Academic literature on the topic 'Dryland salinity'
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Journal articles on the topic "Dryland salinity"
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Rengasamy, P. "Transient salinity and subsoil constraints to dryland farming in Australian sodic soils: an overview." Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 42, no. 3 (2002): 351. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ea01111.
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More than 60% of the 20 million ha of cropping soils in Australia are sodic and farming practices on these soils are mainly performed under dryland conditions. More than 80% of sodic soils in Australia have dense clay subsoils with high sodicity and alkaline pH (>8.5). The actual yield of grains in sodic soils is often less than half of the potential yield expected on the basis of climate, because of subsoil limitations such as salinity, sodicity, alkalinity, nutrient deficiencies and toxicities due to boron, carbonate and aluminate. Sodic subsoils also have very low organic matter and biological activity. Poor water transmission properties of sodic subsoils, low rainfall in dryland areas, transpiration by vegetation and high evaporation during summer have caused accumulation of salts in the root zone layers. This transient salinity, not influenced by groundwater, is extensive in many sodic soil landscapes in Australia where the watertable is deep. ‘Dryland salinity’ is currently given wide attention in the public debate and in government policies, but only focusing on salinity induced by shallow watertables. While 16% of the dryland cropping area is likely to be affected by watertable-induced salinity, 67% of the area has a potential for transient salinity not associated with groundwater and other subsoil constraints and costing the Australian farming economy in the vicinity of A$1330 million per year. A different strategy for different types of dryland salinity is essential for the sustainable management and improved productivity of dryland farming. This paper discusses the sodic subsoil constraints, different types of salinity in the dryland regions, the issues related to the management of sodic subsoils and the future priorities needed in addressing these problems. It also emphasises that transient salinity in the root zone of dryland agricultural soils is an important issue with potential for worse problems than watertable-induced seepage salinity.
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Callow, J. Nikolaus, Matthew R. Hipsey, and Ryan I. J. Vogwill. "Surface water as a cause of land degradation from dryland salinity." Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 24, no. 2 (February 17, 2020): 717–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-717-2020.
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Abstract. Secondary dryland salinity is a global land degradation issue. Drylands are often less developed, less well instrumented and less well understood, requiring us to adapt and impose understanding from different hydro-geomorphological settings that are better instrumented and understood. Conceptual models of secondary dryland salinity, from wet and more hydrologically connected landscapes imposed with adjustments for rainfall and streamflow, have led to the pervasive understanding that land clearing alters water balance in favour of increased infiltration and rising groundwater that bring salts to the surface. This paper presents data from an intra-catchment surface flow gauging network run for 6 years and a surface-water–groundwater (SW–GW) interaction site to assess the adequacy of our conceptual understanding of secondary dryland salinity in environments with low gradients and runoff yield. The aim is to (re-)conceptualise pathways of water and salt redistribution in dryland landscapes and to investigate the role that surface water flows and connectivity plays in land degradation from salinity in low-gradient drylands. Based on the long-term end-of-catchment gauge, average annual runoff yield is only 0.14 % of rainfall. The internal gauging network that operated from 2007–2012 found pulses of internal water (also mobilising salt) in years when no flow was recorded at the catchment outlet. Data from a surface-water–groundwater interaction site show top-down recharge of surface water early in the water year that transitions to a bottom-up system of discharge later in the water year. This connection provides a mechanism for the vertical diffusion of salts to the surface waters, followed by evapo-concentration and downstream export when depression storage thresholds are exceeded. Intervention in this landscape by constructing a broad-based channel to address these processes resulted in a 25 % increase in flow volume and a 20 % reduction in salinity by allowing the lower catchment to more effectively support bypassing of the storages in the lower landscape that would otherwise retain water and allow salt to accumulate. Results from this study suggest catchment internal redistribution of relatively fresh runoff onto the valley floor is a major contributor to the development of secondary dryland salinity. Seasonally inundated areas are subject to significant transmission losses and drive processes of vertical salt mobility. These surface flow and connectivity processes are not only acting in isolation to cause secondary salinity but are also interacting with groundwater systems responding to land clearing and processes recognised in the more conventional understanding of hillslope recharge and groundwater discharge. The study landscape appears to have three functional hydrological components: upland, hillslope “flow” landscapes that generate fresh runoff; valley floor “fill” landscapes with high transmission losses and poor flow connectivity controlled by the micro-topography that promotes a surface–groundwater connection and salt movement; and the downstream “flood” landscapes, where flows are recorded only when internal storages (fill landscapes) are exceeded. This work highlights the role of surface water processes as a contributor to land degradation by dryland salinity in low-gradient landscapes.
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Briggs, Sue V., and Nicki Taws. "Impacts of salinity on biodiversity—clear understanding or muddy confusion?" Australian Journal of Botany 51, no. 6 (2003): 609. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt02114.
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Dryland salinity has been known for several decades in eastern Australia. Its causes have been known for at least five decades. Why did it take so long for the problem to be officially recognised? Why is it taking so long for impacts of dryland salinity on terrestrial biodiversity to be investigated in eastern Australia? To answer these questions we delve back into human history and then move forwards to modern times. Historically, salt has connotations of punishment, money, status and love. Today, salt ignites powerful emotions in humans in modern institutions. Controlling the salinity agenda enhances status and provides resources. Impacts of salinity on biodiversity are often ignored when powerful groups with little interest in biodiversity compete for dominance of the salinity agenda. After discussing these factors, the paper presents information about impacts of dryland salinity on terrestrial biodiversity in eastern Australia. The limited research conducted shows that dryland salinity threatens vegetation communities that are already depleted from extensive clearing. Native ground species of plants in salinised woodlands are replaced by exotics and weeds. Trees die. The paper concludes with recommendations for future actions to enhance understanding and management of impacts of dryland salinity on terrestrial biodiversity in eastern Australia.
