Dryland salinity is the build-up of salt in surface soil in non-irrigated areas, usually because of rising groundwater tables. Groundwater seeps to the surface, bringing salt with it. As the soil surface dries out, salt is left behind.

Dryland salinity is the accumulation of salts in the soil surface and groundwater in non-irrigated areas.

Options may include improved irrigation systems, crop rotations, incorporating perennials into cropping systems, whole farm planning, interception plantings and monitoring of groundwater. There has always been a strong interest in the use of trees and revegetation in the management of dryland salinity.

Dryland salinity is caused by rising water tables. Some ways this can occur: Clearing deep-rooted perennial native vegetation and replacing it with shallow rooted annual plants. The shallow roots are no longer able to utilise the excess runoff, and it now seeps past the roots zone to enter the groundwater system.

Salinity affects: farms – salinity can decrease plant growth and water quality resulting in lower crop yields and degraded stock water supplies. Excess salt affects overall soil health, reducing productivity. It kills plants, leaving bare soil that is prone to erosion.

Salinity (/səˈlɪnɪti/) is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity).

Salinity affects production in crops, pastures and trees by interfering with nitrogen uptake, reducing growth and stopping plant reproduction. Some ions (particularly chloride) are toxic to plants and as the concentration of these ions increases, the plant is poisoned and dies.

Primary salinity occurs naturally in soils and waters. Examples of naturally occurring saline areas include salt lakes, salt pans, salt marshes and salt flats. Secondary salinity is salting that results from human activities, usually land development and agriculture.

less than 600 mg/L is regarded as good quality drinking water. 600 to 900 mg/L is regarded as fair quality. 900 to 1200 mg/L is regarded as poor quality. greater than 1200 mg/L is regarded as unacceptable.

The density of water increases as the salinity increases. The density of seawater (salinity greater than 24.7) increases as temperature decreases at all temperatures above the freezing point. Between 4°C and the freezing point, the density of pure water decreases as temperature decreases.

As the researchers explain in their study, there are two main ways to desalinate salt water. One way is to remove pure water molecules from the salt water, as done in distillation and reverse osmosis, particularly for water with a high salt concentration.

0.5 ppt

In sea water there is typically close to 35 grams of dissolved salts in each liter. It is written as 35 ‰ The normal range of ocean salinity ranges between 33-37 grams per liter (33‰ – 37‰).

The optimum salinity is defined as the salinity where the IFTs are equal (Healy et al. [1]).

Estuaries and their surrounding wetlands are bodies of water usually found where rivers meet the sea. The salinity of water in the ocean averages about 35 parts per thousand (ppt). The mixture of seawater and fresh water in estuaries is called brackish water and its salinity can range from 0.5 to 35 ppt.

Estuaries require a natural balance of freshwater and saltwater. Droughts reduce fresh water input into tidal rivers and bays, which raises salinity in estuaries, and enables salt water to mix farther upstream. The increase of salinity in brackish water environments can threaten to degrade ecosystem health.

Oceanic salinity is affected by factors such as temperature, ingress of fresh water and mixing of currents. Oceanic salinity plays important role in the growth of marine organisms, circulation of oceanic currents and distribution of temperature and rainfall across the globe.

Salinity in an estuary varies according to one’s location in the estuary, the daily tides, and the volume of fresh water flowing into the estuary. Salinity levels in estuaries typically decline in the spring when snowmelt and rain increase the freshwater flow from streams and groundwater.

Three major factors influence salinity (salt concentration) in Pacific Ocean waters: precipitation, evaporation and winds.

about 35 parts per thousand

The greatest threat to estuaries is, by far, their large-scale conversion by draining, filling, damming, or dredging. These activities result in the immediate destruction and loss of estuarine habitats.

The Five Biggest Threats to Our Oceans

1. Overfishing. We have methodically depleted the fish in our oceans.
2. Coastal pollution.
3. Habitat destruction.
4. Warming.
5. Acidification.

These activities can contribute to unsafe drinking water, beach and shellfish bed closings, harmful algae blooms, declines in fisheries, loss of habitat, fish kills, and a host of other human health and natural resource problems.

In Your Community: Help plant trees or seagrass, or remove invasive vegetation. Don’t litter: streets and storm drains empty into rivers and streams that drain into our estuaries. Pick up your pet’s waste. Do not dump petroleum products, including oil, down storm drains; recycle used motor oil.

Saving our earth and its environment becomes highly important as it provide us food and water to sustain life. Our well-being solely depends on this planet it gives food and water to all living things to it is our responsibility to take care of it.

Estuaries support a diversity of species of fish, shellfish, aquatic plants and animals. The protected waters provide vital nesting, breeding and feeding habitats for many species. Estuaries also filter pollutants out of the water flowing through them, including pesticides, herbicides and heavy metals.

Conserve water every day. Take shorter showers, fix leaks & turn off the water when not in use. Don’t pour toxic household chemicals down the drain; take them to a hazardous waste center. Use hardy plants that require little or no watering, fertilizers or pesticides in your yard.

Watershed Threats

• Excess fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides from agricultural lands and residential areas;
• Oil, grease, and toxic chemicals from urban runoff and energy production;
• Sediment from improperly managed construction sites, crop and forest lands, and eroding streambanks;

Healthy watersheds provide many ecosystem services including, but not limited to: nutrient cycling, carbon storage, erosion/sedimentation control, increased biodiversity, soil formation, wildlife movement corridors, water storage, water filtration, flood control, food, timber and recreation, as well as reduced …

A watershed is the land area that drains to a common body of water, such as a stream, lake, bay, or even the ocean. They provide drinking water, habitats for wildlife, soil to grow our food, and locations for fishing, boating and swimming. We all live in a watershed.