The final major human cause of desertification is soil salinization resulting from overirrigation.

在很多国家木材是用来做饭和加热的最主要燃料。人口增加带来的压力促使人们大量砍伐木材，导致许多城市和乡村周围大面积树木和灌木减少。同时人们大量使用烘干的动物排泄物作燃料同样对土壤不利，这些珍贵的土壤成剂和植物营养资源将不会再回归至土壤当中。

For example, in California, agricultural damage due to water salinization costs billions of dollars annually.

例如，在加利福尼亚州，水盐碱化造成的农业损失每年要花费数十亿美元。

Environmental implications One of the most explicit impacts of river water salinization is on biodiversity.

环境影响河水盐碱化最明显的影响之一是对生物多样性的影响。

In recent decades, the salinization of river water has been studied, and analyses have identified the causes and impacts.

近几十年来，人们对河水盐碱化进行了研究，并析了其原和影响。

So the sea was being destroyed to grow crops, but the crops couldn’t grow because of more salinization.

此，海洋被破坏以种植农作物， 但由于更多的盐碱化，农作物无法生长。

Scientists call this process " salinization." The term comes from the word " saline" -- which means a mixture of salt and water.

科学家称这一过程“盐碱化”，这个词汇来自盐水这个词，也就是盐和水的混合物。

The salinization of rivers and streams also represents increased monetary costs to the agriculture industry due to impacts on crops that decrease yields.

河流和溪流的盐碱化也增加了农业的货币成本，对作物的影响降低了产量。