Private Land Management

Salinity in the Westernport Catchment 

Dryland salinity is one of the major issues facing the Port Phillip and Westernport region. Salinity has had a significant impact on the economic (i.e. infrastructure and agriculture), environmental (i.e. creek, wetlands, flora and fauna) and social (i.e. tourism and development) values. According to the National Land and Resources Audit, salinity caused an estimated $300,000 loss in regional agriculture and horticulture practices, in 1998. With no intervention, the value could rise to $17 million by 2050. In recent years, significant efforts have been made by the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority to gain the knowledge necessary to protect, maintain and enhance the resources and key assets impacted upon by salinity processes in the region. The Landcare movement has implemented extensive revegetation works on private land in the region from funding initiatives. Using the tools produced by the PPWCMA, revegetation strategies can be enhanced by strategically focusing on priority management zones, according to the groundwater flow systems driving the salinity processes.

 Combating Salinity in the Westernport Catchment

 Programs and Activities

 The Westernport Catchment Landcare Network (WPCLN) is a subgroup of the Cardinia Environment Coalition (CEC). The CEC has implemented an extensive salinity management program in the Westernport Catchment focused on targeted recharge reduction activities involving revegetation with indigenous trees and shrubs as well as protection of existing bush land. Salinity discharge sites have been rehabilitated through stock exclusion fencing and revegetation. Other important components of the CEC salinity program include:

      ·         Community consultation and education to raise awareness of salinity and            groundwater issues in the area through field days, development of fact sheets, distribution of documents regarding groundwater and its interaction with the environment;

·         Development of salinity management plans for local farmers;

·         Implementation of salinity water monitoring on farm dams;

·         Establishing and implementing a groundwater monitoring program by installing and monitoring shallow groundwater observation bores; 

It is important to note that the design and position of most of the revegetation works undertaken by the Cardinia Environment Coalition have aligned with the predictions from the Groundwater Flow Systems Framework developed by the PPWCMA.

 Funding

 The Salinity Alert! Pakenham-Bunyip Hotspot Integrated Action Project was funded by the National Landcare Program. The project was designed to help minimise the impact of salinity on agricultural land, build the capacity of local communities to respond and increase knowledge on salinity and appropriate management approaches through educational activities.

 The Salinity management activities include the revegetation of recharge and discharge areas, fencing to allow for regeneration of remnant vegetation and the development of salinity management plans for farmers participating in the revegetation programs. Educational activities included the monitoring of farm dams and providing advice on land management techniques through verbal communication and water quality reports, and field days held to raise awareness of salinity and salinity management in the Westernport Catchment.

 The establishment and implementation of the groundwater monitoring program was funded by the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authorities Community Grants Scheme. The program was designed to install shallow groundwater observation bores across the Westernport Catchment in priority salinity management zones. Participants of the program are trained to monitor and collect the depth to groundwater and salinity measurements.

Extensive Revegetation of the Catchment

 The long-term objective of the revegetation program undertaken by the Cardinia Environment Coalition is to “Link revegetation sites on a regional scale to achieve catchment scale landscape change”.

 In all revegetation activities a range of species were established to ensure that the biodiversity values were not compromised. In all cases the plantings either connected to other vegetation (whether remnant or previous plantings) or will be connected during stage two of the revegetation works. This has added benefit to the CEC Biolinks Action Plan. The salinity revegetation program targeted two salinity activities recharge reduction and management of discharge areas.

 Recharge Reduction activities involve the revegetation with indigenous trees and shrubs as well as protection of existing Bush land in groundwater recharge areas. By reducing the amount of recharge to the groundwater helps minimise the potential rise of the watertable and when positioned correctly minimises lateral flow of the groundwater.

 The management of saline discharge areas has been rehabilitated through stock exclusion fencing and revegetation on a large scale. The aim of the discharge plantings in salt affected areas has been to prevent the problem from spreading and to reduce erosion, runoff and water logging in order to recover productivity of adjacent pastures.   

 (See Fact Sheets: Landcare and Salinity Management and Revegetation and Fencing Salinity Sites in the Document Download Section)

 Raising awareness of salinity and groundwater interactions

 Salinity and groundwater awareness activities have been completed through discussions with landholders undertaking Landcare revegetation works and participating in the monitoring program. The second activity includes conducting field days, and the third activity development of educational material.

 Consultation with landholders has involves discussions of a range of salinity mitigation strategies to address salinity, including: adopting salt tolerant pastures in combination of revegetation activities; the importance and relevance of groundwater flow systems (GFS) on their property and the surrounding area; possible locations for future plantings and/or alternative pastures species in relation to the GFS; importance of monitoring watertable depth for salinity management on their property and how data collected from the groundwater monitoring program will add benefit to the regional Salinity Management Plan which will in effect is necessary to protect, maintain and enhance the resources and key assets impacted upon by salinity processes in the region and managing their property.

In order to reach the general community a field day on groundwater awareness was conducted and a number of fact sheets raising awareness of the management of saline affected areas were mailed out. Participants of field days held by the Cardinia Environment Coalition are given a field handbook that introduced groundwater, gave a context of the roles and responsibilities of the PPWCMA and the WPCLN in groundwater management, identified generic salinity management options and collated current media releases and reports on groundwater for further reading. These can be accessed in the “Document Download” section.

In order to increase community knowledge of salinity and groundwater interactions a variety of fact sheets have been produced, including: Groundwater and Salinity; Looking for the signs of salinity; Management of Groundwater; Revegetation and Fencing Salinity Sites; Salt Indicators of the Westernport Catchment; and Landcare and Salinity Management.

Groundwater and Salinity Fact Sheets

1. Groundwater and Salinity
2. Looking for the signs of salinity
3. Management of Groundwater
4. Revegetation and Fencing Salinity Sites
5. Salt Indicators of the Westernport Catchment
6. Landcare and Salinity Management
   
   Goto other downloads.....

Salinity Management Plans

The focus of the salinity management plans was to construct a strategy with a landholder. The plan took into account the context of the immediate catchment and using the knowledge gained from the properties that have also received revegetation works through Landcare. In order for the salinity management plans to be effective they were also designed to integrate revegetation works on a ‘whole farm approach’.

Using the groundwater flow systems map of the Pakenham-Bunyip Salinity Management Zone, local knowledge from the landholder involved and the community were of great benefit, when designing the plans.

Salinity Water Monitoring

Over the last year monitoring was modified to periodically monitor the salinity levels and pH of dams, creeks and drains to determine seasonal fluctuations. Participants were given a summary report of these results that incorporated yearly monitoring that has been conducted since establishment of the revegetation works. A report summary can be located in the “Document Download” section.

Groundwater Monitoring Program

If you would like further information on this project then please contact;

Rebecca Rose - Salinity Alert! Project Officer

email rrose_cec@dcsi.net.au

ph 0359 418446

P.O. Box 875 Pakenham 3810