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Perri, Saverio, Samir Suweis, Dara Entekhabi, and Annalisa Molini. "Vegetation Controls on Dryland Salinity." Geophysical Research Letters 45, no. 21 (November 5, 2018): 11,669–11,682. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2018gl079766.
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Clarke, C. J., R. J. George, R. W. Bell, and R. J. Hobbs. "Major faults and the development of dryland salinity in the western wheatbelt of Western Australia." Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 2, no. 1 (March 31, 1998): 77–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/hess-2-77-1998.
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Abstract. Dryland salinity poses a major threat to agricultural production in the wheatbelt of Western Australia and much time and effort is expended on understanding the mechanisms which cause it and on developing techniques to halt or reverse its development. Whilst the location of much dryland salinity can be explained by its topographic position, a significant proportion of it cannot. This study investigated the hypothesis that major faults in the Yilgarn Craton represented in aeromagnetic data by intense curvilinear lows explained the location of areas of dryland salinity not explained by topography. Moreover, the causal mechanisms that might underpin a spatial relationship between major faults and dryland salinity were sought. In one fourth order catchment, nearly 85% of the salinity that was not explained topographically was within 2km of the centre line of a major fault, the remaining 15% being in the other 12km of the catchment. Three groups of similar third order catchments in the western wheatbelt of Western Australia were also investigated; in each case the catchment that was underlain by a major fault had dryland salinity an order of magnitude more than the unfaulted catchment(s). This evidence demonstrates a strong spatial association between major faults and the development of dryland salinity. Other evidence suggests that the underlying mechanism is hydraulic conductivity 5.2 to 2.9 times higher inside the fault zone compared to outside it and shows that geomorphology, salt store, regolith thickness, and degree of clearing are not the underlying mechanisms. In one of the groups of catchments, it has been calculated that an amount of recharge, significant in relation to recharge from rainfall, was entering from an adjacent catchment along a major fault. The paper concludes that geological features such as major faults affect the development of dryland salinity in the wheatbelt of Western Australia because of permeability differences in the regolith and therefore computer models of salinity risk need to take these differences into account. Techniques need to be developed to map, quickly and relatively cheaply, the geology-related permeability differences over wide areas of the landscape.
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Seddon, Julian A., Andre Zerger, Stuart J. Doyle, and Sue V. Briggs. "The extent of dryland salinity in remnant woodland and forest within an agricultural landscape." Australian Journal of Botany 55, no. 5 (2007): 533. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt06100.
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Dryland salinity is considered a significant and increasing threat to sustainable land management and biodiversity across large parts of temperate Australia. However, there is little information on the extent of this threat to terrestrial ecosystems in south-eastern Australia. This paper provides a quantitative assessment of the extent of dryland salinity in remnant native woody vegetation in the agriculture-dominated landscape of the Boorowa Shire located in the South West Slopes bioregion of south-eastern Australia. The amount and type of native woody vegetation in the Boorowa Shire affected by dryland salinity was assessed by analysing the extent of overlap between the following three spatial data layers: (1) woody vegetation mapping derived from high-resolution satellite imagery, (2) existing vegetation community mapping predicted from field data and expert opinion and (3) existing dryland salinity outbreak mapping derived from air photo interpretation and filed verification. There were more than 6000 patches of salt outbreak in woody vegetation in the Boorowa Shire, 383 (6%) of which were 1 ha or larger in area. Almost 2000 ha of woody vegetation were affected by dryland salinity, representing ~3% of the extant native woody vegetation in the Boorowa Shire. The vegetation type with the largest total area affected by dryland salinity was yellow box (Eucalyptus melliodora Cunn. Ex Schauer)–Blakely’s red gum (E. Blakelyi Maiden) woodland. As a proportion of their current extent, vegetation communities lower in the landscape were significantly more affected than those higher up the topographic sequence, with 14% of riparian communities and nearly 6% of yellow box–Blakely’s red gum woodland exhibiting symptoms of dryland salinity. About 1% of white box (E. albens Benth) woodland, and of hill communities which are on mid- and upper slopes, were affected. The pattern of salinity outbreaks in relation to landscape position and vegetation type is significant for biodiversity conservation because the vegetation communities most affected by salinisation are those most heavily cleared and modified post-European settlement. Throughout the South West Slopes of New South Wales, remnants of riparian communities and yellow box–Blakely’s red gum woodland are highly cleared, fragmented and degraded. Dryland salinity represents an additional threat to these vegetation communities and their component species. Salinisation of woodland ecosystems poses significant problems for land managers. The long-term viability of these woodland remnants needs to be considered when allocating limited public funds for woodland conservation, whether on private land or in formal reserves.
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Jiang, Qingsong, Jie Peng, Asim Biswas, Jie Hu, Ruiying Zhao, Kang He, and Zhou Shi. "Characterising dryland salinity in three dimensions." Science of The Total Environment 682 (September 2019): 190–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.037.
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Jardine, A., P. Speldewinde, and S. Carver. "Dryland Salinity and Human Health Outcomes." Epidemiology 17, Suppl (November 2006): S434. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00001648-200611001-01163.
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Pannell, D. J. "Farm, food and resource issues: politics and dryland salinity." Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 45, no. 11 (2005): 1471. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ea04158.
