Don’t treat it like dirt
A large portion of New Zealand’s wealth is generated from the soil. This extends well beyond economic wealth – soils play a key role in water quality, the recycling of animal and human waste, carbon storage and in supporting biodiversity.
Soils, along with fresh water, are one of New Zealand’s most important, yet stressed, natural resources. Each year 37,000 ha of land is converted to ‘lifestyle’ blocks, often ‘consuming’ some of our most valuable (class A) soils. Growing global demand for food presents New Zealand with significant economic opportunity, but rising energy and nutrient costs and the social unacceptability of water pollution and ‘unsafe’ soils pose threats to this being fully realised.
Soils, therefore, deserve our utmost care. To provide the management necessary to sustain their productivity and resilience, a comprehensive understanding of how soils work and respond to the pressures imposed on them, such as intensification of farming practices, changes in weather patterns, loss of biodiversity and the accumulation of contaminants, is essential. But, we do not yet adequately understand many of these factors and new challenges are emerging such as the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve water efficiency, so the importance of soils research remains very high.
Despite difficulties in securing external funding Landcare Research is determined to build and regenerate its soil science capabilities. This edition of Discovery sets out examples of the exciting research our staff are leading. A recently completed ‘think piece’ and, we hope conversation starter, ‘Soils 2025’ provides the context for our strategic research. We believe that, for example, the efficiency of fertilisers will need to at least double over the next 15 years to help New Zealand farming remain internationally competitive. The tools we are presently developing to increase the standard of soil management such as online, real-time access to high quality soils information and the precise application of irrigation water using paddock-scale soils information are laying the foundations for some of these efficiency gains to be made. However, it is going to take a good deal of basic research to at least double phosphate efficiency and that of other nutrients for plant, animal, and microbe production over the next 15 years. I would welcome your comment and feedback on any of the topics covered in this edition of Discovery.
Warren Parker
Chief Executive