Salinity Province 135, Woodside Yarram

Salinity presence in the Woodside_Yarram Salinity Province is dominated along the coast by high watertables close to sea level, with only a few patches of non-coastal dryland salinity recorded on farming land west of Alberton and above Yarram.

The Groundwater Flow Systems (GFS) of most relevance to salinity are local to intermediate scale ones found in the young (Quaternary), topmost sedimentary layers of aeolian and alluvial sands, silts and gravels. A high watertable is naturally present under cleared farmland along the coast and at close to sea level elevations, so waterlogging and salinity is inevitable during wetter climatic phases. The few occurrences mapped at higher elevations may be associated with geological faulting controlled discharge from the regional scale GFS associated with the ‘Haunted Hills Gravels’ that rise towards the Strezlecki hills to the north and west.

Some management of coastal salinity can be achieved through irrigation with improved sub-surface drainage (by shallow groundwater pumping or tile drainage), to maintain a low salinity rootzone. Alternatively, without irrigation, salt tolerant plants and careful grazing management can maximise production potential.