Impact assessment

Growing trees on salt-affected land

Date released
24 July 2007
Publication Code
IAS051
Authors

James Corbishley, David Pearce

Overview

Salinity and waterlogging are significant problems in a wide range of agricultural areas throughout the world. It has been found that some Australian species, including species in the genera Eucalyptys and Acacia, have adapted to thrive in these conditions. Bioremediation using such trees has often been suggested as a potentially lower-cost alternative to physical methods, however adoption has not been high. This is probably due to the development costs and relatively long investment periods before seeing a return.