Looking below the surface: Lessons from the landscape

Abstract

In the last edition of Spotlight Dr Oliver Knox spoke to several researchers who have an interest in the biology of our cotton producing soils. They talked about the soil biology's abundance, diversity and some management decisions that could help to improve it, but in doing so we really only scratched the surface of what we know... In this edition Oliver has brought together information from some of the industry's researchers conducting work on our farms' soils and associated environments in areas where we aren't farming. The soil biology of the native vegetation on cotton farms indicates what was probably there before, what we've lost through cultivation and what functional changes this might have on our soils.