Murray Darling Basin

The Murray Darling Basin is facing many environmental challenges and issues; including salinity. The Murray Darling Basin is one of the largest catchments in the world but it is also one of the driest (Mdba.gov.au, 2015). The basin is world-renowned with it being one of Australia’s most iconic and oldest river systems; the Murray Darling is over 350 million years old (Mdba.gov.au, 2015). The Murray Darling Basin is located in the South- East of Australia (refer to appendix A). The Murray Darling Basin is highly diverse in regards to landscapes. The Murray Darling includes sub tropical conditions, humid eastern uplands, high alpine country, temperate south- east and semi arid western plains. The river system is important to Australia and the
One of the most significant issues facing the Murray Darling is believed to be Salinity (Mdba.gov.au, 2015). Extensive concentrations are toxic to most flora and fauna but in saying this it is a natural occurrence in the soil and water of the Murray Darling Basin (Mdba.gov.au, 2015). There are many issues which affect salinity these include irrigation, buildings and the construction of new buildings. These all can increase a rise in table water, which evidently increases salinity as the salt is ‘lifted up’ along with the water (Mdba.gov.au, 2015). If left unmanaged salinity can have many implications. Salinity can impact on Agricultural production, water quality, transpiration, soil erosion, biodiversity, irrigation and ecological health of streams (Mdba.gov.au, 2015). There are a number of ways to manage salinity in the landscape these include salt interception which involves moving the Murray River groundwater and drainage water away from the area (Mdba.gov.au, 2015). In many cases a bore or pump system could remove the groundwater and pump it to a salt management basin away from the Murray Darling (Mdba.gov.au, 2015). Another management option is improved farming systems; this would involve grazing and crop management, conservation farming and use of deep- rooted plants (Mdba.gov.au, 2015). Salinity is affected by many factors within the environment but one that has a high impact is
The effect is further increased in the warmer months of the year because as there are higher temperatures the guard cells are swollen (open), whereas colder temperatures cause the guard cells to close and collapse (Water.usgs.gov, 2015). With this much of a variation in temperature change this can cause environmental issues and economic issues as well. The excess salinity causes low production, which in the end can affect the economic outcome and it can cause a high decrease in value. The ecosystem thrives best when it is at a constant state if homeostasis and