BIOL1003 Lecture Notes - Lecture 28: Dryland Salinity, Durum, Carrying Capacity
9 Aug 2018
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Document Summary
Evidence of human impact: what constitutes human impact, carrying capacity of australia. Size of a population which can be sustained by its environment. What is the carrying capacity for the human population in. Australian soils are naturally more salty than other areas of the world. Windblown salt from the sea is deposited on land, rocks weather and release salts. Drainage systems maintain salt in areas not drained away. Little rain to carry salt away from dry areas: salinity. Salinity problems observed 10 years after initial clearance. 1924- scale of the problem recognised and documented, but large- scale clearance continued. Move to grazing systems using more native perennial grasses. Develop or import salt tolerant crops and trees (durum wheat/acacia). Move to a system more suited to the conditions: economic impacts. Reduced agricultural returns, loss of land, disease, predation, and competition for grazing. Rabbit damage estimated at million per annum. Expensive to control and long term solutions: summary.
