Natural Resources Research Articles
The influence of farm landscape shape on the impact and management of dryland salinity
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-22-2007
Journal Title
Agricultural Water Management
ISSN
0378-3774
Keywords
Farm landscape, Salinity, Soils, Dryland salinity, Farm management, Farm modelling, Soil quality
Disciplines
Agribusiness | Agricultural Science | Agronomy and Crop Sciences | Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment | Environmental Monitoring | Fresh Water Studies | Geology | Hydrology | Natural Resources Management and Policy | Physical and Environmental Geography | Soil Science | Water Resource Management
Abstract
This paper examines how a farm's landscape shape and its distribution of soils affects the impacts of dryland salinity. Three farm landscape shapes, subject to gradual salinisation, are described. The way in which the farm landscape influences the spread of dryland salinity is explored. Where soils are homogeneous, a linear plane landscape and a spherical basin landscape provide no additional incentive for salinity abatement or containment. In such landscapes the incentive to manage the onset of salinity chiefly comes from the size of the profit difference between land use on salinised versus unsalinised land, the cost and technical feasibility of reducing recharge and the farmer's time preference for money. By contrast, where the landscape is like a cylindrical segment, and where soils are homogeneous, then the landscape shape does provide an additional incentive for salinity abatement or containment. Using farm modeling for a study region in Western Australia the paper discusses the farm management and environmental ramifications of findings about the role of landscape shape and soil distribution in affecting the onset and spread of dryland salinity. Non-linearities in profit impacts due to landscape shape, soil gradients and a time preference for money suggest there is often an incentive to act sooner rather than later in slowing the spread of dryland salinity.
Recommended Citation
Ross Kingwell, Michele John, The influence of farm landscape shape on the impact and management of dryland salinity, Agricultural Water Management, Volume 89, Issues 1–2, 2007, Pages 29-38, ISSN 0378-3774, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2006.12.005.
