4 October 2018

Two Focusing Questions that Suggest our Soils Deserve more

Attention

Dr Robin Batterham AO, FREng, FAA, FTSE

Summary

This paper is the first in a two-part series that examines the role soil organic carbon (SOC) plays in

maintaining healthy soils that support productive, profitable and sustainable agriculture.

The first question: Are our agricultural practices productive, profitable and sustainable?

There are strong differences of opinion here, both among farmers and researchers. Some point to

the ongoing contribution that agriculture makes to the Australian economy and Australia’s leading

position based on international productivity comparisons. Others suggest that modern intensive

agricultural practices (with an over reliance on chemical inputs and fungicides/pesticides) are

destroying the very fabric of the soil and that the loss of SOC and associated soil biology must be

addressed. This is not a recent argument but is a long-standing debate between intensive agriculture

Key Points

Current intensive agricultural practices are unsustainable.

Regenerative farming practices, however, can sequester atmospheric carbon

into the soil, reduce soil loss and build new soil stocks.

Measures must be enacted to bring down the cost of measuring soil organic

carbon using satellite observation systems.

Doing so could improve agricultural productivity, profitability and sustainability

and facilitate increased volumes of atmospheric carbon to be sequestered in

soil.

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and so-called “regenerative or conservation farming1” techniques. A recent piece in The Australian

Financial Review gives a good summary of the debate.

My conclusion is that current intensive practices are not sustainable and will lead to losses in

productivity and profitability. Moving towards regenerative farming can stem this undesirable trend

with an increase in productivity, profitability and sustainability in the long term.

The second question: Are changed agricultural practices capable of sequestering large amounts of

carbon from the atmosphere?

Again, there are strong differences of opinion. Answers range from relatively minor to quite massive

negative emissions. Debate centres on several points, including the inherent difficulty and costs of

obtaining reliable measurements of SOC, the longevity of different carbon compounds and just how

much could be sequestered before further uptake was minimal.

My conclusion is that moving towards regenerative farming practices can sequester very large

amounts of atmospheric carbon into the soil, can reduce soil loss and even build new soil stocks.

Analysis

Soil organic carbon is important

Plant carbon comes from photosynthesis, not directly from the soil, unlike nitrogen which comes

from the soil in the form of nitrates. Microbes in the soil thrive in higher levels of SOC and can

convert organic nitrogen into available nitrate. Farmers in the past have focused more on Nitrogen-

Phosphorous-Potassium (NPK) and Calcium, Sulfur, Zinc (et al) but not Carbon (C) (or the associated

soil biology) as this is not taken up. But SOC feeds the microbiome. Nitrates can also be available

directly from inorganic fertilizer sources without any intervention of soil microbes.

Conventional soil chemistry, eg the ability to hold K+ and Ca++, misses the microbial action such as

the mycorrhizal fungi (MRF) that feed on decaying organic matter and provide root extensions.

Without adequate C in soil, the MRF cannot function. There are many interactions, eg quorum

sensing where on reaching a critical mass of bacteria present, growth stimulants are produced. The

plant then produces even more of the extrudates on which the bacteria feed. The case is made that

soil life (and not just microbial) is the main determinant of soil health. Thus the paradox, that while

SOC is not a plant nutrient, yields and soil health depend on SOC and the interdependent soil biology.

The recent Decadal Plan for agriculture by the Australian Academy of Science suggests that:

soils are the most complicated biomaterial on the planet. It is not surprising that,

in contrast to the huge amounts of information available with regard to above-

ground plant performance, knowledge concerning the physical and biological soil–

plant interface is still very patchy.

1 “Conservation agriculture” refers to simultaneous use of three steps: minimum soil disturbance, soil always

covered by cover crops or residues and diverse crop rotations. It includes both conventional and “organic” farming practices. “Regenerative farming” follows the same principles and adds various forms of grazing and off-farm organic inputs such as compost, humates, leanordite. Most significantly, regenerative farming puts soil health at the centre of decision making rather than productivity.

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In the past, the study of soils (and their management) was largely a physical and chemical one. Now

the importance of biology is recognised. Soils and their interaction with plants need to be recognised

and approached as an ecological science. As such, it is now more complex; hence, the seemingly

variable and sometimes contradictory findings. With the right scientific approaches, applied in the

context of Australia’s unique (agro)ecosystems, however, we can cut through this complexity to

understand how best to manage the diversity of soils (and their ecosystems) for long-term

productivity, profitability and sustainability, an outcome which is undeniably dependent on

increasing and maintaining SOC levels.

