Manage carbon to sustain soil structure
Submitted by Tom Miles on Sat, 2007-04-07 04:41
Manage carbon to sustain soil structure
Jan Skjemstad, CSIRO LAND AND WATER AND CRC FOR GREENHOUSE ACCOUNTING in FARMING AHEAD No. 158 March 2005
Soil organic carbon plays a critical role in the biological, chemical and physical health of a soil. But little is known about how crop management impacts on soil organic carbon levels and thus soil health. This article describes how a new approach to understanding this relationship could help farmers better manage soil organic carbon.
A new approach to soil analysis willhelp farmers better predict how residue management can impacton soil structure, nutrition and biological activity.
• The new method enables total soil organic carbon to be broken into three major fractions based on their
biological availability.
• Scientists will use the new soil analysis to develop a range of simple residue management guidelines for different soil types