LAND
Priorities:

Accelerated soil erosion

Soil health decline

Decline in geoheritage

The main causes of soil degradation are:

• Water-borne soil erosion (sheet and rill) resulting in off-site impacts
• Soil structure decline and compaction under cropping, forestry and possibly intensive grazing
• Organic matter decline under annual cropping rotations
• Inappropriate management of nutrient balances and contaminants
• Increasing intensity of soil use in agriculture resulting in more erosion and soil structure problems
• Waterlogging and wet soil management in Circular Head and on King Island
• Changing land uses (e.g. pasture, cropping, forestry, coastal development)
• Farm dam construction on land slump areas
• Salinity on King Island
• Urban growth onto agricultural land and bushland areas
• Inappropriate drainage from roads and other infrastructure
• Disturbance of acid sulphate soils, in restricted areas
• Fire destroying peat soils, especially in National Parks and Conservation Areas
• Soil-borne diseases transferred by people, machinery and erosion.

The main causes of decline in geoheritage are:

• Inappropriate land management, tourism development and sewage disposal in sensitive areas
• River processes changed by channelisation, land use change and river regulation such as dam building
• Sediment extraction from rivers
• Damage by road widening and other infrastructure development
• Mining and quarry operations
• Fire can damage fragile peat soils in National Parks and Conservation Areas
• Cattle grazing and off-road vehicles.