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Objective

Recommendation

Key issues

What has been achieved 1998-2003

Tasmania Together

Further and related recommendations

Related Issue Reports

Objective

To manage and reduce the adverse impacts from salinity on soil, water, vegetation, biodiversity, infrastructure, and agricultural productivity.

Recommendation

It is recommended that:

• the Tasmanian Salinity Strategy is finalised and implemented;
   
• the extent, severity and impact of salinity are assessed, salinity risk assessment is undertaken, and monitoring of groundwater and surface water salinity is established in high priority catchments; and
   
• research, development and extension is undertaken to: (i) better understand the processes driving salinity; and (ii) develop and promote practical and profitable land management options to prevent and manage potentially saline land, and for the productive use of saline land and water resources.
   

Key issues

The distribution of saline soils in Tasmania has increased due to land management practices (such as irrigation and changes to vegetation cover) over the past 200 years. Salinity is principally located in the Northern and Southern Midlands, Central Highlands and Dorset municipalities. While Tasmania has some salinity due to natural causes (primary salinity), the main causes of salinity induced since European settlement have been largely due to land use change and to a minor extent, irrigation. An emerging salt problem could restrict agribusiness from diversifying into high value, salt sensitive crops using irrigation. It could also affect market perceptions of Tasmania as 'environmentally responsible' influencing market share in export markets linked to quality assurance programs based on sustainability standards.

Further information is contained in the Salinity Issue Report. Some of the key points include the following:

• The area of salt affected agricultural land in 2000 was estimated to be 53,500 ha or 3% of Tasmania's agricultural land (Bastick and Walker 2000).
   
• The area of salt affected agricultural land is estimated to increase to 94,000 ha by 2050 (Bastick and Walker 2000). Half of the 48 catchment areas in the State have undergone some surface water salinity testing. Nineteen of these contained water with levels above 800 µS/cm, the World Health Organisation's highest preferred limit for drinking water. Twelve catchments contained water with levels above 1,500 µS/cm. Adverse ecological effects are likely to occur in aquatic ecosystems if salinity rises above 1,500 µS/cm.
   
• Salinity is an emerging threat to sustainable agriculture. Annual losses to agriculture are estimated to be $5.4 million. If salinity increases at the estimated rate this figure could rise to $9.4 million by 2050 (Bastick and Walker 2000).
   
• Salinity poses a significant threat to some vegetation communities and habitats. Salinity impacts are greatest in the low rainfall areas where there has already been considerable impact on biodiversity following European settlement. These areas have little remaining vegetation, and have the highest number of locally extinct plants and animals and threatened species. The vegetation types considered most threatened by salinity are those found on valley floors and low slopes, including native grassland remnants, wetlands and woodlands. These include some of Tasmania's most endangered vegetation types.
   
• On a municipal level, the majority (i.e. 20 of the 29 Tasmanian municipalities) show visual signs of salinity. The worst affected areas are in the Northern Midlands, Southern Midlands, Central Highlands and Dorset, which constitute 80% of the land thought to be affected by salt in the State.
   

What has been achieved 1998-2003

The following is a summary of key achievements in managing salinity in Tasmania. Further information is contained in the Salinity Issue Report. Unless otherwise stated, the following initiatives have been coordinated and managed through the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment (DPIWE).

• In 2000, the extent, severity, rate and impacts of dryland salinity in Tasmania for the National Land and Water Resource Audit was quantified. Recommendations for the management of salinity in Tasmania were made. This was published as Bastick and Walker 2000, Extent and Impacts of Dryland Salinity in Tasmania, Volumes 1 and 2 (The Tasmanian Salinity Audit).
   
• Tasmania has become a member of the National Dryland Salinity Program and, as a result, is more effectively accessing national research, development and extension activities, as well as contributing to the development of these activities.
   
• The development of a Tasmanian Salinity Strategy has commenced. The strategy will identify actions required to address salinity within the State.
   
• A Natural Heritage Trust project is presently being completed, which was designed to support community-based on-ground activities to address salinity in Tasmania. Some of the results from the two projects preceding this one were used to inform the Tasmanian Salinity Audit, and the development of the Soil Management Guidelines for Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers (Hamlett 2002).
   
• Southern Farming Systems Tasmania and the DPIWE have developed and demonstrated a new Salinity Containment Risk Assessment and Management decision tree to assist farmers to better assess and manage salinity risk.
   
• Recording of 54 salinity monitoring bores is undertaken in the Cressy-Longford and Coal River Irrigation areas. In addition, the collation of about 200 monitoring bores is undertaken where individual farmers collect the readings.
   
• Tasmania is participating in the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (NAP), with the priority region in Tasmania being 17 catchments in central Tasmania plus Flinders Island. An integrated natural resource management plan will be prepared and priority actions to address salinity (as identified in the Plan) will be implemented within the region.
   
• A project is in progress under the NAP to update the data used for the Tasmanian Salinity Audit, and then assess the critical assets at risk in the NAP region.
   

Other programs and initiatives

• Mineral Resources Tasmania examined the hydrogeological setting for some areas subject to soil salinity in Tasmania (Dell 2000). This project established approximately 75 bores and/or piezometers in five salt-affected areas around Tasmania. These were monitored monthly for a period of 18 months. The report contains recommendations on salinity management.
   
• Mineral Resources Tasmania is upgrading the State groundwater database to include community based and private groundwater monitoring networks, which will allow a range of groundwater issues to be examined in more detail. Mineral Resources Tasmania is also reviewing their original Statewide groundwater monitoring network (consisting of 39 bores that have been monitored for over ten years) for its potential to monitor trends in salinity across all regional ground water flow systems.
   
• The DPIWE with Mineral Resources Tasmania are currently running a project called Land Degradation and Salinity Risk in three areas (Tunbridge, Coal River and Waterhouse).
   
• DPIWE and Mineral Resources Tasmania are also progressing the classification of Tasmanian ground water flow systems contributing to dryland salinity. This will be used to identify priority groundwater flow systems for improved ground water monitoring.
   
• Within the community, approximately 15 Landcare groups and many local catchment management and natural resource management plans have recognised salinity as an issue and are implementing activities to address it.
   
• Private Forests Tasmania, in association with DPIWE, is running a series of trials as part of the Natural Heritage Trust funded project assessing the use of eucalypt hybrids in managing salt-affected land. Various hybrid eucalypts are being tested for their sustainability for use on salt-affected land around the State.
   
• The Tasmanian Government has implemented measures to better manage native vegetation. These measures include:
   
• Amendments to the Forest Practices Act 1985 to bring clearing of all forest under the Act.
   
• Review of the policy on maintaining a Permanent Forest Estate. The 'Inquiry on the Progress with Implementation of the Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement' (RPDC 2002) recommended that the State amends the policy to increase the levels of retention of native forest.
   
• The development of improved information on non-forest communities through TASVEG.
   

Tasmania Together

Relevant Tasmania Together goals and standards for 'Land' are listed in the linked file. The Tasmania Together Progress Board reported on progress toward targets for benchmarks set (Tasmania Together Progress Board 2003). Indicators, targets and baseline data are available in the latest Progress Report June 2003. Further information, including progress report updates, is available from Tasmania Together.

Further and related recommendations

Related Issue Reports