Soil is one of the natural resources that Glenelg Hopkins CMA works with the community to improve and protect. You cannot manage what you cannot measure, and efforts to monitor soil condition at a catchment scale, have tended to be overly complex and expensive. 

In 2018, Glenelg Hopkins CMA teamed up with Southern Farming Systems and land managers to establish a benchmark (or snapshot) of soil condition across the region. Soil monitoring sites were established at 100 locations with sites selected to achieve a representative cross-section of soil types, climate zones and agricultural enterprises. Soil cores were taken to a depth of 1.0 m, and samples taken at 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm and 20-30 cm. Standard soil tests were applied to 0-10 cm samples, with deeper samples tested for acidity (pH) and salinity (EC). GPS coordinates for each soil monitoring site were recorded. 

Trends in soil test data over time better inform soil management decisions than individual samples. For this reason, it is intended that sites will be retested at five-year intervals, with the next to occur in 2023. Over time these snapshots will help us understand how soil condition across the catchment is changing and inform what actions need to be taken to reverse emerging degradation trends.