So what makes your soils tick?

It seems many of us are eager to fill in the gaps of knowledge about soil biology if the numbers attending the soil biology workshops held at Hamilton and Deloraine at the end of June are anything to go by.

Joel Williams had a thorough and evidence-based approach to giving an introduction to the world that's teeming with life beneath our feet. He covered the basics of soil biology - we learnt about fungi, fungi and more fungi, and about bacteria, protozoa and nematodes. Did you know that the smell that makes healthy, earthy soil smell so deliciously earthy is actually produced by a soil organism - actinobacteria? Micorrhizal fungi can massively increase the amount soil a plant can exploit to extract water and nutrients and also play a role in sequestering carbon and holding the soil together - ever heard of glomalin? This is a compound secreted by fungi which contains carbon and is stable for up to 40 years. It improves soil aggregation and protects soil organic matter. The glomalin story highlights a reason why understanding soil life is a key part of managing soil carbon – soil organisms both feed on carbon and produce carbon-rich products. Looking after the soil biology can help to preserve the carbon in the soil.

Joel had some good advice on how to measure soil biology - the difficulty of doing this is one of the reasons that soil biology is not as well understood as soil physics or chemistry, however there are now many techniques and tests that can be used to determine what critters are making your soils home, and what they're up to. Consider monitoring soil biology for some of your paddocks, as well as soil chemistry - it could tell you quite a bit about your management and improve your understanding of what makes your soils tick.

Joel finished off by covering the effect of farm inputs on soil life - from composts and fish oils right through to fertilisers and herbicides. The photo below shows fungal hyphae "swimming" in compost tea.

One of the key messages from the day was to think about the impact your management may be having on soil biology - and work to minimise the impact (e.g. if you need to cultivate be aware of the disturbance it will cause to the soil biology and try to "make up for it" e.g. give them additional food to get their numbers back up quickly). You don’t need to radically change your farming practices overnight to improve how you manage soil biology – just a few small changes can help make your farm environment a more friendly place for the critters in the soil. If you would like a copy of Joel's presentation email him at biolifeag@gmail.com

We would also like to thank our workshop co-organisers (Tas Agronomy Plus and Derwent Catchment NRM) and sponsors (Caring for our Country and NRM South).