Groundcover scores highly for soil health
- Categorized in: Mudgee Guardian
Published 13 August, 2010
A group of Watershed Landcare members, known as the Mudgee Microscope Group, have collated results as part of a soil health project funded through the Central West Catchment Management Authority Small Grants for Community Groups program. The grant enabled members of the Microscope Group to quantify how soil health properties are affected by management in pastures and vineyards.
The vineyard results were particularly interesting. Here two vineyards were compared; one was organic with a slashed undervine and midrow, the other a conventionally managed vineyard with a slashed midrow and herbicided undervine. Both vineyards were on similar soil types.
Testing included a 10-step method called the Soil Health Card which is actually repeated 5 times on each test site to obtain more reliable results. The final ‘score’ for the organic vineyard was 88 in the undervine area compared to 49 in the vineyard which herbicides undervine. The midrow results were not as significant although a similar trend was found with scores of 74 and 63 respectively. The closer result in the midrows was a reflection of improved soil health in the conventional vineyard where there was vegetation and groundcover.
Samples were collected at the same sites and sent off for chemistry testing. Soil carbon levels followed Soil Health Card results with 50-100% more carbon in the vineyard managed for a diverse groundcover across the entire vineyard floor.
Members of the Mudgee Microscope Group share a particular interest in understanding and managing for soil biological health, and the impact this has on the quality of produce. Members of the Microscope Group include producers of wine grapes, olives, cereals, lamb, beef, goat and wool along with a number of other emerging agricultural industries. These farmers represent a range of production methods including conventional to organic / biodynamic and both irrigated and dry land.
In addition to using the Soil Health Card and microscopes to assess soil health, the group has used the Calico Strip Methods where squares of calico are buried in the ground for 3 weeks to assess soil health. The amount the calico square is degraded over the period correlated to soil biological activity.