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Political forces make it difficult to develop effective and efficient policies for dryland salinity. The politics of the day have had major influences on salinity and salinity-related policy, beginning with the clearing of land for agricultural development. Tensions affecting salinity policy include urban political power v. rural salinity; short-term politics v. long-term salinity; crisis-driven politics v. slow and inexorable salinity; simplistic and uniform political solutions v. complex and diverse salinity problems; the need for winners in politics v. the reality of losers from effective salinity policy; east v. west; and national v. state governments. These tensions will interact with our improving scientific knowledge of salinity and ongoing social and economic changes in rural areas to shape future salinity policies. Prospects for changes in salinity policy and outcomes over the next 10 years are suggested, including the following possibilities: more carefully targeted and site-specific investments in salinity prevention; the beginnings of success of current research and development efforts to develop profitable new plant-based systems for salinity management; ongoing debate about the appropriate role for catchment management bodies for in salinity management; greater attention to the problem of salinity impacts on biodiversity and infrastructure; reduced attention to market-based instruments for salinity; and ongoing changes in the economics of agriculture, timber and energy influencing salinity outcomes and, potentially, salinity policy.
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Biggs, A. J. W., and P. Mottram. "Links between dryland salinity, mosquito vectors, and Ross River Virus disease in southern inland Queensland—an example and potential implications." Soil Research 46, no. 1 (2008): 62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/sr07053.
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The impacts of dryland salinity on landscapes and agriculture are well documented, but few links have been made to public health. A cluster of cases of Ross River Virus (RRV) disease in the vicinity of a dryland salinity expression in the town of Warwick, Queensland, has highlighted the potential role of secondary salinity expressions as breeding zones for mosquitoes, including vector species of RRV. It is suggested that further work is required to investigate the matter in Queensland, particularly in relation to the expansion of urban populations in south-east Queensland into old agricultural lands containing secondary salinity expressions.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Dryland salinity"
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Taylor, Peter John. "Potential impacts of interception belts on the management of dryland salinity /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 1999. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09AGRP/09agrpt245.pdf.
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Speldewinde, Peter Christiaan. "Ecosystem health : the relationship between dryland salinity and human health." University of Western Australia. School of Population Health, 2008. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2008.0127.
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Australia is experiencing widespread ecosystem degradation, including dryland salinity, erosion and vegetation loss. Approximately 1 million hectares (5.5%) of the south-west agricultural zone of Western Australia is affected by dryland salinity and is predicted to rise to 5.4 million hectares by 2050. Such degradation is associated with many environmental outcomes that may impact on human health, including a decrease in primary productivity, an increase in the number of invasive species, a decrease in the number of large trees, overall decrease in biodiversity, and an increase in dust production. The resulting degradation affects not only farm production but also farm values. This study examines the effects of such severe and widespread environmental degradation on the physical and mental health of residents. Western Australia has an extensive medical record database which links individual health records for all hospital admissions, cancer cases, births and deaths. For the 15 diseases examined in this project, the study area of the south west of Western Australia (excluding the capital city of Perth) contained 1,570,985 morbidity records and 27,627 mortality records for the 15 diseases examined in a population of approximately 460,000. Environmental data were obtained from the Western Australian Department of Agriculture?s soil and landscape mapping database. A spatial Bayesian framework was used to examine associations between these disease and environmental variables. The Bayesian model detected the confounding variables of socio-economic status and proportion of the population identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. With the inclusion of these confounders in the model, associations were found between environmental degradation (including dryland salinity) and several diseases with known environmentally-mediated triggers, including asthma, ischaemic heart disease, suicide and depression. However, once records of individuals who had been diagnosed with coexistent depression were removed from the analysis, the effect of dryland salinity was no longer statistically detectable for asthma, ischaemic heart disease or suicide, although the effects of socio-economic status and size of the Aboriginal population remained. The spatial component of this study showed an association between land degradation and human health. These results indicated that such processes are driving the degree of psychological ill-health in these populations, although it remains uncertain whether this 4 is secondary to overall coexisting rural poverty or some other environmental mechanism. To further investigate this complex issue an instrument designed to measure mental health problems in rural communities was developed. Components of the survey included possible triggers for mental health, including environmental factors. The interview was administered in a pilot study through a telephone survey of a small number of farmers in South-Western Australia. Using logistic regression a significant association between the mental health of male farmers and dryland salinity was detected. However, the sample size of the survey was too small to detect any statistically significant associations between dryland salinity and the mental health of women. The results of this study indicate that dryland salinity, as with other examples of ecosystem degradation, is associated with an increased burden of human disease.
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Carver, Scott Stevenson. "Dryland salinity, mosquitoes, mammals and the ecology of Ross River virus." University of Western Australia. School of Animal Biology, 2008. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2009.0100.
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[Truncated abstract] In an era of emerging and resurging infectious diseases, understanding the ecological processes that influence pathogen activity and the influences of anthropogenic change to those are critical. Ross River virus (RRV, Togoviridae: Alphavirus) is a mosquito-borne zoonosis occurring in Australia with a significant human disease burden. In the southwest of Western Australia (WA) RRV is principally vectored by Aedes camptorhynchus Thomson (Diptera: Culicidae), which is halophilic. The inland southwest, the Wheatbelt region, of WA is substantially affected by an anthropogenic salinisation of agricultural land called dryland salinity, which threatens to influence transmission of this arbovirus. This study assessed the ecological impacts of dryland salinity on mosquitoes, mammalian hosts and their interactions to influence the potential for RRV transmission. Many aquatic insect taxa colonise ephemeral water bodies directly as adults or by oviposition. Using a manipulative experiment and sampling from ephemeral water bodies in the Wheatbelt, I demonstrated that salinity of water bodies can modify colonisation behaviour and the distribution of some organisms across the landscape. Halosensitive fauna selected less saline mesocosms for oviposition and colonisation. In particular, Culex australicus Dobrotworksy and Drummond and Anopheles annulipes Giles (Diptera: Culicidae), potential competitors with Ae. camptorhynchus, avoided ovipostion in saline mesocosms and water bodies in the field. This finding suggests salinity influences behaviour and may reduce interspecific interactions between these taxa and Ae. camptorhynchus at higher salinities. Using extensive field surveys of ephemeral water bodies in the Wheatbelt I found mosquitoes frequently colonised ephemeral water bodies, responded positively to rainfall, and populated smaller water bodies more densely than larger water bodies. The habitat characteristics of ephemeral water bodies changed in association with salinity. Consequently there were both direct and indirect associations between salinity and colonising mosquitoes. Ultimately the structure of mosquito assemblages changed with increasing salinity, favouring an increased regional distribution and abundance of Ae. camptorhynchus. The direct implication of this result is secondary salinisation has enhanced the vectorial potential for RRV transmission in the WA Wheatbelt. ... This thesis contributes to an emerging body of research aimed at delineating important ecological processes which determine transmission of infections disease. Collectively the findings in this study suggest dryland salinity enhances the potential for RRV activity in the Wheatbelt. Currently, human RRV notifications in the Wheatbelt do not reflect the salinity-RRV transmission potential in that area, but appear to be associated with dispersal of RRV from the enzootic coastal zone of southwest WA. I speculate dryland salinity is a determinant of potential for RRV transmission, but not activity. Dryland salinity is predicted to undergo a two to four fold expansion by 2050, which will increase the regional potential for RRV activity. Preservation and restoration of freshwater ecosystems may ameliorate the potential for transmission of RRV and, possibly, human disease incidence.
