Tackling Salinity in the West Hume Landcare region
Tackling Salinity in the West Hume Landcare region
Supporting landholders to address dryland salinity
Community Participation -
LEP_23-019_LLC02
The issue
Dryland salinity is one of the worst forms of land degradation. It can severely reduce productivity of agricultural land and has major environmental and social impacts. Saline groundwater can discharge into waterways, increasing the salinity of these inland waters. Salinity contributes to species extinction and a decline in ecosystem health.
With the onset of wet conditions in recent years, groundwater began to rise throughout the region, moving moisture and salts to the surface. As the water evaporates the salts remain within the soil profile, degrading the landscape.
Dryland salinity is again a major issue for the West Hume Landcare region. Community members came to Landcare for advice on this issue and the Tackling Salinity project was born.
The solution
Through the Tackling Salinity project, Landcare brought the community together to raise awareness of the causes and impacts of dryland salinity and the management actions that can be taken to maintain productivity in saline areas.
We approached this issue from many angles. These were to:
- Increase community awareness and develop landholder knowledge and understanding of dryland salinity causes, signs and symptoms, and their skills in assessment and management through workshops and one-on-one support
- Connect landholders and professionals to facilitate learning and provide access to resources
- Establish sites demonstrating real-world examples of a variety of salinity management actions
The impact
There has been fantastic engagement with this project, raising community awareness and landholder skills associated with identifying and managing dryland salinity. A long-term monitoring program has been established with commitment from landholders to monitor salinity on their property. Resources to support landholders with ongoing salinity monitoring and management have been developed such as “How to” guide and videos, reports, and monitoring database. These are available through the West Hume Landcare website and monitoring equipment is also available for landholder use.
This project is supported by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.
Key facts
- • 6 on-farm workshops
- • 1 professional workshop
- • 4 demonstration sites established
- • 51 one-on-one site visits to 36 properties