Dear authors,

The reviewers offered many minor comments but also several criticisms that go to the heart of your paper. Your reply indicates you recognize both. I am not sure if the proposed changes can entirely alleviate the concerns of Dr. Vervoort, but they are substantial and remove some misunderstandings that led to some of the more critical remarks. That being said, I agree with Dr. Vervoort that the distance between the current status of you model and its practical application to remediation of saline soils is probably larger than the phrasing in the paper suggests. I do not consider this a reason to reject the paper – a non-incremental step moving us close to the solution of a problem is well worth publishing, and there is consensus among the referees (and me) that your work constitutes such a step. The work presents an interesting, unconventional approach that deserves to have a platform in the literature. I therefore ask you to revise your paper along the lines you proposed in your replies, while taking into consideration these aspects.

Dear authors,

I asked the referees to review your revision and received one reply, which was positive. I concur with the assessment, so I am happy to inform you that I can accept your paper for publication.

Sincerely yours,

Gerrit de Rooij