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Graham, Tennille. "Economics of protecting road infrastructure from dryland salinity in Western Australia." University of Western Australia. School of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 2009. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2009.0207.
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[Truncated abstract] The salinisation of agricultural land, urban infrastructure and natural habitat is a serious and increasing problem in southern Australia. Government funding has been allocated to the problem to attempt to reduce substantial costs associated with degradation of agricultural and non-agricultural assets. Nevertheless, Government funding has been small relative to the size of the problem and therefore expenditure needs to be carefully targeted to interventions that will achieve the greatest net benefits. For intervention to be justified, the level of salinity resulting from private landholder decisions must exceed the level that is optimal from the point of view of society as a whole, and the costs of government intervention must be less than the benefits gained by society. This study aims to identify situations when government intervention is justified to manage dryland salinity that threatens to affect road infrastructure (a public asset). A key gap in the environmental economics literature is research that considers dryland salinity as a pollution that has off-site impacts on public assets. This research developed two hydrological/economic models to achieve this objective. The first was a simple economic model representing external costs from dryland salinity. This model was used to identify those variables that have the biggest impact on the net-benefits possible from government intervention. The second model was a combined hydro/economic model that represents the external costs from dryland salinity on road infrastructure. The hydrological component of the model applied the method of metamodelling to simplify a complex, simulation model to equations that could be easily included in the economic model. The key variables that have the biggest impact on net-benefits of dryland salinity mitigation were the value of the off-site asset and the time lag before the onset of dryland salinity in the absence of intervention. ... In the case study of dryland salinity management in the Date Creek subcatchment of Western Australia, the economics of vegetation-based and engineering strategies were investigated for road infrastructure. In general, the engineering strategies were more economically beneficial than vegetation-based strategies. In the case-study catchment, the cost of dryland salinity affecting roads was low relative to the cost to agricultural land. Nevertheless, some additional change in land management to reduce impacts on roads (beyond the changes justified by agricultural land alone) was found to be optimal in some cases. Reinforcing the results from the simple model, a key factor influencing the economics of dryland salinity management was the urgency of the problem. If costs from dryland salinity were not expected to occur until 30 years or more, the optimal response in the short-term was to do nothing. Overall, the study highlights the need for governments to undertake comprehensive and case-specific analysis before committing resources to the management of dryland salinity affecting roads. There were many scenarios in the modelling analysis where the benefits of interventions would not be sufficient to justify action.
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Holzapfel, Michael, and n/a. "Regolith-landform mapping and dryland salinity investigaton: Booberoi-Quandialla Transect, Western New South Wales." University of Canberra. Resource, Environmental & Heritage Sciences, 2004. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060519.144945.
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Landholders in the Booberoi to Quandialla (B-Q) Transect area, located in central west
NSW, have been concerned about an emerging dryland salinity problem since the late
1990�s (Wooldridge 2002, pers. comm. Muller 2002, pers. comm.) with borehole
information and electromagnetic induction investigations supporting anecdotal
observations. The presence of indicator vegetation, waterlogging of soils and
salinisation of land are becoming increasingly prevalent, with two well-documented
sites including �Strathairlie� near Quandialla, and �Back Creek� near West Wyalong.
The B-Q Transect area lies within the Bland Creek Catchment, a broad open plain of
subdued topography and restricted drainage receiving sediments from elevated rises
located to the west, south and east. Significant deposits of transported alluvial materials
have in-filled the catchment to depths in excess of 160 m and have posed a particular
impediment to regional-scale mineral exploration. Stream flow across the alluvial
plains and low angle alluvial fans is intermittent with most of the flow being diverted
into groundwater storage or lost to evaporation. Rarely do streams flow into Lake
Cowal to the north.
A partial electromagnetic (EM) induction survey coupled with a long term bore and
piezometer network monitoring program have been implemented by the Department of
Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources (DIPNR � formerly Department of Land
and Water Conservation) Central West NSW Salt Group. These programs allow for
initial, broad-scale evaluation of the magnitude and spatial distribution of the salinity
problem but fail to pinpoint remaining sites at risk as well as the mechanisms of salt
emplacement.
As part of an approach to assist with hazard mitigation and land management, two
regolith-landform maps are being compiled using 1:20,000 scales in the Back Creek and
Quandialla areas. A third, more regional regolith-landform map at 1:50,000 scale
(Holzapfel & Moore 2003a, b & c) provides context for the more detailed mapping
areas. The new regolith-landform maps will aid in interpretation of existing geophysical
techniques, help piece together the three-dimensional characteristics of the Bland Creek
catchment, aid in the development of a shallow fluid flow and palaeotopographic model
and assist land managers in formulating land management units (LMU�s).
