— Mount Alexander Sustainability Group
Healthy Soils Initiative
The Healthy Soils Initiative promotes better understanding of soil health and constraints in Central Victoria. This project was funded by the Commonwealth of Australia through the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, under the Smart Farms, Small Farms grant program.
The Healthy Soils Initiative promotes better understanding of soil health and constraints in Central Victoria. It provides landowners with information and tools to assess soil health and constraints, manage soil to build improve and maintain soil health, and monitor their soils’ health from season to season into the future. The initiative aims to promote practical soil health management that boosts farm productivity and helps farmers to benchmark, build and maintain soil health.
The project works with farmers to:
- identify their soil constraints through on-site soil testing;
- develop management plans to build, maintain and monitor soil health.
The initiative has been developed by the Mount Alexander Sustainability Group and Federation University, with funding support from the Australian Government through the National Landcare Program Smart Farms Small Grants initiative.
Please view/download any of the nine sections below, or download the full project document below.
i. About the Initiative
The Healthy Soils Initiative promotes better understanding of soil health and constraints in Central Victoria.
1. Soil Health
This section provides an overview of what ‘Soil health’ is, why it is important, and how to build, maintain and protect soil health.
2. The Healthy Plant <-> Healthy Soil Cycle
Plant health (and yield) depends on soil health, and soil health is largely determined by plant health and nutrient and water availability.
3. Common Soil Constraints
Many Central Victorian soils have physical and chemical constraints to healthy plant and root growth, reducing beneficial soil biological activity.
4. Soils of the Region
An overview of common soil types in the Central Victorian Healthy Soils Initiative project area and options for managing these.
5. Managing Climate Constraints
The Central Victorian climate poses some significant constraints to building and maintaining soil health.
6. Managing Soil Nutrition and Fertility
Soil nutrition and fertility is a key driver of the Healthy Plant <-> Healthy Soil Cycle.
7. Building & Maintaining Organic Matter
Soil organic matter (SOM) is vital to the Healthy Plant <-> Healthy Soil cycle.
8. Assessing your Soil
The first stage of the soil health planning process is to assess soils to identify soils constraints across the farm.
9. Developing a Management Plan
Developing a soil health, nutrition and organic matter management plan.
Full Document
A guide to the sustainable management of soil health, nutrition and organic matter in Central Victoria