Wednesday, 16 December 2015 11:03

Soil needs more love

Written by  Peter Burke
Landcare chief Richard Gordon. Landcare chief Richard Gordon.

A report on the state of New Zealand soils has expressed great concern about the disproportionate amount of high-quality land being used for urban development.

Prepared for MPI by Landcare Research, the report says high quality versatile soils make up just 5.5% of NZ's total land area and as they come under pressure hard choices have to be made on optimum and sustained use.

It also says there is a lack of understanding of the interconnection between people, soils, plants and animals; consequently society is poorly informed about the importance of soil and wise soil management. The report says soil management needs have not been nationally prioritised and in coming years it will be crucial to avoid making decisions on land use that will have long-lasting or irreversible impacts.

According to Landcare's chief executive, Richard Gordon, part of the problem is that 15 years ago people claimed they knew everything about soil that was needed to be known and stopped investing money in soil science. That has now been shown to be wrong and far from the truth. He believes with the intensification of agriculture – in particular using irrigation on stony soils – this means leaching can be a problem.

"There is a lot about these soils we didn't know and are now getting to know. A lot of work has been done around Lake Taupo for instance on leaching and a lot of good work has been done on crops on the impact they have on leaching," Gordon explains.

"For example, work on lucerne – a deep rooted crop – has trials being undertaken to see whether it can help to reduce nitrate leaching.

"The other issue is erosion because what we do with our streams is important and in particular what we plant around our streams. They say what happens in fresh water starts on the land, so if we are not managing erosion we will have more sediment."

Gordon says one of the problems is that a lot of the experienced soil scientists are reaching retirement age and Landcare is making a special effort to put young scientists with an older cohort so they can learn from the former's experience.

More like this

Bikinis in cowshed

OPINION: An animal activist organisation is calling for an investigation into the use of dairy cows in sexuallly explicit content posted on social media and adult entertainment subscription site OnlyFans.

Editorial: Agri's mojo is back

OPINION: Good times are coming back for the primary industries. From sentiment expressed at Fieldays to the latest rural confidence survey results, all indicate farmer confidence at a near-record high.

Featured

All eyes on NZ milk supply

All eyes are on milk production in New Zealand and its impact on global dairy prices in the coming months.

Fencing excellence celebrated

The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards, providing the opportunity to honour both rising talent and industry stalwarts.

National

Machinery & Products

Tech might take time

Agritech Unleashed – a one-day event held recently at Mystery Creek, near Hamilton – focused on technology as an ‘enabler’…

John Deere acquires GUSS Automation

John Deere has announced the full acquisition of GUSS Automation, LLC, a globally recognised leader in supervised high-value crop autonomy,…

Fencing excellence celebrated

The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards,…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

A step too far

OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…

Save us from SAFE

OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter