THE latest edition of the internationally recognised 'bible' on sampling soils for factors like carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous and toxic substances has been released in Canberra at the Australasian Soil and Plant Analysis Council Conference.
"It's been almost 20 years since the previous edition of the Soil Chemical Methods book was published in the Australian Soil and Land Survey Handbook," said lead author, former principal scientist with the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management, Dr George Rayment.
The book sets out the standards for more than 200 laboratory and field chemical tests relevant to many of the challenges faced today in land management in Australia.
"It's a 'recipe book' for soil laboratories," Dr Raiment said.
"From helping farmers and farm consultants figure out how best to apply fertiliser to reduce loss to waterways, to guiding scientific sampling across the country, the Handbook sets out all that is needed for consistency across the profession."
According to CSIRO Sustainable Agriculture Flagship scientist Mike Grundy, managing our landscapes has become far more complex over the past 20 years.
"We have always needed standardised approaches to soil chemical analysis because soil is a complex material, the processes for measuring it are complex and there is potential for misinformation," Mr Grundy said.
"Getting the analysis right is far more critical now. For example, accurately measuring carbon in the soil is important for managing greenhouse gas emissions as well as the health of the soil."
The book includes details on new instrumentation and new technologies, plus a wider array of tests for emerging areas such as acid sulfate soils.
CSIRO and the the Australian Collaborative Land Evaluation Program have collaborated on compiling and publishing Australian Soil and Land Survey Handbooks for the past 30 years.
