Bush Heritage’s Kojonup Reserve in Western Australia is a field site for a project run by Murdoch University in collaboration with CSIRO, entitled ‘Risk and Restoration Potential of Remnant Vegetation in Salinising Landscapes’. Researchers are examining how saline run-off from surrounding land interacts with the Reserve’s shallow water tables to degrade the drainage lines. The research at Kojonup is looking at how local changes in plant species, soil types, and elevation could help reduce the effects of rising, salty groundwater.

The study has found that even small differences in elevation (i.e. height above the water table) will have a big influence on the amount of salt in the soil. This has implications for the vegetation which is often closely linked with elevation. It is good news for species on higher ground, but the species which occur in or adjacent to drainage lines will be significantly threatened by rising salinity.

Understanding the different roles that shallow water tables and saline surface flows play in the decline of natural vegetation will actually increase the management options available. The results will apply not only to the Kojonup Reserve, but also to other remnant vegetation in the Western Australian wheat belt.

Above: Lyn Atkins from CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, uses a laser level to survey elevation along transects at the Kojonup Reserve. PHOTO:VIKI CRAMER
Left: Salinity affected drainage line on the southwest corner of the Kojonup Reserve. PHOTO:VIKI CRAMER