Dryland salinity – causes and impacts

Summary

Salinity is the accumulation of salts in soil and water to levels that impact on human and natural assets (e.g. plants, animals, aquatic ecosystems, water supplies, agriculture and infrastructure).

Dryland salinity occurs in unirrigated landscapes.

This primefact covers:

• where salt comes from
• the sources of salt in the soil
• the hydrological cycle and the part it plays in dryland salinity
• the causes of dryland salinity
• the effect of salt on plants and soil
• the impacts of dryland salinity on agriculture, the environment and the framework and structure of our society