Translating policy into practice: purpose and potential of engaging landholders in monitoring soil condition

Abstract

This paper explores the Australian perspective on the purpose and potential of engaging landholders in monitoring soil condition to manage agricultural landscapes sustainably. This particular perspective examines the difficulties in reconciling national interests in conserving and maintaining soil health with landholder's interests in and concerns over soil monitoring, especially about how the data will be used. Ultimately the information gained through monitoring soil condition is to make decisions that will be relevant for varied audiences and at different points in the decision-making process. However, in designing a 'one-size-fits-all' soil monitoring scheme that appeals to a varied audience it can unintentionally miss one of its targets – the land manager. Involvement by landholders in soil monitoring, in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, could occur at different points in the monitoring cycle but so far their involvement has been limited to site access for soil sampling, and completing a land management site survey. It appears many areas of the soil monitoring cycle are fixed with little flexibility for local or contextual variation, as the demand for date to report on Natural Resource Management (NRM) outcomes at the national, State or regional levels takes precedence over landholder or local needs.