The three-dimensional integration of regolith-landform mapping, electromagnetic
studies, bore information and other geophysical methods is critical in determining the
interaction, distribution and movement of groundwater in the Bland Creek Catchment as
buried palaeochannels represent preferred fluid pathways. The distribution of these
palaeochannels has implications for future dryland salinity outbreaks, the remediation of
current outbreaks and mineral exploration closer to the well-known Wyalong Goldfield
(Lawrie et al., 1999).
The western quarter of the B-Q Transect area partially overlaps with the recently
completed GILMORE Project (Lawrie et al., 2003a,b & c), a multi-disciplinary study,
coordinated by Geoscience Australia (GA) and the Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS).
Regolith-landform information in addition to gamma-ray spectrometry, magnetics,
airborne electromagnetics and a digital elevation model acquired by the GILMORE
Project have been incorporated into regolith-landform maps over the B-Q Transect. The
incorporation of these datasets has helped not only extend the usefulness of the
GILMORE Project data but provide a consistent, regolith-landform coverage for the
broader Bland Creek Catchment.
Regolith-landform mapping has been successful in highlighting major recharge zones
for local and intermediate flow systems. The mechanisms for dryland salinity at two
well-known sites have also been determined. Increasing salt stores are occurring
through evaporation of intermittent floodwaters sourced from floodplains, back plains
and broad meandering existing creek systems and recharging partially exposed
palaeochannels intersecting the surface. Due to the shallow nature of these partially
exposed palaeochannels, evaporation further concentrates the salt load in the soil
profile. It is unknown if mapped shallow palaeochannels further away from current
drainage systems are affected by rising salt loads.
Regolith-landform mapping highlights two additional risk factors common to the
1:50,000 and 1:20,000 scale B-Q Transect mapping areas including widespread
waterlogging of soils and wind erosion. Due to the subdued topography, features such
as gilgai, fences and roads are having an effect on drainage modification. Wind erosion
was also observed to play a major role within the B-Q Transect with significant loss of
topsoil creating hardened clay surfaces resistant to water infiltration and significant
redistributed deposits of aeolian materials.
Interpretation of regolith-landform mapping against geophysical datasets and drill hole
data show considerable lateral and vertical variation of regolith units. This variation of
regolith distribution with depth does not reduce the effectiveness of using regolithlandform
mapping as a valued management tool. The subdued relief coupled with the
complex interplay between recharge zones, discharge zones and surficial drainage
networks over the B-Q Transect still requires a detailed knowledge of surface regolithlandform
characteristics whilst reinforcing the need for a multidisciplinary approach to
gain a 3D perspective.
Catchment analysis has been performed on drainage systems within the Bland Creek
Catchment and has helped explain the strong effect different catchments have had on
sediment supply to the Bland Basin. Catchment analysis results have been used in basic
calculations of salt loads in the Bland Creek Catchment. An estimated 18,780 Tonnes/yr
of salt enter the Bland Creek catchment and as stream flow out of the Bland Creek
Catchment is intermittent, salt stores are increasing in the upper margins of the soil
profile and groundwater reserves.
Reconstruction of the palaeotopography of the B-Q Transect has been made possible
using a mutli-disciplinary approach incorporating information from regolith-landform
mapping, drill hole information, gamma-ray spectrometry and GILMORE Project
datasets. The production of large-scale regolith-landform mapping, the development of
a shallow fluid flow model and reconstruction of palaeotopography builds on and
contributes to knowledge of the Bland Creek Catchment allowing for detailed farmscale
and paddock-scale land management decisions.
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Jardine, Andrew. "The impact of dryland salinity on Ross River virus in south-western Australia : an ecosystem health perspective." University of Western Australia. School of Population Health, 2007. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2007.0182.
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[Truncated abstract] A functional ecosystem is increasingly being recognised as a requirement for health and well being of resident human populations. Clearing of native vegetation for agriculture has left 1.047 million hectares of south-west Western Australia affected by a severe form of environmental degradation, dryland salinity, characterised by secondary soil salinisation and waterlogging. This area may expand by a further 1.7-3.4 million hectares if current trends continue. Ecosystems in saline affected regions display many of the classic characteristics of Ecosystem Distress Syndrome (EDS). One outcome of EDS that has not yet been investigated in relation to dryland salinity is adverse human health implications. This thesis focuses on one such potential adverse health outcome: increased incidence of Ross River virus (RRV), the most common mosquito-borne disease in Australia. Spatial analysis of RRV notifications did not reveal a significant association with dryland salinity. To overcome inherent limitations with notification data, serological RRV antibody prevalence was also investigated, and again no significant association with dryland salinity was detected. However, the spatial scale imposed limited the sensitivity of both studies. ... This thesis represents the first attempt to prospectively investigate the influence of secondary soil salinity on mosquito-borne disease by combining entomological, environmental and epidemiological data. The evidence collected indicates that RRV disease incidence is not currently a significant population health priority in areas affected by dryland salinity despite the dominant presence of Ae. camptorhynchus. Potential limiting factors include; local climatic impact on the seasonal mosquito population dynamics; vertebrate host distribution and feeding behaviour of Ae. camptorhynchus; and the scarce and uneven human population distribution across the region. However, the potential for increased disease risk in dryland salinity affected areas to become apparent in the future cannot be discounted, particularly in light of the increasing extent predicted to develop over coming decades before any benefits of amelioration strategies are observed. Finally, it is important to note that both dryland salinity and salinity induced by irrigation are important forms of environmental degradation in arid and semi-arid worldwide, with a total population of over 400 million people. Potential health risks will of course vary widely across different regions depending on a range of factors specific to the local region and the complex interactions between them. It is therefore not possible to make broad generalisations. The need is highlighted for similar research in other regions and it is contended that an ecosystem health framework provides the necessary basis for such investigations.
