Land Management

Salinity

About 260,000 hectares of Victoria's farming land is presently suffering significant damage from soil salting. Of this total, 140,000 hectares is located in Victoria's northern irrigation districts. A further 120,000 hectares of non-irrigated (dryland) grazing and cropping land throughout the state is also affected.

Furthermore large additional areas of irrigated and non-irrigated land are presently at risk from soil or suffer marginal damage.

The effect of soil salting on a community can be drastic. As land produces less, farm incomes drop and spending within a community decreases. This can result in business shut-downs, decline of rural towns and population movements.

The physical environment changes too, not only in the immediate area but down stream from the salt affected areas. Rivers and streams receive salt laden run-off and silt as soil structure changes and erosion occurs.

The quality of water supplies for towns, livestock and domestic purposes also deteriorates.