National Soil Strategy

The Historical Soil Data Capture Payments Program concluded on 31 December 2022. Data from this program will be publicly available on the Australian National Soil Information System shortly.

Applications for soil sampling and testing under the pilot Soil Monitoring Incentives Program closed on 23 December 2022, with all soil sampling completed by 28 February 2023. Data from this program will be publicly available on the Australian National Soil Information System shortly. The department is consolidating lessons learned from this pilot program to inform future approaches to soil monitoring.

The Soil Science Challenge grant funding round closed on 14 February 2022. The successful funding recipients are:

• $3.94 million to the University of Western Australia (in collaboration with the University of Adelaide and University of Western Sydney) to provide an in-depth understanding of soil physical and chemical processes in response to biological inputs that complement chemical fertilisers to maximise productivity.
• $2.84 million to the University of Adelaide (in collaboration with the South Australian Research and Development Institute) to research the diversity of Australian soils using DNA technology to measure, understand and reverse soil decline, providing a basis to improve soil biology in farming systems.
• $2.69 million to the University of Sydney to better understand the diversity, function, and impact of Australian soils viruses and their links to soil health and productivity.
• $1.10 million to the University of New South Wales (in collaboration with the University of Newcastle, and New South Wales Department of Primary Industries) to provide insight into the use of nano materials (including waste materials) in soils, as an innovative approach to assist in improving soil carbon sequestration.
• $1.97 million to the University of Melbourne (in collaboration with the University of Western Sydney and Murdoch University) to develop new standardised approaches and tools for farmers to manage soil fauna across different agricultural industries.
• $1.78 million to the University of Melbourne (in collaboration with Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and Queensland Department of Environment and Science) to quantify and understand the causes and consequences of soil organic carbon decline in Australian cropping systems, to improve productivity and improve understanding of carbon sequestration.
• $1.67 million to the University of Sydney (in collaboration with Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) to develop an improved spatial understanding of how soils behave in the Australian landscape to enable better advice for farmers and primary producers on land management strategies.
• $1.59 million to the University of Queensland (in collaboration with Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries) to develop new nitrogen fertiliser strategies for the more effective and efficient use of nitrogen to benefit Australia’s cropping producers.
• $0.80 million to the Queensland University of Technology to improve rangeland management in the Northern Australian pastoral zone, including developing strategies for improving carbon storage and productivity on those pastoral lands.
• $0.77 million to the University of Sydney to explore the interaction of various components in soils to better understand linkages and benefit to soil carbon sequestration
• $0.52 million to the University of Queensland to better understand the application of phosphorous in soils to increase agricultural productivity.

This new research will add to Australia’s soil health knowledge and address soil-related research priorities including soil carbon dynamics; soil hydrology; soil biology and nutrients; or soil/root interface.