14 



ECOLCX3ICAL ASPECTS AND IMPLICATIONS 



Saline seep is essentially an ecological problem. It involves 

 all the major components, both biotic and abiotic, of the ecosystem 

 known broadly as the northern Great Plains. Since 1910 the preponderant 

 biotic influence upon that ecosystem has been man and his agricultural 

 systems, only now to be manifest, over half a century later, in the 

 form of saline seep. 



Those who attack the problem need to know how serious the 

 problem is by inventorying land, water, and biotic resources, and 

 monitoring any subsequent deterioration. An understanding of complex 

 ecological relationships responsible for maintaining balance in the 

 remaining undisturbed portions of the ecosystem is needed in land 

 management practices. 



Environmental Effects 



Although saline seep destroys an estimated 8,000 to 25,000 

 acres of productive Montana land each year, facts are not available 

 to determine the precise location, extent, and progression of the 

 problem. To gain such information the Governor's Committee on Saline 

 Seep recently adopted a standardized form with which to inventory all 

 agricultural producers in the affected area. Also, state and federal 

 personnel will try to apply the space-age remote sensing of Earth 



