Dryland salinity in context
Managing dryland salinity in an integrated natural resources context
Dryland salinity is a key Australian natural resource management issue that needs to be addressed to ensure productive and sustainable land use. Dryland Salinity Assessment 2000 is a wake-up call: Australia is a vastly different continent to Europe and we need to change our European-based farming systems to work within the context of Australian soils, water resources and climate.
Dryland salinity provides us with an opportunity to integrate natural resource management into the Australian landscape and to seek new balances: in water quality and quantity, nutrients, vegetation, biodiversity, soil health, and social and economic wellbeing.
Natural resource management requires integrated solutions and therefore, integrated assessments. Australian Dryland Salinity Assessment 2000 does not just concentrate on salinity, but also contributesto the broader land and water management issues.
While this report concentrates on the area at risk of dryland salinity, there are a number of Audit themes which together explain the broader impact of dryland salinity.
Salt loads adversely affect the quality of drinking and irrigation water supplies. Excessive extraction will also reduce a river's capacity to dilute salt loads. Australia is yet to strike a balance between water available for use and water available to manage salt loads.
- The Audit's Water Availability assessment characterises and categorises Australia's water resources and provides a context for further joint management of salinity and water resources.
Salt interacts with in-stream biota, changing the ecological health of streams and estuaries.
- The condition of waterways and estuaries will be examined as part of the Audit's Ecosystems Health theme report.
Dryland salinity exacerbates soil erosion. Information about water quantity and salinity needs to be integrated with an understanding of the processes involved in sediment and nutrient movement.
- The movement of sediment and nutrients to and down Australia's river systems will be presented as part of the Audit's Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability theme report.
Salts help fine matter (e.g. suspended clay particles) to coalesce, allowing more sunlight to penetrate rivers. This, in turn, may lead to more blue-green algae blooms if suitable environmental conditions are available.
- The Audit's Australian Natural Resources Atlas details frequency of algal blooms and nutrient concentrations as part of the analysis of Australia's water quality.
Dryland salinity occurs as a result of changes in water balance following clearing of Australia's native vegetation. Protecting remaining native vegetation is a key component in any salinity management activities. The detail of pre-European vegetation gives us a basis to estimate `natural' water balance and to select the most appropriate species for revegetation initiatives.
- The Audit's Native Vegetation Information System details the extent of remaining native vegetation and estimates vegetation type across the Australian landscape before European settlement.
Managing dryland salinity is about changing land use and land management to re-establish the water balance. The capacity of communities to change is a key issue and will drive the rate of salinity management.
- Assessing agricultural productivity, practices and economic returns will be part of the Audit's Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability and Capacity for Change theme reports.
All natural resources management activities require sound monitoring, reporting and assessment to track progress, maximise returns on investment, and improve their application.
- Suggestions for monitoring dryland salinity within this report will be incorporated into a broader set of proposals for monitoring Australia's land and water resources in an ongoing and structured way within the Audit's Final Report, and underpinned by recommendations on database structures, maintenance and information provision and assessment within its Information Management report.
Underpinning all natural resources activities, including salinity management, is access to sound, relevant information that allows for informed debate. The Australian Natural Resources Atlas provides online access to information regarding Australia's natural resources.
Table of Contents for the Australian Dryland Salinity Assessment 2000
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