Spatio temporal tillage and stubble prediction in Australia

This dataset integrates management records from two Australian national soil monitoring programs: the Soil Carbon Research Project (SCaRP) and the Soil Organic Carbon Monitoring project (SOC-M). It contains harmonized information on crop type, tillage practices, and stubble management collected from over 4,000 paddock sites, with a subset revisited after a decade to provide continuous records spanning 2001–2023. The data was produced to fill critical gaps in understanding long-term trends in land management practices and their influence on soil health, carbon stocks, and greenhouse gas emissions. By combining site-level observations with standardized classifications, the collection supports national greenhouse gas accounting, soil carbon modeling, and policy development, while enabling predictive frameworks for sustainable agriculture and climate.

Publication
Pasut, C., Li, M., Armour, B., Asanopoulos, C., Brown, G., Crawford, D., ... & Karunaratne, S. (2026). Integrating soil monitoring and machine learning to map historical tillage and stubble management across Australian cropping systems (2001–2023). Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 243, 111408.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2026.111408

Coverage

Spatial extent: Agricultural cropping zones across Australia, including major grain-producing regions in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, and Tasmania.
Temporal range: 2001–2023, covering two decades of management history.

Variables included:
Crop type (e.g., cereals, oilseeds, pulses, cotton, maize, pastures)
Tillage practices (conventional, reduced, minimum/no-till, deep ripping)
Stubble management (retained, incorporated, grazed, baled/removed, burnt)
Soil classification
Climate variables (temperature, rainfall, vapor pressure, evaporation)
Spatial coordinates (latitude, longitude) and year for temporal tracking