Over thirty people attended a Healthy Soils and Pastures workshop held at West Wyalong on May 15 2017. The event was organised by CWFS to encourage better knowledge of strategies to combat weeds in a farming system, reduce the reliance on agrochemicals and be more pro-active in monitoring and manipulating soil pH. Presenters included: Hanwen Wu...
A long term farming systems trial was conducted at Condobolin in order to analyse the impacts of current farming systems on soil nutrients and soil carbon. The CWFS Systems Comparison Trial (commenced in 1998) was spread over the 160 ha trial site at Condobolin. The 160 hectare site was further broken down into four main...
For some time now there has been a great deal of debate around soil carbon and what farming methods are proved to be the most effective when it comes to increasing the carbon levels of the soil. This has resulted in CWFS forming a project to find out which farming practice is best for storing...
Soil carbon in the past has been known for its nutrient properties but little did we know that there was a wide array of benefits that are derived from soil carbon. So to kick things off we will check out a handy piece of research done by the GRDC. ...
To take a look at how soil carbon has influenced the microbial population I have decided to analyse a paper from Great Britain. The paper looks at two separate cropping systems (Continuous and rotational cropping) and they test how the microbes from these two separate systems react with to an introduction of soil carbon into the system. Data...
Soil carbon: the basics Fast facts Soil carbon is part of the soil organic matter which is composed of decaying plant and animal matter. CSIRO scientists have identified four biologically significant types or fractions of soil organic carbon: crop residues, particulate organic carbon, humus and recalcitrant organic carbon. Each fraction has different functions due to the relative stability...
Fast facts Soil characteristics, climate and management practices can alter the amount of carbon in soil Soil carbon is a balance between inputs (such as plant shoots, roots and leaves) and outputs (such as decomposition and conversion into carbon dioxide) Regardless of its potential, the amount of carbon a soil can actually hold is limited by...
Carbon & my business – a dilemma needing facts? The importance of soil organic carbon to soil health and sustainable agriculture has been recognised by farmers and scientists for many years. The role of soil organic carbon in the emerging carbon economy is less well understood. There is a critical need for scientifically based data...
