Salinity is a measure of the content of salts in soil or water.

Salts are highly soluble in surface and

groundwater and can be transported with water movement. Large salt deposits are a natural feature of
vast areas of the Australian landscape, stored deep in soils or as surface salt deposits and salt lakes. This
natural distribution of salt in the landscape is referred to as ‘primary salinity

Excessive amounts of dissolved salt in water can affect agriculture, drinking water supplies and
ecosystem health. Salinity is a significant issue in south-western Australia and in some Murray-Darling
Basin regions within New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.

What are the causes of salinity? Primary salinity is produced by natural processes such as weathering of
rocks and wind and rain depositing salt over thousands of years. Salt deposits are unevenly distributed
throughout Australia and the patterns and impacts of salinity vary in eastern and western parts of the
country because of different topography and the age of the landscapes: salinity in the west tends to be
more pervasively spread across the landscape, whereas salinity in eastern regions is more localised.

What are the effects of salinity?

High concentrations of salt pose hazards for the environment as well as affecting agriculture and
infrastructure and therefore, the wider economy. High levels of salinity in water and soil may cause
native vegetation to become unhealthy or die and lead to a decline in biodiversity through dominance
of salt-resistant species, potentially altering ecosystem structures. Reduced groundcover also makes
soil more prone to erosion, which can pollute water with increased sediment, making it unsuitable for
both human and animal consumption and threatening high value ecosystems and the plant and
animal species they support. Despite the negative effects of salinity, some aquatic environments have
adapted to a range of salt concentrations

Agricultural industries may benefit from employing more efficient farming, irrigation and drainage
techniques, and redesigning the timing, volumes and locations of irrigation.

Salinity is the presence of salt in the land surface, in soil or rocks, or dissolved in water in our rivers or
groundwater.

Salinity can develop naturally, but where human intervention has disturbed natural ecosystems and
changed the hydrology of the landscape, the movement of salts into rivers and onto land has been
accelerated. This is beginning to dramatically affect our natural environment, reduce the viability of our
agricultural sector and damage private and public infrastructure