Nature watch
Salt pans – a human-made wetland of significance
Photos: Geetha Iyer
Geetha Iyer
Salt pans with freshly pumped sea water
Salt pans are extensions of larger wetland complexes. Naturally occurring salt pans are also known as salt flats. These are natural formations, flat expanses of land where the soil is covered with salt and other minerals. Appearing white and shining under the sun such natural formations are generally seen in deserts 44 TEACHER PLUS, AUGUST 2020
or at places where there are underground deposits formed through evaporation of sea water millions of years ago, when such regions were a marine environment. Artificial salt pans are created by humans close to seas, estuaries or salt lakes for the purpose of extracting salt. They are also found in relative proximity to urban dwellings. Known also as salt ponds, the design of these ponds or pans may vary but the common feature is that salt water is pumped
Salt worker at a pan in Rann of Kutch
Photo courtesy: Wikipedia
W
hen we think of salt water habitats or ecosystems, it is the sea or the ocean that comes to mind. But present close to these large marine habitats, associated especially with estuarine areas, is a habitat that is yet to gain prominence or get attention as have other habitats. These are the naturally occurring salt marshes and the artificially created salt pans where salt is produced. It is not merely the seas and oceans that are the source for salt marshes and pans. Inland sources such as salt lakes also contribute to the creation of this kind of habitat. This article explores the artificially created salt pan habitat, its characteristics, importance in sustaining biodiversity and the need to conserve them.
