Salinity in Western Australia 

The salinity situation in the Wheatbelt of WA is largely different to salinity in the eastern staes. With predictions of up to 30% of the agricultural landscape becoming saline, finding ways of making this land productive is crucial to the future of agriculture. There are also large differences in the way salinity can be managed within WA. Generally saltland pastures are more suited to the zone of ancient drainage, or eastern wheatbelt, where low relief landscapes and broad valley floors are typical. These areas have very little lateral groundwater flow (left and right) and are at high risk of a shallow, salline watertable. This means that if we can control recharge 'in situ' on the valley floors, we can have an impact on the groundwater levels. Piezometer readings under saltbush stands are showing evidence of this, with a drying of the soil profile up to two meters down. This reduces the onset of waterlogging and allows better pasture growth in areas traditionally prone to waterlogging. Current research shows that if we revegetate 50% of valley floor, the area of valley floor affected by salinity will be 60% less than if the same area of hillsides were revegetated (Barrett-Lennard et al., 2004).

Environmental Benefits of Saltland Pastures
As saltbush-based pastures create water storage capacity, salts tend to leach through the soil profile, allowing salt sensitive and highly productive annual plants to recolonise the area. This drier soil profile will also have flow-on effects downstream. A velley floor revegetated with saltland pastures will reduce flooding and water erosion risks and reduce silting of waterways. A reduction in salt and nutrient loads in larger rainfall events also occurs, having the potential to reduce the downstream impacts on waterways and native vegetation. Impacts on infrastructure such as roads and railways, currently at high risk of damage from salinity, can also be reduced.

Economic Benefits of Saltland Pastures
As well as downstream environmental benefits, saltland pastures differ to all other salinity management strategies in that they can be profitable to producers, who find saltbush-based saltland pastures of most benefit during late summer and autumn. At this time, green feed is absent, stubbles have bene utilised and farmers generally have to feed out hay or grain. Saltbush-based pastures provide a welcome source of green feed and a good source of crude protein and vitamin E (deficiency is a problem at this time of year). Saltland pastures allow farmers to increase the number of livestock on farm, and in many circumstances stocking rates on saltland can be higher than on annula pasture. These factors combined mean that overall farm profit can be increased by 5% (O'Connell and Young, 2002).

Social Benefits of Saltland Pastures
It is well known that farms are getting larger and communities are shrinking as more and more farmers sell out to their neighbours. No doubt in the past, and certainly more so in the future as areas of saline land increase on farms, salinity will become one of the reasons farmers decide to sell and leave. With increased production from saline land making farms more profitable, this exodus will be slowed and with increasing opportunities from other industries based around saline land and water (e.g. inland saline aquaculture), we may even be able to slow it even more. This of course will have significant impact on the survival of many rural towns and communities.