Without maintaining SOC, our soils will lose the ability to sustain crop yields, and the massive R&D

invested in genetic et al improvement in agriculture will be wasted if Australian farmers are unable

to grow the new varieties and breeds to their full potential.

On soils, and plant soil interaction, we are rather ignorant

The Australian Academy of Science goes on to say:

Major questions remain around many issues including levels of redundancy

among soil organisms; functional links between below-ground processes and

plant performance; second-order interactions with animals; the ways in which

micro-organisms affect the availability of nutrients; the role soils play in

sequestering carbon; and the contribution of soil biology to agro-ecosystem

sustainability.

This is all salutary in terms of not being able to quantify the benefits of increasing SOC with certainty.

It also helps explain why opinions are so divergent. Nonetheless, the United Nations Food and

Agriculture Organization is clear cut in its message:

Increases in SOC and biodiversity are generally beneficial for crop production, and

decreases in both are equally deleterious for crops; however, providing evidence

for these qualitative statements and establishing predictive relationships has been

difficult because crop growth is dependent on a suite of interacting factors.

Questions on measurement

Arguments to defend different practices need to be informed by reliable data. There are challenges

with SOC: there is much variability, both spatially (in three dimensions) and temporally. One answer

to this problem would be to simply increase the number of samples taken until the variability was

reduced to an acceptable level. The challenge here is that sampling and measurement are expensive.

Furthermore, there is argument as to whether the statistics of normal distributions is relevant to

soils. In any case, farmers can generally not afford to take the large number of samples needed to

give highly accurate estimates of SOC in particular fields. They can and do, however, take systematic

measurements from closely controlled specific locations and return to these locations each year.

Providing the actual sampling and measurement are technically reliable, and they generally are, such

“non-spatially representative” sampling is, however, highly indicative of temporal trends.

Let us for now consider the country-wide soil and landscape grid as a starting point, but it is hard to

pick significant trends.

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Trends, however, are perhaps better seen in direct data from specific regions. This is the basis of the

five-yearly State of the Environment report, which assesses the state and trends of soil carbon for 39

areas.

The data suggests that we have a long way to go, although the overview in the report gives words of

comfort: ‘Land management practices are improving, particularly in relation to soil management and

soil conservation measures. Pesticide and nutrient run-off is also being significantly reduced in some

industries, although increasing in others.’

Consider the areas where there is sampling. The summary comments are telling:

State and trends of soil carbon – 2016

COMPONENT SUMMARY TREND

1 Paroo Plain and Warwick Lowland

Rangelands with extensive grazing and wind-borne soil erosion, particularly on sandplains. In western New South Wales, 74% of soil monitoring units report SOC reduction as an issue

Deteriorating

2 Warrego Plains Rangelands with minor opportunity cropping. In western NSW, 74% of soil monitoring units report SOC reduction as an issue

Unclear

3 Tenterfield Plateau Grazing of modified and natural pastures, and nature conservation are major land uses. In the Central Plateau of NSW, 33% of soil monitoring units report SOC reduction as an issue

Deteriorating

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COMPONENT SUMMARY TREND

5 Cobar Plains Historically poor management has depleted SOC. Overgrazing by feral goats is causing further decline, despite improving land management. In western New South Wales, 74% of soil monitoring units report SOC reduction as an issue

Deteriorating

6 Barrier Ranges Surface SOC is low as a result of grazing and prior clearing. In the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, 40% of soil monitoring units report SOC reduction as an issue

Deteriorating

7 Gunnedah Lowlands Declining trend due to intensification of cropping. In the north-west region of New South Wales, 18% of soil monitoring units report SOC reduction as an issue

Unclear

8 Macleay Barrington Fall Area used for nature conservation and production forestry, with some grazing. Possible decline in SOC due to logging. In the Hunter region of New South Wales, 50% of soil monitoring units report SOC reduction as an issue

Unclear

9 Merriwa Plateau Mixed farming on naturally fertile Ferrosols and Vertosols. In the Hunter region of New South Wales, 50% of soil monitoring units report SOC reduction as an issue

Unclear

10 Condobolin Plains Soils are Sodosols and Vertosols, used for cropping and grazing. In the Central West region of New South Wales, 19% of soil monitoring units report SOC reduction as an issue

Unclear

11 Bathurst Tablelands Grazing of modified and natural pastures dominates. In the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, 40% of soil monitoring units report SOC reduction as an issue

