Joint Meeting of INSAS & SUSTAIN

Salt-affected soils: threats and potentials Joint meeting of the International network of salt-affected soils (INSAS) and the COST Action on the sustainable use of salt-affected lands (SUSTAIN) 27-31 May, 2024 Valencia, Spain

Among the diversity of the world’s soils, salt-affected soils are a group that have a distinct specificity. Many are primary or naturally saline soils, which range from mangroves, marshes and coastal wetlands to inland salt flats and ancient sea beds, all of which are home to unique ecosystems that are adapted to extreme salinity conditions. Their resilience makes a significant contribution to global biodiversity and offers a fascinating insight into life’s capacity to adapt. Studying these environments not only enriches our understanding of nature, but also promises to unlock the keys to adapt to future scenarios that are essential for maintaining crops in saline conditions and ensuring food security for the world’s growing population.

Yet, as the world’s population grows exponentially and living standards improve, the pressure to convert once marginal land into fertile land is intensifying. This phenomenon is particularly pronounced in semi-arid and arid regions, which rely heavily on irrigation for agricultural production and are scarce in fresh water resources. As a result, secondary salinization – the gradual and human induced accumulation of salts in the soil – is a serious obstacle to agricultural production. The situation is set to worsen with the increasing effects of global warming and climate change, forcing populations to abandon degraded areas and triggering migration.

To address these issues and foster stronger connections between science, policy, and farmers, the SUSTAIN COST Action will convene its first meeting in Valencia, Spain, jointly with the FAO International Network of Salt-Affected Soils (INSAS) (https://www.fao.org/global-soil-partnership/insas/). The meeting will be hosted by the University of Valencia.

The joint meeting of INSAS and SUSTAIN will be held from the 27 to 31 May 2024. 

This 5-day meeting will include:

27 May, 2024 – Workshop on salt-affected soils and their management

28 May, 2024 – Technical sessions of INSAS and SUSTAIN

29 May, 2024 – Trainings on salt-affected soils and halophytes

30 May, 2024 – Field trip to the coastal marshlands (Las Moros and Prat de Cabanes-Torreblanca) and water desalination factory

31 May, 2024 – Field trip to the fotovoltaic plant, inland salt playa under restoration (Laguna de Salinas, Villena valley), gypsiferous soils high in NaCl under orchards (Villena valley), solar salt mining and salt-affected cotton fields (Santa Pola)

Tentative agenda (coming soon) Link for online registration (Day 1) Link for online registration (Day 2 – coming soon) Link for in-person registration (please remember to register via the e-cost system as well) Link to the draft agenda

The Scientific Committee will be accepting abstracts that will compete for oral and poster presentations during this event. The abstracts should be submitted in English, maximum 3.000 characters (without spaces). For more information and submission, please go to (coming soon).

To participate in the technical sessions of SUSTAIN, please get in touch with the leader of the Working Group that you are interested in. The description of the Working Groups’ focus and tasks is available here.

The meeting will have both in-person and remote participation via Zoom. There is no registration fee, but participants are responsible for their travel, accommodation, and field trip expenses.

Organizing committee (in alphabetic order):

Jorge Batlle-Sales, University of Valencia, Chair of INSAS, Spain

Nadia Bazihizina, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy

Artemi Cerda, University of Valencia, Spain

Eleftheria Dalmaris, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Maria Konyushkova, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Italy

Katarzyna Negacz, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Vice-chair of INSAS, Action chair of SUSTAIN, Kingdom of the Netherlands

Meisam Rezaei, Soil and Water Research Institute, Vice-Chair of INSAS, Iran

Gerardo Stübing Martinez, University of Valencia, Spain

Pim van Togeren, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Kingdom of the Netherlands

Scientific Committee (in alphabetic order):

Henrik Per Aronsson, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Jorge Batlle-Sales, University of Valencia, Chair of INSAS, Spain

Nadia Bazihizina, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy

Artemi Cerda, University of Valencia, Spain

Luísa Custódio, Centre of Marine Sciences, Portugal

Zenepe Dafku, Agricultural University of Tirana, Albania

Saskia Keesstra, TERRAenVISION Foundation, Kingdom of the Netherlands

Maria Konyushkova, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Italy

Katarzyna Negacz, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Vice-Chair of INSAS, coordinator of COST-EU Action on Salinity, Kingdom of the Netherlands

Michail Orfanoudakis, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece

Jutta Papenbrock, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany

Vítor João Pereira Domingues Martinho, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, Portugal

Juan Bautista Peris Gisbert, University of Valencia, Spain

Meisam Rezaei, Soil and Water Research Institute, Vice-Chair of INSAS, Iran