali land from different departments, this study comprehensively analyzed the changes, current situation, problems, and development paths of the comprehensive utilization of saline-alkali land in Hebei Province. Over the past 40 years, the area of saline-alkali land in Hebei Province has demonstrated a significantly decreasing trend, with a rate of decrease of 68.52%. Before 2010, most of the decreased area of saline-alkali land was mild saline-alkali land with an area of 2.377×10
5 hm
2; however, the heavy saline-alkali land significantly decreased in area after 2010, with an area of 1.111×10
5 hm
2 remaining. Meanwhile, the areas of saline-alkali land in Zhangjiakou City and Hengshui City have decreased by relatively large margins, which are 2.33×10
5 hm
2 and 1.12×10
5 hm
2 respectively. However, the areas of saline-alkali land in Cangzhou City and Tangshan City have decreased by relatively small amounts, which are 3.37×10
4 hm
2 and 2.49×10
4 hm
2 respectively. The comprehensive utilization of saline-alkali land in Hebei Province has improved over the past 40 years with the development of new technologies. New salt-tolerant crop varieties, including winter wheat and alfalfa, have been developed. Researchers have developed the joint utilization of multiple water sources in farmlands, including rainfall, shallow brackish water, and soil water. Soil quality improvement technologies, including straw return with organic fertilizer application, construction of fertile cultivation layers, specialized fertilizers, and specialized equipment, have been developed. The joint application of new varieties, technologies, products, and equipment to various types of saline-alkali lands has significantly improved the soil quality of saline-alkali farmlands and crop production capacity. With the implementation of the major strategy of national food security, the coordinated development of Jing-Jin-Ji, and the increasing demand for quality of life, there is an urgent need for the comprehensive utilization of technology for saline-alkali lands. However, the maturity and penetration of comprehensive utilization technologies for different saline-alkali land regions, policy continuity, comprehensive utilization technology, research and development potential, and promotion of varieties still need to be improved. There is also an urgent need to develop saline-alkali land characteristic industries that would benefit farmers’ incomes and sustainable agricultural development. Given the current food requirements and the distribution and area of saline-alkali land, modern technologies for their utilization have been developed and, corresponding countermeasures and suggestions have been put forward from various avenues of politics, industry, academia, research, and finance.