Unclear

12 Hawkesbury Shoalhaven Plateaus

Diverse landscape with natural conservation, forestry, grazing, horticulture and urban land uses. Fire regime and land management practices are most likely causing a decline in SOC. In the Greater Sydney region of New South Wales, 57% of soil monitoring units report SOC reduction as an issue

Deteriorating

13 Cumberland Lowland Mostly urban and industrial land use. In the greater Sydney region of New South Wales, 57% of soil monitoring units report SOC reduction as an issue

Unclear

14 Werriwa Tablelands In the South East region of New South Wales, 59% of soil monitoring units report SOC reduction as an issue. No data from the Australian Capital Territory

Deteriorating

15 Monaro Fall Good levels of SOC under nature conservation, forestry, and grazing. Land management is improving

Unclear

16 Australian Alps Mostly used for nature conservation. Controls on grazing and reduced erosion stabilised early losses, but the increased intensity and extent of fires are likely to be causing a decrease, particularly in Organosols

Unclear

17 Mallee Dunefield Cropping, grazing and nature conservation with irrigated agriculture along the Murray River. Improved farming practices have improved soil condition in some areas

Unclear

18 Wimmera Plain Mainly cropping and grazing. Former grazing lands now used for nature conservation may still be experiencing declining carbon content. Changing farming practices to no-till may be increasing SOC content in some areas, especially on heavier soils

Unclear

19 Riverine Plains Dryland cropping and irrigated agriculture, with grazing in the west. None of the soil monitoring units in the Riverina region of New South Wales reported SOC as an issue

Unclear

20 West Victorian Plains Grazing, cropping and expanding plantation forestry. Areas converted from pasture to cropland are probably declining, as are soils used for continuous cropping

Unclear

21 Midlands Plain Dryland cropping, grazing and increasing irrigated cropping. Intensification of cropping is probably causing a decline in SOC

Unclear

22 Lakes Plateau Nature conservation reserves. Where wildfire and grazing have resulted in sheet erosion over large areas, SOC has been lost, with limited potential for recovery

Unclear

23 West Tasmanian Ridges

More frequent and/or hotter fires in conservation reserves are causing losses, especially in Organosols. Production forestry in the north suggests little potential for increase in SOC sequestration

Unclear

24 East Tasmanian Hills Production and plantation forestry, with minor decline due to erosion. Irrigated cropping in the south-east and north-east is causing a decline in SOC

Unclear

25 North West Ramp Decline in SOC is associated with irrigated cropping Unclear

26 Roe and Carlisle Plains, Coonana–Ragged and Bunda Plateaus

Mainly grazing of native vegetation. Shift from perennials to annuals and possible increase in fire frequency may lead to decline in SOC

Unclear

27 Southern Goldfields Plateau

SOC decline is restricted to pastoral areas Unclear

28 Swan Plain Urban areas and intensive agriculture. High levels of SOC are often associated with irrigated pasture. Decline in SOC is likely under intensive horticultural systems

Unclear

29 Woodramung Hills Low input cropping and grazing. Drying trends have compounded effects of clearing and cropping on SOC loss

Unclear

30 Murchison Plateau, Leemans and Yaringa Sandplains, Carnegie and Glengarry Hills, Augustus Ranges

Areas with extensive grazing of native vegetation, with declines in SOC in more heavily grazed areas. Few data in driest areas

Unclear

31 Carnarvon Plain Nature conservation, extensive grazing; small areas of intensive irrigated horticulture likely to have a decline in SOC

Unclear

32 Fitzroy Plains Extensive grazing of native vegetation Unclear

33 Daly Basin Small areas of intensive agriculture are likely to have declining SOC. Remainder is used for extensive grazing

Unclear

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COMPONENT SUMMARY TREND

34 Whirlwind Plain and Birrundudu Plain

Extensive grazing, with small areas of more intensive development on better soils. Possible minor decreases in SOC due to high seasonal stocking rates

Unclear

35 Barkly Tablelands Extensive grazing on clay plains, with decline in SOC likely Unclear

36 Toowoomba Plateau Ferrosols used for cropping and pasture, with increasing agroforestry. Slow recovery after large historical loss of SOC

Unclear

37 Central Uplands Partially cleared grazing country. SOC is likely to be declining in recently cleared areas; otherwise stable

Unclear

38 Atherton Tableland Fertile land with high rainfall. Diverse land uses, with SOC now recovering under pastures and tree crops; it is likely still decreasing under small-grain and horticultural crops

Unclear

39 Garnet Uplands Recently intensified land use after clearing; therefore, SOC is likely declining Unclear

This is hardly a picture of long-term sustainable agricultural practices.

