Salinity Management
Salinity Technical Reports | Salinity Indicator Plants
Dryland salinity in the Wimmera region is a serious threat to agricultural productivity and biodiversity. Therefore, a multitude of planning and management activities are centred around this problem in the region, including groundwater monitoring for the Wimmera, Avoca and Richardson River catchment regions, and various community action plans, community education for integrated management, implementation activities, integrated management plans, native vegetation conservation strategies for dryland catchments, ‘Operation Undersow’, land and water management control, surface water drainage investigations and soil rehabilitation. There is only one Salinity Management Plan region in the Wimmera - the Wimmera Dryland Salinity Management Plan. This generally covers the eastern part of the catchment region, with the exception of some areas in the far south.
 Saline Land in the Wimmera Region |
The following Centre for Land Protection Research salinity risk management reports are available online:
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 | Hocking, M., (1999) What Is Causing Salinity on the Wimmera Plains, Centre for Land Protection Research Technical Report no. 53, DPI, Bendigo | (PDF 2.1MB) |
 | Hocking, M., (1998) Assessment of Salinity Risk in the West Wimmera, Centre for Land Protection Research Technical Report no. 46, DPI, Bendigo | (PDF 856KB) |
Other reports relevant to salinity in the Wimmera include:
Wimmera Catchment Coordinating Group (1992). Wimmera Catchment Salinity Management Plan, Horsham.
Wimmera Irrigation Area Salinity Strategy Steering Committee (1995). Wimmera Catchment Irrigation Area Salinity Management Strategy, Horsham.
Related Links
- Information on Discharge Monitoring Sites in the Wimmera Catchment - on the DSE website (external link).
- Murray-Darling Basin Salinity Management Strategy. Information about the 15 year Basin Salinity Management Strategy (2001-2015) on the Murray Darling Basin Commission website (external link). Includeds downloadable documents.
- Murray-Darling Basin Salinity Audit. (external link) Provides detailed predictions for all major river valleys in the Murray-Darling Basin for the next 20, 50 and 100 years.
- Effectiveness of Current Farming Systems in the Control of Dryland Salinity. (external link) A downloadable CSIRO publication on the Murray Darling Basin Commission website.
- Victorian Dryland Salinity in Context. (external link) Information in the Australian Natural Resource Atlas.
- Austrlia's Dryland Salinity Assessment 2000. (external link) Information on extent, impacts, processes, monitoring and management options related to dryland salinity in Australia. Completed as part of the National Land and Water Resources Audit.
- The CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity (external link) is a national research organisation that will provide new plant-based land use systems that lessen the economic, environmental and social impacts of dryland salinity and thereby help to sustain rural communities. This will be achieved through an improved understanding of the way natural and agricultural ecosystems work.
- The Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) established a Task Force to investigate the current state of knowledge and provide a basis for incorporating biodiversity conservation aims into salinity management plans. A report entitled Implications of Salinity for Biodiversity Conservation and Management (external link) was published. This report aims to raise awareness and demonstrate how, if appropriately designed, actions to mitigate salinity can at the same time contribute to biodiversity conservation outcomes.
- The National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (NAP) (external link) is a major commitment for applying regional solutions to salinity and water quality problems. The aim is for all levels of government, community groups, individual land manager and local businesses to work together in tackling salinity and improving water quality. Around Australia, 21 priority regions affected by salinity and water quality problems are being targeted. Part of the emphasis of the National Action Plan is on mapping salinity in the landscape. The resulting maps will help land managers develop more effective strategies for dealing with salinity based on better knowledge of how salt spreads through the landscape.
- The National Dryland Salinity Program (NDSP) (external link) is a lead knowledge broker of research, development and extension efforts to combat the risk of dryland salinity in Australia. The NDSP website provides information on: airborne geophysics, salinity tools, engineering options, cost of salinity, and catchment classification. The website also includes a Salinity Information Package (external link) which contains over 40 information sheets, which provide a step-by-step framework to understand the complex relationships between salinity, socio-economics, land systems and management options.
- The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Australia website provides a range of documents related to Salinity Risk Management in Australia (including: the salinity problem; integrated salt risk characterisation, and salinity risk management)
- Information about salinity on the Australian Academy of Sciences website (external link).
- The Saltland Pastures Association website (external link) provides information related to making saltland productive.
References
Hocking, M., (1998). Assessment of Salinity Risk in the West Wimmera, Centre for Land Protection Research Technical Report no. 46. DPI, Bendigo.
Hocking, M., (1999). What Is Causing Salinity on the Wimmera Plains, Centre for Land Protection Research Technical Report no. 53. DPI, Bendigo.
Wimmera Catchment Coordinating Group (1992). Wimmera Catchment Salinity Management Plan, Horsham.
Wimmera Irrigation Area Salinity Strategy Steering Committee (1995). Wimmera Catchment Irrigation Area Salinity Management Strategy, Horsham.
© The State of Victoria, 1996 - 2009.
This document was last reviewed on 30/10/2008