'Saltmap' project helping rehabilitate salt-affected farmland in Gt Southern region

15/8/95

A pioneering research project in the Great Southern is making major advances in the fight to rehabilitate salt affected farmland.

Primary Industry Minister Monty House today inspected the joint project between farmers in the Broomehill district, World Geoscience Corporation Ltd, Landmark Resources, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Land Administration and CSIRO.

The 'Saltmap' system adapts airborne electromagnetic technology used for mineral exploration to collect information about what is occurring under the soil surface for agricultural purposes.

This is a prime tool to predict farmland in danger of going saline.

"By combining the latest technology with on farm management practices, this project is breaking new ground in the successful rehabilitation of catchments degraded by salinity," Mr House said.

"This is exciting new technology which will give farmers confidence to target the money they spend on landcare activities such as revegetation and contour banks on the most urgent areas which may go saline next.

"It is an excellent example of farmers working in partnership with the research organisations and private enterprise to make more informed and professional management decisions."

Mr House commended farmers involved in the project on their professional approach to a complex land degradation problem.

Nineteen farmers in the West Wadjekanup catchment and seven in the Byenup Hill catchment are contributing to the project.

It was initiated in 1993 with the help of a $40,000 National Landcare Program (NLP) grant to trial the Saltmap product as a 'guinea pig' for possible use by other catchment groups.

The Saltmap technique involves an electromagnetic pulse being transmitted into the ground from an aircraft and then measurement of the secondary current that is created in the ground.

Because wet salt is more conductive than other substances in the ground, the process can be used to map salt storage.

Remote sensing data from satellites gives a convenient picture of areas where the saline water table has broken out on the surface to form salt scalds. Saltmap also indicates rock stucture below the surface which cause the water table to break out.

The farmers levied themselves and contributed a total of $28,000 to support the project.

In conjunction with another NLP grant, they have employed a consultant to draw up new property plans and revise farm layout based on the Saltmap information to address the cause of salinity.

Mr House said other catchments groups in the Great Southern were also starting to use similar technology to combat salinity.

"Too often people talk about the size of the problem, rather than the significant amount of action being undertaken by landholders to improve their natural resource management," Mr House said.

"The Broomehill project is an excellent example of the cooperative approach by farmers to ensure sustainability for future generations."

Media contact:  Amanda O'Brien (09) 222 9595

Department of Agriculture: Gerry Parleviet (09) 368 3333