Soil ecosystem services are vital
By Bala Tikkisetty
The transformation of natural capital, namely soil, plants and animals, air and water into resources that people value
and use is generally called ecosystem services. It is a concept that is gaining more attention as we see environmental
pressure increasingly applied to resources, such as soil health, that we once took for granted.
Soil provides ecosystem services critical to all of us. In addition to providing habitat for billions of organisms, soil
acts as a water filter and growing medium. It contributes to biodiversity, solid waste treatment, acts as a filter for
wastewater and so on. Soil is the basis for our country’s agro-eco systems that provide us with fibre and food and
supports our agriculture industry.
The Waikato Regional Council soil quality monitoring programme measures soil properties such as soil compaction,
nutrient status, biological activity and soil carbon at 145 sites, with about 30 sites each year sampled in the region.
The sites cover a range of soils and land uses regionally.
The main soil quality issues identified are compaction, excessive phosphorous and nitrogen on dairy and cropping land,
and declining carbon on cropping land use. I am happy to say that some of the emerging data trends suggest a positive
change in soil quality, most likely attributed to improved land management practices undertaken by our farming
community. That’s great news.
But some areas still need improvement. The following are a few of the issues on which we can potentially focus for
developing good management.
Minimising human induced erosion and maintaining good soil quality are essential for maintaining soil ecosystem services
such as nutrient and water buffering, productive capacity, assimilating waste and minimising impacts of sediment and
other contaminants on water bodies.
Other good practices include optimum cultivation, avoiding over grazing and heavy grazing under wet weather leading to
compaction, avoiding under or over-fertilisation, practicing appropriate use of pesticides and other agrochemicals,
managing pasture to maintain complete soil cover and careful application of farm dairy effluent to avoid saturation and
optimise organic matter.
There is every benefit in protecting the sensitive areas on farms. Wetlands deliver a wide range of ecosystem services
such as improving water quality, flood regulation, coastal protection, and providing recreational opportunities and fish
habitat.
A good way of describing soil quality is to relate the properties of the soil to the use we want to make of it. A good
quality soil is one which will serve the purpose we have for it with minimum modification.
Waikato Regional Council continues to work with the farming community, farming industry and other stakeholders to
increase the understanding of the above issues and provide advice on sustainable agriculture practices to decrease the
impact of resource use.
Soil is one of the most valuable assets that a farmer has. It is our responsibility to make use of soils without
damaging either the soil or any other part of our environment, protecting them for our own use and use by future
generations.
Bala Tikkisetty is a sustainable agriculture co-ordinator at Waikato Regional Council.