Soil Salinity
Beginning of paper
Salinity in both the rivers and on the land is one of the main and most costly
results of overclearing and irrigation. Salinity is caused by changes in the
delicate balance between surface water and groundwater systems. A small increase
in the infiltration of water from the topsoil to the groundwat ....
Middle of paper
.... leaving a white crust of salt crystals on the land. Most plants
cannot tolerate the scalding chemical effect of the salt, and so they die. As
they die off, the soil succumbs to erosion and a double dose of salt and
sediment enters nearby rivers and wetlands. In cattle-grazing areas, the animals
often gather at saline seeps to lick the salt, which leads to further erosion.
Salinity affects around 560,000 hectares of the Murray-Darling basin's most
productive irrigation lands, mostly in southern ....
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Word count: 286
Page count: 2 (approximately 250 words per page)
