A pinch of salt: landowner perception and adjustment to the salinity hazard in Victoria, Australia

Abstract

Land degradation is one of the most critical environmental issues facing many countries today. The need to maintain productive agriculture has fuelled interest in finding more appropriate policy and management responses to environmental change, including the various forms of land degradation. While the processes resulting in degraded land are often natural phenomena, the term “land degradation” is used in this paper to refer to their anthropogenic acceleration and the consequent impacts on agricultural potential. Forms of land degradation include salinity, erosion, chemical contamination and changes in soil structure. The research reported here is concerned specifically with irrigation-induced soil salinity in Victoria, Australia. The paper is based on the hazards research paradigm developed within the social sciences. We use this paradigm to inform our inquiry into perceptions of, and responses to, the salinity hazard in a region of the state of Victoria known as the Tragowel Plains. Our investigation, based on questionnaire surveys and farm case studies, reveals a relatively high level of awareness of the salinity hazard. Adjustments to the hazard include changes in both land management and in land use. As the extent of such hazards increases it is imperative that research continues with a view to better understanding these human–environment relations in the context of specific environments.