The Burdekin Dryland Salinity Project

Dryland salinity is a potential threat to the Burdekin Dry Tropics region. Funding from the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality enabled BDTNRM to build on existing information, including an earlier Priority Action Project (PAP3), to better assess the threats posed by dryland salinity. 

Small areas within the BDTNRM dryland region have been identified as being at risk of developing dryland salinity. The good news is that current grazing land management techniques, including rotational grazing, wet season spelling, and maintaining perennial grasses will help to keep salinity at bay and have also been proven to help with productivity. 

The BDTNRM Dryalnd Salinity project, conducted in partnership with Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM)  had three major components, as follows:

• Sub-regional priority setting process – existing data was used to identify those parts of the BDT region at higher risk of developing dryland salinity. The assessment considerd factors such as geology, landform, topography, soils, native vegetation cover, land use, groundwater and salt storage.
• Salty Spots Factsheets – case studies have been used to build an improved understanding of salinity processes and the management of salty landscapes by graziers and farmers in the BDT region. The case studies convey land manager’s stories about managing their properties more sustainably including their patches of salty land. The case studies also contain technical information on why the salty areas have developed.
• Salty spots in the Burdekin Dry Tropics-  an audio CD with stories from the case study landholders, is currently being produced. Contact Amanda Laurie at BDTNRM for a copy of the CD - amanda.laurie@bdtnrm.org.au.

While there are numerous incidences of dryland salinity in the BDT region, it is not as common as it is in parts of southern Australia and has much less impact. Studies indicate, however, that some of the region’s landscapes store large quantities of salt, which if mobilised by rising water tables, could cause extensive damage to agricultural land, native vegetation, rivers and even road or rail infrastructure. Fortunately, the risk of widespread changes in land use or management that would cause water tables to rise in this way is relatively low and limits the threat that salinity poses to the BDT region’s natural resources.

Salinity information on the Queensland’s department of Natural Resources and Water (NRW)

http://www.nrm.qld.gov.au/salinity/index.html

Fact sheets concerned with salinity on the NRW website

http://www.nrm.qld.gov.au/factsheets/groups.php?group=Salinity&

The National Dryland Salinity Program (NDSP) website

http://www.lwrrdc.gov.au/ndsp/default.asp

CRC for plant based management of dryland salinity

http://www.crcsalinity.com/aboutus/salinity.php?id=14

Australian Government, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF)

http://www.daff.gov.au/content/output.cfm?ObjectID=D2C48F86-BA1A-11A1-A2200060B0A05558