Soil Management In WA - Soil Quality Knowledge Base

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Soil attributes
Explore an underground world

Learn about what’s going in soil and why.
Understand soil properties and processes

The Soil attributes section contains information on different topics within soil biology, physics or chemistry. Pages within these topics present an overview of the current state of knowledge, explain the principles and properties of different soil attributes, and highlight insights from research and resources like case studies. Resources are suggested throughout these Pages.
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Soil management
Looking after soil for long-term sustainability

Protecting and conserving a critical resource.
Discover and apply best practice soil management

Soil management focuses on practical advice and guidelines to improve soil management. This information discusses how soil management integrates into different farming systems and considers different options that may be available to improve soil quality. Resources are linked throughout Soil Management pages.
- View all Soil management
- Controlled traffic farming
- Strategic tillage
- Soil amendments
- Agricultural lime
- Fertiliser
Soil analysis & testing
Dig deeper with analytical insights and data

Support better decision making and create value with soil monitoring and testing.
Learn how soil testing and monitoring can unlock potential

Soil analysis & testing provides information on how soil attributes and properties are measured and tested, as well as guidance on how to analyse and interpret soil test results and set up soil sampling and monitoring.
- View all Soil analysis and testing
- Soil sampling
- Soil groups
- Testing soil colour
- Testing soil texture
- Testing soil structure
- Testing soil nutrients
- Identifying soil constraints
- Measuring soil organic carbon
- Understanding trial results and on-farm experimentation
Resources
Curated collection of high-quality, evidence-based soil information

The knowledge you need, all in one place.
Explore our collection of videos, case studies, fact sheets, tools, journal articles, links and more.

The Resources section lets user explore and access a curated selection of additional resources for soil information and management. These Resources can be searched, and filtered by topic(s), format, date, and organisation so you can find what you’re looking for, or discover something new.
- Videos
- Case studies
- Fact sheets
- Reports
- Journal articles
- Tools
- External links
- Books
- Ebooks
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Discover and apply best practice soil management

Soil management focuses on practical advice and guidelines to improve soil management. This information discusses how soil management integrates into different farming systems and considers different options that may be available to improve soil quality. Resources are linked throughout these pages, or you can view those relating to this topic.

Controlled traffic harvesting. From Soil Quality: 6 Soil Compaction (Parker et al. 2021). Photo: Adobe stock 231287067.

Controlled traffic farming. From Soil Quality: 6 Soil Compaction (Parker et al. 2021). Photo: Mick Schultz, Grower, Grass Patch.

Matching operating widths of cropping machinery greater than one tonne to minimise wheeled area. From Soil Quality: 6 Soil Compaction (Parker et al. 2021). Photo: Brady Green, Grower, Nabawa.

Controlled traffic farming

Controlled traffic farming systems minimise the area of the paddock that is compacted by heavy cropping machinery by establishing and maintaining permanent pathways for machinery.

Information Resources

Deep ripping to ameliorate soil compaction. Photo: DPIRD.

Soil strength restricts root growth and determines the plant's exploration of soil. From Soil Quality: 6 Soil Compaction (Parker et al. 2021). Photo: Jenni Clausen, DPIRD.

Soil Amelioration. Photo: Chris Gazey, DPIRD.

Strategic tillage

Strategic deep tillage is a intervention to overcome one or multiple soil constraints.

Information Resources

Grader collecting subsoil with higher clay content for spreading. Photo: DPIRD.

Wheel track on a dispersive clay. Photo: David Hall, DPIRD.

Soil amendments

Soil amendments are materials added to soil with the aim of altering soil properties. The addition of amendments to soil generally has the goal of overcoming a soil constraint.

Information Resources

Lime spreading. Photo: DPIRD.

A way to visualise the impact of particle size on surface area is to imagine the particles as roughly cube shaped. From Soil Quality: 4 Soil Acidity (Gazey et al. 2019). Diagram: Science with Style.

Agricultural lime

Agricultural lime is any product that is used to increase the pH of soil. Application of one of these products is usually the most economical method of ameliorating soil acidity.

Information Resources

Fertiliser spreading. Photo: Angie Roe Photography.

Urea fertiliser. Image: Science with Style.

Fertiliser

Fertilisers supply and replace nutrients that are removed or lost from soil. The types of fertilisers used in agriculture have changed over the last half century.

Information Resources

Deep ripping and nitrogen use efficiency

Soil management

4 min read

Quantifying how deep tillage changes the growth response of wheat to fertiliser nitrogen.

Claying to ameliorate soil water repellence

Soil management

December 12, 2023

Claying can be one of the most effective ways to overcome soil water repellence.

Report or other publication

Controlled Traffic Farming Technical Manual

Controlled traffic farming

Subsoil compaction caused by cropping machinery ‘traffic’ in paddocks is a costly and increasing problem across the Western Australian...

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