14-11-200

Research to predict how much aquatic biodiversity will be lost as a result of increasing dryland salinity is part of a new and ambitious whole-of-catchment research approach to the critical salinity problem in Australia.

The new research, funded by Land & Water Australia under Australia's National Dryland Salinity Program (NDSP), acknowledges the need to expand the focus of current research to include environmental impacts of dryland salinity in entire catchments, rather than looking solely at its impacts on productive agricultural land.

NDSP Program Manager, Mr Richard Price, said new approaches were needed given the seriousness of dryland salinity in Australia.

'Dryland salinity is one of Australia's most pressing environmental problems this century, with the area of land affected likely to more than quadruple in the next 30-50 years,' Mr Price said.

'The aquatic biodiversity project will measure the response of common stream-dwelling invertebrates like mayflies to changing salinity levels.

'The numbers and types of aquatic invertebrates have been used extensively in the past to indicate the health of streams.

'By finding out the salt tolerance levels of different invertebrates, we will be able to develop a predictive mathematical model to show how much stream life will be lost if salinity increases past a critical point.'

Mr Price said the project would help natural resource managers, catchment managers and researchers prioritise salinity remediation and stream restoration works to preserve in-stream biodiversity.

The aquatic biodiversity project is one of several new projects recently announced by NDSP. Other new projects will investigate the influence of catchment management programs and the effects of increasing salinity on the structure and future use of soils for productive purposes.

NDSP National Co-ordinator Nicholas Newland said the range of projects under the Program's investment strategy and the findings from those projects will be useful for governments, agencies and catchment managers in strategic planning to tackle the salinity menace.

'We also think that the mid-term Program review currently being completed will help to identify what further information needs to be discovered over the remaining two years of the Program's life,' he said.

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For further information please contact:

Please contact Land & Water Australia
Email: land&wateraustralia@lwa.gov.au
Phone: 02 6263 6000