Alex McBratney - Agriculture

Soil resource asesment and sustainable use

Around 500 years ago Leonardo da Vinci wrote that we knew more about the celestial bodies than the soil beneath our feet. The comment still rings true today – the level of investment in extra-terrestrial studies remains much larger than research into soil. Nevertheless, scientists are making large advances in deciphering the nature and spatial and temporal variation of soil, using a combination of new technologies and improved mathematical models.

At the forefront of this research is the Australian Centre for Precision Agriculture. Directed by Professor McBratney, the centre has devoted 13 years to the study of precision agriculture, looking at the potential for information technologies to suggest better ways to environmentally manage variation within individual paddocks as well as optimising yield. This dual approach is the key to sustainability of agroecosystems and rural populations.

The team is currently investigating the challenge of soil carbon monitoring in order that rural communities can engage in cap-and-trade schemes by sequestering soil carbon, thereby reducing atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The centre has already enabled farmers across Australia to implement precision agriculture. A spin-off is more detailed feedback from farmers: vital information that will help the industry adapt to climate change.

Detailed spatial and temporal information on soil properties is required to provide crucial data for global circulation models, in order to manage climate change and create models of food, water and energy security – the bedrock of global sustainability.

The Centre’s research into digital soil mapping is also providing key methodologies for a digital soil map of the world (the globalsoilmap.net project funded by the Gates Foundation). This map will be the most definitive statement on the world’s soil resource to date.