Implications of Salinity for Biodiversity Conservation and Management

Salinity is destroying a significant part of our Australian landscapes. Itis a serious threat to biodiversity as it damages our native species, ecological communities and functioning ecosystems. This report summarises the issues and recommendations from a Taskforce on Salinity and Biodiversity established under ANZECC. Among some of the conclusions reached here are the following:
* Extensive areas of both agricultural land and natural ecosystems that currently do not display obvious symptoms of salinity may nevertheless be at risk from salinity in the foreseeable future;
* Salinity is a critical issue for native biodiversity in Australia, not only for biodiversity represented in uncleared communities but also to native biota on agricultural lands (eg soil biota).