Soil | Water and salinity management | Biodiversity | Carbon sequestration | GMO's

Environment: Water and salinity management

All living things depend on water for survival. Every piece of land is part of an important water catchment which must be managed to protect the quality of the water that flows from it into our river systems and our oceans.

Different land uses consume different quantities of water, in turn impacting on the total amount of water flowing downstream to lower points in the catchment. In much of rural Australia, trees have been cleared from catchments and replaced by pasture and crops.

Replanting trees can restore some of the original natural balance of the catchment. However, the hydrology of different areas varies greatly depending on soil type and underlying rock formations. Ongoing research and catchment planning are needed to ensure local water flows are environmentally sound and acceptable to the community: plantations have an important place in this complex relationship.

Salinity is a major issue for much of rural Australia, and will continue to reduce agricultural productivity and lower water quality unless prevented through active intervention by government, industry and the community.

The National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality aims to prevent, stabilise and reverse trends in dryland salinity affecting the sustainability of agricultural production, to conserve biological diversity and infrastructure, and to improve water quality and secure reliable allocations for human uses, industry and the environment.

Trees in the landscape can be a management technology for achieving a salinity benefit in targeted areas. Plantations 2020 is continuing to work with the NAP to ensure that plantations are considered as an option for protecting assets for salinity threats; where a benefit is achievable.

For further information, go to the Bureau of Rural Sciences, CSIRO Land and Water, CRC for Catchment Hydrology, and the CSIRO Salinity Mathematical and Information Sciences - Salt Scenarios 2020 or refer to the Environment Australia (Department of the Environment and Heritage) Salinity homepage.

Soil | Water and salinity management | Biodiversity | Carbon sequestration | GMO's