Trends in soil quality monitoring data in the Waikato region 1995-2015

TR 2017/26
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Report: TR 2017/26

Prepared by: Matthew Taylor (Waikato Regional Council), Neil Cox (NeilStat Ltd), Ray Littler (University of Waikato) and John Drewry (Greater Wellington Regional Council).

About this report

Waikato Regional Council monitors the life supporting capacity of soil to determine whether current practices will meet the foreseeable needs of future generations and identify any changes in the ability of the soil to sustain environmental quality. This report presents data and statistical modelling on trends in meeting the seven soil quality targets by soil quality sites for different land uses for the period 1995-2016 and the main soil quality issues facing the Waikato Region.

Overall, 10% of managed soil quality sampling sites corrected for land area in the region met all seven indicators in 2015, down from a high of 17% in 2006. The main soil quality issues identified in the Waikato region are soil compaction, excessive nutrients and loss of soil organic matter (SOM) with the associated decrease in biological activity of microorganisms. However, the magnitude of each issue varies with land use.

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Trends in soil quality monitoring data in the Waikato region 1995-2015
[PDF, 1.6 MB]