Is the isotopic composition of bulk soil carbon and nitrogen a robust indicator of agricultural soil health?

The goal of this project was to identify indicators of carbon and nitrogen status in soils that can be used across a wide range of soil types, while minimising any possible laboratory bias and also being measurable on archived soil samples.

To establish farm-relevant indicators of soil health, the complexity of overlapping effects of climate, soil type and management practices need to be considered. Data is required on baseline soil nutrient cycling capacity to connect on-farm measurements to soil health.

The proposed research outlined the local ‘soil health’ definitions that will underpin the next 10 years of Soil CRC research of managing high performance soils across Australia’s diverse climatic growing regions.

*This project has additional funding provided by the NSW Government Department of Industry’s Research Attraction and Acceleration Program (RAAP).