In the traditional Earth sciences,salt research focuses on saline lake and ancient saline deposits,while other salt accumulations(both solid-phase and liquid-phase salt-bearing geologic bodies),e.g.lagoons,estuaries,salt marshes and springs,are less studied,let alone salt accumulations in other planets.There are about 25 salt-forming elements,and due to the wide range and importance of their actions and with the progress in modern science and technology,the study of salt accumulations has broken through the monodisciplinary field.It has not only expanded and become more intensive in the Earth sciences,including the field of salt resource science and technology,but also new intriguing discoveries have been reported in biology,medicine,public health and environmental ecology,and furthermore,space and planetary science has begun to involve salt research.Macroscopically the research has entered the stage of global and even planetary research,and microscopically it has attained the molecule and gene level.The exploitation of salts and saline-alkaline soils has reached the stage of comprehensive use and total development.All these set a completely new stage for interdisciplinary salt research and great expansion of salt research in depth and breadth,which is generally known as the stage of "salt systems" research and comprehensive development,conservation and management.