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Kleplova, Klara Zoe. "Ecosystem Services Based Evaluation Framework of Land-use Management Options for Dryland Salinity in the Avon Region, Western Australian Wheatbelt." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-227654.
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Dryland-salinity management options aim to positively influence the adverse human-induced processes which lead to salinisation of top-soil. Specifically, the processes causing dryland-salinity are rising saline groundwater table and soil erosion. In the Avon region of Western Australia, the management options are evaluated solely on the basis of their efficiency in lowering groundwater tables. However, recently the need to take into account also their wider impact on the ecosystems' resilience has been recognised as well. Nevertheless, the tool to assess these impacts is missing. The aim of this thesis is to synthesise the missing tool from existing ecosystem services-based land-use evaluation frameworks, which would fit the environmental issue, regional socio-economic demands and the existing dryland salinity management options' efficiency evaluation framework. The thesis builds on secondary data and describes (i) the environmental issue of dryland salinity in Australia, (ii) the dryland salinity-environmental, economic, social and political environments of the Avon region, and (iii) five chosen evaluation frameworks which assess the impact of land-use on ecosystem resilience. The proposed optimal framework for the Avon region is then a combination of two existent frameworks: (i) ecosystem resilience evaluation framework & (ii) the ecosystem services economic valuation framework. Where the inputs of the proposed optimal framework are: (i) soil properties, (ii) external natural and anthropogenic drivers and (iii) beneficiaries; the transfer phase is represented by the soil processes; and the output of the framework are (i) ecosystem services and (ii) their economically valued benefits.
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Clarke, Christopher John. "The impact of geology on dryland salinity, and the development of revegetation strategies, in the western wheatbelt of Western Australia." Thesis, Clarke, Christopher John (1998) The impact of geology on dryland salinity, and the development of revegetation strategies, in the western wheatbelt of Western Australia. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 1998. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/51157/.
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The first objective of the research was to investigate whether major geological faults had an impact on the development of dryland salinity, and what mechanism was the cause of the phenomenon. The second objective was to investigate revegetation treatments that would prevent land salinisation, and the effect of faults on the treatments’ impact.
Investigation of three groups of catchments in the western wheatbelt. Western Australia, showed ten times more dryland salinity in the catchment underlain by a major fault than in the paired unfaulted catchment(s). Geomorphometric statistics show that catchments within each group are similar. There was no correlation between the degree of clearing for agriculture and the extent of dryland salinity. Detailed investigation of one group showed that there were no differences in salt store or regolith thickness between the faulted catchment and the adjacent unfaulted catchment. However, the mean hydraulic conductivity of boreholes within the fault zone, identified from an aeromagnetic survey, was five times higher than for boreholes outside the zone. That the mechanism underlying the association between the faults and dryland salinity is higher hydraulic conductivity inside the fault zone is supported by the flat piezometric surface in the faulted valley, and the continuous base flow in the faulted catchment, whilst the other catchments only flowed in response to winter rainfall.
Computer modelling showed that 40% of the cleared area of the catchments would become saline if nothing is done. Modelling of revegetation treatments showed that replacing annual pasture with deep-rooted perennial pasture, or native vegetation, prevented the onset of dryland salinity. However, tree belts (alley fanning) left 15% of the cleared area saline. With the fault 50% more tree rows were required than predicted without the fault. A way of preparing a hydraulic conductivity map for use in computer modelling by interpretation of airborne geophysical data and borehole hydraulic conductivity testing is proposed.
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Abbott, Simon. "Application of geophysical techniques for 3D visualization of regolith hydrogeological architecture and use of this information for management of dryland salinity in Western Australia." Thesis, Curtin University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/1454.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis demonstrates the use of geophysics to identify the hydrogeological structures and mechanisms responsible for the salinisation of land and water in three different case studies. In addition, it demonstrates the critical importance of the interpreted information products being relevant to the land managers and the management tools and strategies available to them. Three case studies are examined. The common requirement for each study area was the acquisition of detailed sub-surface information on the location of hydrogeological features that could not be interpreted from surface observations or obtained from isolated drill holes. The spatial coverage of the geophysical data is shown to be critical to the quality of location information produced. The interpretation of these data and presentation of information products in terms of the current management tools available to land managers are shown to be essential for successful and cost effective adoption.At Broomehill, the geophysical and other data were interpreted to produce information products that indicated the location of salt stores, sources of water, mechanisms that brought water and salt together in the landscape and mechanisms that brought saline groundwater to the surface. Using these information products, the spatial plan took the form of a farm plan that clearly mapped the location and design of surface water management earthworks, areas of revegetation, water storages, roads and fences such that the salinising processes in each paddock were directly impacted through the considered location of the proposed works. One such plan at Broomehill was promptly implemented in 1996 and the results have been monitored since that time. The farm plan is shown to be more cost effective than comparable farm plans on nearby properties that did not use information from geophysics.At Tammin, ground geophysical surveys (gravity and time domain electromagnetics) were used to identify the location of sedimentary fill in a buried inset valley. This was to provide information on which to base the siting of a production bore such that it would intersect hydrologically transmissive sediments. This bore was used to test the effectiveness of groundwater pumping to lower the watertable and recover agricultural land from salinity.The bore failed to pump an adequate volume of water and the groundwater pumping aspect of the trial was considered a failure. However, the value of this case study lies in observation of the characteristics of the geophysical information collected.The geophysical data were collected along four transects 0.8 km to 2.0 km apart. The processed geophysical data revealed cross-section profiles of the buried valley and the production bore was located on the transect that showed the steepest “V” profile. Given only four transects of information and the difficulty of interpolating over up to 2 km between them, this choice is understandable. The failure of the interpretation of the geophysical transect data to locate a suitable bore site calls into question the usefulness of geophysical survey transects up to 2 km apart. The geophysical information (although it was cheaper) was not much better than having four transects of closely spaced bores. It failed to adequately reveal the hydrogeological architecture of the study area. This case study revealed the importance of survey design and scope to ensure that the data are suitable to produce interpreted information products that are suitable for the purpose.A helicopter-borne, time domain electromagnetic survey was flown over the Lake Warden Wetlands near Esperance. The data were processed and interpreted to reveal potential groundwater flow paths in the main aquifers underlying the wetlands. This information, along with salt storage distribution maps derived from the conductivity product, was provided to the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) in the form of the maps shown in this thesis. This information enabled the DEC to formulate a catchment management strategy that focussed on the eastern sub-catchments of Bandy Creek and Neridup Creek as the main sources of saline groundwater. Surface water management plans prioritised diversion of waters contaminated by discharging saline groundwater and could be designed without active discharge occurring at the time. Prior to this survey, the DEC and South Coast Natural Resource Management were promoting generic management strategies, such as revegetation to reduce groundwater recharge, over the whole catchment area.The information products developed in this study enabled the DEC and community to understand mechanisms causing high water tables and salinisation in the wetlands and consequently, to be much more targeted and effective in their investment of limited land conservation funding.In all these case studies, the use of geophysics was essential to identify the hydrogeological architecture and mechanisms responsible for the salinisation of land and water. Furthermore, the interpretation of the data and design of information products is critical as to whether the information is successfully acted upon. The interpretation of the data and design of information products based on location of aquifers and other geological structures is critical to adoption by land managers and the impact and effectiveness of the actions taken.
