No gambling allowed with SALTDeck
A major saltland management issue identified by the SGSL initiative has been that of many farmers and advisors not being familiar with saltland species. This has resulted in problems identifying desirable, undesirable and ‘indicator’ species.
SALTDeck, a new product from SGSL, aims to take the guesswork out of saltland plant species identification and selection. It provides a fast and convenient way of identifying the 50 most common plant species growing on salt-affected land.
SALTDeck is a set of 50 individual species identification cards.
The plastic coated, all-weather ‘paddock-proof’ cards are colour-coded into grasses, legumes, shrubs, herbs and trees. The ‘deck’ is held together by a metal ring through the top right hand corner of each card.
SGSL National Coordinator Warren Mason said SALTDeck filled an important gap for people aiming to better understand and more productively manage their salt-affected land.
“While several excellent plant identification guides currently exist, they are not aggregated into any sort of management ‘kit’ for identifying the particular species that grow on saline land,” said Dr Mason.
“In addition, almost all identification aids until now have been very ‘botanical’ in nature and focus on the fine detail that is often required to differentiate closely-related species.
“SALTDeck is different. It recognises that if microscopes and textbooks are required to differentiate between species then farmers and advisors probably won’t bother!
“For example, there are several samphire species but SALTDeck has just one card for samphire to provide farmers and advisors with the essential information about this plant and its role in - and value to - a more productive saltland pasture system.”
SALTDeck is now available and can be ordered from [Land, Water & Wool's Products](http://products.lwa.gov.au) section (quote Product Number PB 061190) or via the CRC Salinity website www.crcsalinity.com
Contact: Dr Warren Mason, SGSL National Coordinator, warren@rpcsolutions.com.au