Dryland Salinity
Dry land salinity is a major problem that farmers face throughout parts of Australia. Salinity is when salt rises to the surface due to waterlogged ground which cause the water table to rise bring up salt with it. Once the salt reaches the grounds surface the soil becomes almost useless to the farmer. Yet there is prevention and solutions. How to prevent and manage salinity is being taught to farmers. This is necessary, even in this local area where it is predicted by the year 2050 67 224 hectares of farming land along the MacIntyre will be affected by salinity and an approximately another 30 000 hectares along other main river systems.(Source of figures: George Truman, Salinity Officer, Department of Land and Water Conservation, Barwon Region; Speech on Salinity) Areas affected at present and predicted to be affected by 2050 Australia wide. Western Australia 4 363 000 8 800 000 * The Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory were not included as the dryland salinity problem
The project, which is far complete is now concentrating on two perennial grasses. One from the relatives of wheat, barley and rye, and grasses which were used for eating by the aborigines. It is estimated that about 30 percent of land is at risk to salinity and while it's not possible to restore this land to its original condition, in-roads are being made into curbing the impact of salinity both on and off farm. There is now good evidence (according to GRDC www.grcd.com.au) that in changing from long fallow rotations to opportunity cropping, grain growers increase returns, reducing the risks of salinity and water logging threatening their enterprises. Not only can Lucerne have a great effect on your soil, it can be very profitable for grazing at the same time. Lucerne is an aggressive, nitrogen-fixing perennial (meaning with re-grow each season) legume which can simultaneously improve soil health. The continuous growing of cereals (i.e. wheat and barley) on the same soil has seriously depleted soil fertility, particularly soil nitrogen, in Australia's northern cereal belt. Salinity is managed closely and carefully for researches to find more productive ways to monitor, improve, and prevent the problem.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Western Australia, Bringing Lucerne, Solutions Dry, Liverpool Plains, Soil Mapping, Boomi Garah, Australia Salinity, Water Conservation, Capital Territory, Grain Crops, water table, dry land, dry land salinity, land salinity, annual crops, farming systems, water tables, | |, perennial grain, grain crops, opportunity cropping, perennial grain crops, water doesn't sink, land water conservation, water table rising,
Approximate Word count = 1454
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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