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Doole, Graeme John. "Value of perennial pasture phases in dryland agricultural systems of the eastern-central wheat belt of Western Australia." University of Western Australia. School of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 2007. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2007.0213.
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Over the past thirty years, price relativities and technological development have motivated an increase in the area of land allocated to cropping, as opposed to pasture production, throughout the central wheat belt of Western Australia. Nevertheless, reducing the proportion of pasture in these rotations has challenged the future productivity of farming systems in this area. First, the frequent application of selective herbicides for weed control in extended cropping rotations has promoted the development of herbicide resistance in a number of major agricultural weeds. Second, the primary use of annual plants has promoted the development of soil salinisation by allowing a significant proportion of rainfall to recharge saline water tables. The inclusion of perennial pasture phases between extended periods of cropping may mitigate or delay these constraints to production through (a) allowing the use of costeffective forms of non-selective weed control, and (b) through creating a buffer of dry soil that absorbs leakage occurring beneath subsequent crops. This study consequently explores the value of including perennial pasture phases in dryland agricultural systems in the eastern-central wheat belt of Western Australia, accounting for benefits related to herbicide resistance and water table management. A novel computational algorithm for the solution of multiple-phase optimal control problems is developed and used to conduct a conceptual analysis of the value of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) pasture for managing annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaudin), the primary weed in wheat belt cropping systems. The competitiveness and fecundity of annual ryegrass provide strong economic incentives to maintain a low weed population, irrespective of herbicide-resistance status. Consequently, the ineffectiveness of selective herbicides primarily reduces the profitability of cropping by motivating the adoption of more costly non-selective forms of weed control. The inclusion of lucerne in land-use rotations is only optimal in the presence of severe herbicide resistance given (a) the low efficiency of alternative weed-management practices available during the pasture phase, relative to selective-herbicide application; (b) the significant cost of establishing this perennial pasture; and (c) the high relative profitability of cereal production in the absence of resistance. The value of lucerne, relative to annual pastures, for weed management is explored in greater detail through the use of compressed annealing to optimise a sophisticated simulation model. The profitability of candidate rotations is also manipulated to account for the long-term production losses accruing to the recharge of saline groundwaters that occurs beneath them. Sequences incorporating lucerne are only more profitable than those that include annual pasture at the standard set of parameter values if (a) annual ryegrass is resistant to all selective herbicides, (b) the water table is so shallow (approximately less than 3.5 m deep) that frequent rotation with perennials is required to avert soil salinisation, or (c) sheep production is highly profitable. The value of perennial pasture is sufficient under these circumstances to overcome its high establishment cost. Consistent with intuition, these benefits are reinforced by lower discount rates and higher rates of leakage occurring beneath annual-based systems. Formulation of an effective communication strategy to report these results to producers is justified given the complexity involved in determining the true magnitude of these intertemporal benefits through alternative means, such as field trials.
Books on the topic "Dryland salinity"
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Mauger, G. Modelling dryland salinity with the M.A.G.I.C. system. East Perth: Water and Rivers Commission, 1996.
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Hill, Sara R. Dryland salinity in North Central Victoria: A case study in detection, management and prediction. Melbourne, Victoria: Dept. of Geography, Monash University, 1988.
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Standing, Committee on Argiculture and Resource Management. Management of Dryland Salinity (SCARM Report). CSIRO Publishing, 2000.
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Salama, RB, ed. Physical and Chemical Techniques for Discharge Studies - Part 1. CSIRO Publishing, 1996. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/9780643105331.
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Groundwater discharge is associated with salinity and pollution problems. The widespread presence of millions of saline lakes in North America, Africa and Australia, shows that across the geological record, most salinity and desertification problems have been caused by saline groundwater discharge. In recent times, dryland salinity has spread widely in southern Australia, resulting in the loss of more than 50% of the fresh streams in Western Australia and causing major salinity problems in the Murray River in South Australia.
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Eamus, Derek, Tom Hatton, Peter Cook, and Christine Colvin. Ecohydrology. CSIRO Publishing, 2006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/9780643094093.
