Key Points | Report Card | Technical Information | Data
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What is happening in our region
Good quality soils are those where key soil characteristics are in good condition for the current land use. Environment Waikato measures soil quality for four main land use types in the Waikato Region:
- dairy farming
- drystock farming (sheep, beef, deer etc.)
- horticulture and cropping
- plantation forestry.
About 30 percent of the regions productive soils have satisfactory soil quality for their current land use in 2008. This compares with 31 percent being satisfactory in 2001 and 34 percent in 2004.
About two thirds of the land under dairy farming has soil quality that is of concern, excessively high fertility effecting half and soil compaction over 10 percent
About three quarters of the land under drystock (sheep, beef, deer etc.) farming has soil quality that is of concern. Over 40 percent has excessive fertility, while 30 percent has low fertility. Nearly 20 percent has soil compaction.
About half the land under cropping and horticulture has soil quality that is of concern. A quarter has loss of soil organic matter. About 10 percent has excessively high fertility. Target ranges for compaction under cropping and horticulture are poorly defined so compaction is not evaluated for this land use.
About three quarters of the land under forestry has soil quality that is of concern. About 60 percent are loose. Loose is the opposite of compaction. Loose soils can have a high erosion risk and foresters have to take special precautions when harvesting trees. Nutrient levels are low in 15 percent of these soils.
The graph shows the percentage of the Region’s land area meeting guidelines for satisfactory soil quality and soil quality ‘of concern’, by land use type.
- The data were collected between 1998 and 2008. View this graph’s data.
Why soil quality is important
Soil quality measures whether key soil characteristics are in good condition for the current land use. Soil characteristics are greatly influenced by the way we treat the soil. Poor soil management or inappropriate land uses can reduce soil quality by causing compaction, nutrient imbalances (too much or too little), or loss of organic matter. For example, overstocking during wet periods can cause soil compaction.
Poor soil quality can directly reduce farm production and increase the risk of erosion and nutrients leaching into water bodies. Some reductions in soil quality, such as lost organic matter, can take decades to remedy. Degraded soils also give the land user fewer options – low quality soils are less versatile.
What Environment Waikato is doing
- Environment Waikato monitors soil quality across the Region to update this indicator and contribute to State of the Environment reporting.
- We provide environmental information to landowners about how to maintain soil quality and prevent soil damage. For example, 'For Peat’s Sake – good management practices for Waikato peat farmers'. Check out our publications.
- We support voluntary guidelines and codes of practice such as the NZ Fertiliser Manufacturer’s Research Association Code of Practice for Fertiliser Use.
- We support the Waikato Farm Environment Awards, which rewards good farm practice and provides information and advice on good land management practices.
- We support the Franklin Sustainability Project, which provides information and advice to commercial vegetable growers in the Pukekohe area about best practice to protect soils and reduce the environmental impacts of intensive cropping.
- We are developing tools to help farmers with nutrient management.
Find out more about the land and soil provisions in our Proposed Regional Plan.
What you can do to help
- Match land use to your land and soil type to minimise soil damage. For example, plant trees on steeper land to reduce soil loss through erosion.
- Use fertiliser and pesticides carefully and only when necessary. Follow the Code of Practice for Fertiliser Use.
- Minimise soil compaction by moving cattle off wet soils to prevent pugging.
- Minimise soil compaction by reducing heavy machinery use.
- Use cover crops to reduce soil loss and help build up organic matter.
- Leave grass strips between row crops to protect soil.
- Adopt minimum tillage and use less intensive crop rotations to reduce damage to soil structure from cultivation.
- Use a nutrient budget to help maintain optimal soil fertility and reduce the risk of excessive fertiliser application.
- Fence stock out of areas of indigenous vegetation.
More information
More detail on this indicator, including how and where Environment Waikato collects this information, is available in the Technical Information page.
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