Farmers leading and learning about the soil carbon frontier (EPARF)

The DAFF and GRDC funded national trial will examine existing, new and alternative strategies for farmers in the cereal sheep zone to increase soil carbon. The trial will be used as baseline data for carbon accumulation in soils and to: discuss the various forms of soil organic carbon (plant residues, particulate, humus and resistant fractions), investigate how management affects each of these pools and how humus can be increased over the medium to long term, communicate how soil organic matter affects soil productivity (through nutrient and water supply, and improvements in soils structure). Identical trials are being run by eight farm groups in SE Australia (Victoria: Mallee Sustainable Farming, Birchip Cropping Group, Southern Farming Systems; NSW: FarmLink, Central West Farming Systems; SA: Hart and Eyre Peninsula Agricultural Research Foundation, both through Ag Ex Alliance; and Tasmania: Southern Farming Systems) so information can be collected on different soils and climates in the Southern Region.

由澳大利亚农业与渔业部（DAFF）及谷物研发公司（GRDC）资助的全国性田间试验，将针对谷物-绵羊种植区的农户，评估用于提升土壤碳储量的现有、新型及替代性方案。该试验将作为土壤碳积累的基准数据，并用于开展以下工作：探讨土壤有机碳（soil organic carbon）的各类组分（植物残体、颗粒态、腐殖质及惰性组分），研究田间管理措施如何影响各土壤碳库，以及中长期内如何提升腐殖质含量，阐明土壤有机质（soil organic matter）如何通过养分与水分供给、土壤结构改良等途径提升土壤生产力。澳大利亚东南部共有8个农业团体同步开展同款田间试验，具体包括维多利亚州的马里可持续农业协会（Mallee Sustainable Farming）、伯奇普作物种植集团（Birchip Cropping Group）、南部农业系统协会（Southern Farming Systems）；新南威尔士州的FarmLink、中西部农业系统协会（Central West Farming Systems）；南澳大利亚州的哈特农业研究基金会（Hart）与艾尔半岛农业研究基金会（Eyre Peninsula Agricultural Research Foundation，均通过Ag Ex Alliance开展）；塔斯马尼亚州的南部农业系统协会（Southern Farming Systems），以此收集澳大利亚南部区域不同土壤与气候条件下的相关数据。