It is consistent, however, with recent data for Australian wheat crops with yields post 2000 being

highly variable.

On the measurement of SOC

Building on earlier reviews by Sanderman et al, CSIRO led a collaborative project to produce a soil

carbon atlas of Australia. The Soil Carbon Research Program (SCaRP) cost $23m and is ‘the first

nationally coordinated program of soil carbon research [which] has gathered a wealth of information

on soil carbon stocks that will underpin Australia’s greenhouse gas accounting, carbon farming and

sustainable agriculture.’

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There is little doubt that at an individual sample level, the processes used to produce the SOC results

are technically correct and precise. That said, however, the fundamental approach of the sampling

methodology, and thus the veracity of the SCaRP data, was suspect due to the extreme sampling

variability. In fact, where a population does not fit a normal curve but exhibits extreme variability

due to other causal factors, like in a soil, it may not be mathematically, and certainly not

scientifically, valid to assume that it complies with a normal curve. It is, therefore, difficult to validly

sample this population to get a mean value and even more difficult to obtain a time-based increment

based on sequential mean values. While the spatial projections from the SCaRP can be queried, any

temporal conclusions, including the potential to predict the capacity of changed practices to deliver

SOC improvements, is suspect.

One can argue that the only method capable of producing veracious results for whole field temporal

changes in SOC is a method that involves whole field measurement. This is now possible using

satellite measurement.

On the nature of SOC

The nature of SOC and its permanence is contentious, which is strange as there was widespread

agreement on the efficacy of growing forests as a way of sequestering carbon from the atmosphere,

yet the questions of the different form and permanence of carbon are similar. The amount of carbon

in the soil is three times greater than that in foliage above the ground and two times larger than the

amount in the atmosphere.

What is clear is that the nature of the SOC varies with depth and time. This has led some people to

argue that only the deeper, long-lived humates should be considered in terms of sequestration or

monitoring of soil health. Indeed, complex systems of categorisation and tracking SOC at different

depths are a hallmark of the Australian Soil and Landscape Grid (derived from the SCaRP). The

approach of Lehmann and Kleber suggests a more holistic approach of looking at the totality of the

SOC and how the sum varies with time – just as we do with carbon credit for forests. Carbon tends to

remain in the soil for extended periods when it is trapped in the humus and this is a binder of carbon

- biologically, chemically and physically. The labile carbon (the part of the SOC that decomposes

relatively quickly) tends to be nearer to the surface and rises and falls according to the season and

moisture levels. Soil carbon oxidizes in times of drought and also escapes in wet events; however,

soils that are healthy tend to replace the lost carbon quite quickly.

Recommendation

We should move quickly to get the costs of measuring SOC down using satellite observations tied to

ground proofing. This will be a game changer that will enable more targeted improvements in

agricultural productivity, profitability and sustainability. It will also facilitate a much enhanced uptake

of carbon from the atmosphere to be sequestered in our soils at depth, with an associated increase

in micro and macro biological diversity and populations.

*****

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Acknowledgements

Many people have contributed to the arguments and data presented in this paper, including many of

the authors cited such as Jeff Baldock, Deli Chen and Kadambot Siddique. Others (in no particular

order) are all senior figures in agriculture and groups focussed on the long-term health of our soils,

eg Michael Jeffery, Walter Jehne, Deane Belfield, Snow Barlow, Michael Crawford and John White. All

have been most helpful on my journey to date in coming to grips with the potential of SOC.

Note, however, that the views expressed are mine and do not necessarily coincide with the views of

those listed above.

About the Author: Dr Robin Batterham AO, FREng, FAA, FTSE was

appointed Chief Scientist to the Commonwealth of Australia in May

1999. He was re-appointed in 2002, after the initial tenure expired,

and held the position until 2005. Dr Batterham sits on many boards

and associations and has lectured widely in Australia and overseas.

After completing his PhD at Melbourne University, he took up a

postdoctoral position with ICI Central Research Laboratories in

England. When he returned to Australia, he was employed as a

research scientist in CSIRO’s Division of Mineral and Process

Engineering. He became Chief of that division in 1985. He is a Fellow

of the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of

Technological Sciences and Engineering where he was President from

2007 to 2012.

*****

Any opinions or views expressed in this paper are those of the individual author, unless stated to be those of Future

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