Full textAbstract:
Ecohydrology: Vegetation Function, Water and Resource Management describes and provides a synthesis of the different disciplines required to understand the sustainable management of water in the environment in order to tackle issues such as dryland salinity and environmental water allocation. It provides in the one volume the fundamentals of plant ecophysiology, hydrology and ecohydrology as they relate to this topic.
Both conceptual foundations and field methods for the study of ecohydrology are provided, including chapters on groundwater dependent ecosystems, salinity and practical case studies of ecohydrology. The importance of ecologically sustainable development and environmental allocations of water are explained in a chapter devoted to policy and principles underpinning water resource management and their application to water and vegetation management. A chapter on modelling brings together the ecophysiological and hydrological domains and compares a number of models that are used in ecohydrology.
For the sustainable management of water in Australia and elsewhere, this important reference work will assist land managers, industry, policy makers, students and scientists achieve the required understanding of water in landscapes.
Book chapters on the topic "Dryland salinity"
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Halvorson, A. D., and J. L. Richardson. "Management of Dryland Saline Seeps." In Agricultural Salinity Assessment and Management, 561–89. Reston, VA: American Society of Civil Engineers, 2011. http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/9780784411698.ch18.
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Spencer, Matthew, Tim Whitfort, and John McCullagh. "Mapping Dryland Salinity Using Neural Networks." In Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 1233–38. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2004. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30549-1_128.
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McFarlane, D. J., R. J. George, E. G. Barrett-Lennard, and M. Gilfedder. "Salinity in Dryland Agricultural Systems: Challenges and Opportunities." In Innovations in Dryland Agriculture, 521–47. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47928-6_19.
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Schofield, N. J. "Tree planting for dryland salinity control in Australia." In The Role of Trees in Sustainable Agriculture, 1–23. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 1992. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1832-3_1.
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Toderich, K. N., E. V. Shuyskaya, Faisal K. Taha, Naoko Matsuo, Shoaib Ismail, D. B. Aralova, and T. F. Radjabov. "Integrating Agroforestry and Pastures for Soil Salinity Management in Dryland Ecosystems in Aral Sea Basin." In Developments in Soil Salinity Assessment and Reclamation, 579–602. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5684-7_38.
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George, Richard J., and Donald L. Bennett. "Airborne Geophysics Provides Improved Spatial Information for the Management of Dryland Salinity." In Land Degradation, 305–18. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2001. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2033-5_19.
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Kington, Elizabeth A., and Keith R. J. Smettem. "Evaluation of Policy Approaches to Dryland Salinity Management in the Kent River Catchment." In Land Degradation, 347–61. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2001. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2033-5_22.
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Pannell, David J. "Explaining Non-Adoption of Practices to Prevent Dryland Salinity in Western Australia: Implications for Policy." In Land Degradation, 335–46. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2001. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2033-5_21.
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El Mokh, F., Vila-Garcia, K. Nagaz, Mohamed Moncef Masmoudi, N. Ben Mechlia, and E. Fereres. "Calibration of AquaCrop Salinity Stress Parameters for Barley Under Different Irrigation Regimes in a Dry Environment." In Water and Land Security in Drylands, 43–55. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54021-4_5.
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"dryland salinity." In Dictionary Geotechnical Engineering/Wörterbuch GeoTechnik, 435. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41714-6_44510.
Full textConference papers on the topic "Dryland salinity"
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"Enhancing Subsurface Drainage to Control Salinity in Dryland Agriculture." In 2016 10th International Drainage Symposium. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.13031/ids.20162489348.
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Calvert, H. Thomas, and R. Ian Acworth. "Investigation of dryland salinity using electrical and electromagnetic methods, Yass, Australia." In SEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts 2000. Society of Exploration Geophysicists, 2000. http://dx.doi.org/10.1190/1.1815619.
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Zhang, Qianqian, Zheng-Shu Zhou, Peter Caccetta, John Simons, and Li Li. "Sentinel-1 Imagery Incorporating Machine Learning for Dryland Salinity Monitoring: A Case Study in Esperance, Western Australia." In IGARSS 2020 - 2020 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. IEEE, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/igarss39084.2020.9323426.
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Adenan, Sakeenah, Jane Oja, Talaat Abdel-Fattah, and Juha Alatalo. "Linking Soil Chemical Parameters and Fungal Diversity in Qatar." In Qatar University Annual Research Forum & Exhibition. Qatar University Press, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.29117/quarfe.2020.0068.
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Given the vast expanse of Qatar’s dryland ecosystems, agricultural productivity and soil stability is highly dependent on the diversity of soil microbiota. The soil environment is a heterogeneous habitat shaped by various components like chemical (organic matter, salinity and nutrients) and biological (fungal diversity and vegetation) properties that form multitudes of different microhabitats. Soil microbial diversity changes along environmental gradients. It is hypothesized that a “stable” microhabitat is one that is inhabited by a large diversity of established microorganisms that are best adapted to the niche. Microorganisms like fungi serve as the underlying biological drivers for biochemical processes within the soil. The key objective of this study is to evaluate the fungal diversity and abundance present within the Qatari soil using molecular-based tools and evaluate potential relationships between the identified fungal communities with chemical properties of the habitat. We found that the composition of fungi and AMF varied between different habitats around Qatar. Despite the lack of significant differences in the measured soil chemical parameters between sampled sites, it is evident that AMF species are more abundant than compared to that of other fungal species in most of the study sites; thus, suggesting that other factors like land use may also be an essential component explaining the variation in fungal communities.
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Jin, Lixin, Michelle Quiroz, Aimee Garcia, Valeria Molina, Orlando Ramirez-Valle, Manny Sosa, Viridiana Orona, et al. "Tree size as a proxy of texture and soil salinity in a pecan orchard: exploring the spatial variability and dominant controls on carbon fluxes in managed dryland critical zone." In Goldschmidt2022. France: European Association of Geochemistry, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.46427/gold2022.11333.
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