STATUS AND TRENDS OF SOIL-SALINITY AT DIFFERENT SCALES - THE CASE FORTHE IRRIGATED COTTON GROWING REGION OF EASTERN AUSTRALIA

This paper reports on how prior information was used as a source of da ta for sampling schemes as well as a foundation for further salinity s tudies at different scales. The results at each of the scale levels ar e useful to the degree of sampling intensity at which the information was obtained. While the regional study revealed the salinity pattern i s closely associated with climatic trend, the pattern of salinity at t he county scale is less well-defined. The salinity information at the field scale revealed high saline areas coinciding with an abandoned cr eek channel. The salinisation process at this scale is probably due to deposition of soluble salts that have been flushed from the upper rea ches of an abandoned creek. There is preponderance of saline subsoil l ayers in and around Mungindi which needs further investigation. Visual isation of information transfer through the scale continuum, as demons trated by this study, is presented and discussed.