Project Leader: Prof. Terry Rose, Southern Cross University

Industry Partners: Birchip Cropping Group

Project Description: This project in partnership with Birchip Cropping Group will identify potential farm management practices in the Wimmera Mallee that have a positive influence on Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) and build drought resilience in agricultural soils. The project builds on the Soil Carbon Research Program (SCaRP) 2009-2012, the largest soil sampling and analysis program undertaken in Australia to measure stocks of soil carbon and record associated management practices. SCaRP found that management practices of the last 10 years were not significantly related to SOC levels. This project will revisit, retest and resurvey 15 sites to measure potential changes in SOC and collect management data to collate over 20 years of management data, providing a longer timeframe from which to draw better conclusions on if and how farming practices are influencing soil carbon.