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SALINITY |
A-Salt
on Central West
BEV SMILES
Secretary of the
Central West Environment Council
A-Salt
on Central West |
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The Murray-Darling Basin Commission confirmed what many people on the ground have been aware of for a long time. Dryland salinity is a major natural resource management problem in Central West NSW. BEV SMILES writes. |
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The MDBC Audit1 has been most successful in highlighting the need for more research into natural processes. The Central Tablelands area of the state has a complex geology overlaying marine sediments. These are the major source of salt in rising water tables. Knowledge about salinity recharge and discharge areas is only just emerging as a new science. Many landowners and natural resource managers in the Central West have been aware of the impacts of salinity for a long time. A local soil conservation officer referred to it as a ‘secret cancer’ as far back as the mid-1980’s. |
A landcare volunteer prepares native seedlings for replanting |
Many onground activities and the formation of landcare groups have occurred throughout the region in response to a desire to fix the problem. The emphasis has been on revegetating discharge areas because they are the most obvious — the effects of rising water tables. Gaining an understanding of recharge areas, or where the water enters the landscape, is the real challenge.
A number of successful projects and innovations have been achieved by dedicated farmers and community groups in the region.
Landcare Groups such as Barneys Reef Landcare Group, near Gulgong in the Upper Macquarie River catchment, have experimented with native plant revegetation over a ten year period. The group has looked at a combination of tree-planting and native grass sowing to maintain farm production while improving biodiversity on their properties.
The first problem encountered was a source of local native grass seed. The group set about to design and manufacture a native grass seed harvester and sower. This is now available for other landholders in the region to use. Group members have developed a method of growing annual grain crops with native grass pastures.
Native perennial grasses serve to lower water tables in some landscapes as effectively as trees. In fact, rich grasslands with scattered large trees and shrubs is what the explorers found when first crossing the Blue Mountains. The western woodland plant communities which are natural to the Central West have been the most impacted ecosystems in Australia due to the level of grazing and cropping carried out since the early 1800s.
Dryland salinity on a large scale, impacting on our freshwater systems and remaining natural remnants, is the legacy of early agricultural practices. There is still a lot of work to be done both in research and finding practical onground solutions.
The real challenge is for governments to recognise the wealth of community experience in dealing with salinity degradation. More importantly, everyone needs to realise that all native remnants in the Central West are an extremely important source of local provenance seed. Successful revegetation programs to mitigate dryland salinity depends on this seed source.
BEV
SMILES is the
Secretary of the Central West Environment Council
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Salt-interception pilot at Dubbo and Wagga by Ken Rogers from Dubbo City Council’s Parks and Landcare Services A salt-interception pilot project involving Dubbo and Wagga City Councils and Geo Processors will look at the feasibility of full-scale salt removal plants to process saline water from under the cities of Dubbo and Wagga. Catchment systems do not recognise political boundaries. Problems are frequently created in one part of a catchment in a state, territory or local government area , while the effects are often experienced elsewhere. There is an obvious focus on regional approaches to salinity management and large-scale ‘accredited’ regional projects will most likely be funded through the $1.4 billion to be spent over the next three years. Estimated costs of salinity to agricultural landholders in the Macquarie/Bogan Catchment are in excess of $51.5million per year and infrastructural and other costs to the non-agricultural community could be as high as $34.7million per year. I urge Councils to "get in and make things happen rather than be spectators". Money could be used for improving the coverage of native vegetation, engineering works to address salt intrusion and removing redundant structures that inhibit river health and land and water uses. |
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Parks Association - Home Page |
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