The institute estimates the loss to be equivalent to 400,000 dump trucks of soil unloaded every week.
“The idea that ‘what we cannot see cannot hurt us’ could not be more wrong, especially in the context of New Zealand soils,” the agency says.
To discuss the nitty-gritty of soil management and how the general public, including farmers and growers, could better look after soil, The Herald spoke wiith local soil and agriculture scientist Jacopo Orazi.
Working with environmental consultancy Radice Soil Solutions, he shares his new office space with impact house Taiki e! whānau in their tech and innovation whare Haututu Hacklab.
Mr Orazi said his first goal was to create awareness of what is happening in the soil and why it’s so important.
The scientist spends a good chunk of his time at the microscope looking at soil samples.
“It’s a process of understanding and sharing with people more information about the biodiversity and life that resides in the soil,” he says. “It’s unfortunate that throughout our soil history, people have neglected to learn what’s happening underneath.
“If we did, people would have realised sooner that there is more biodiversity in one teaspoon of soil than in all the rainforest. Isn’t that fascinating?”
The topsoil, he says, has the highest biodiversity.
“It has a lot of correlation with what’s happening in the world. It plays a huge role in carbon sequestration. For example, fungi, the biggest known organism that grows on soil, sequesters a great deal of carbon, which keeps climate-warming carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
“It’s hard to believe that we haven’t thought in that direction yet. Soil’s own organic matter has a huge effect on agriculture in general, helps in water retention, and then we forget that most of our nutrition comes from underneath as well.”
Mr Orazi says most people think only developing countries faced issues of malnutrition but that is incorrect. Even developed countries such as New Zealand are lacking basic micro-nutrients in food.
“It’s all because the soil is depleting and accordingly its natural ability to extract those micro-nutrients and make them available to plants has become more and more difficult.
“That’s why we have a number of people suffering from iron, zinc and magnesium deficiencies among others.”
When looking at samples under his microscope, it’s not just about testing the soil for minerals or nutrition — a common practice in the agriculture industry — but also its biology, he says.
“It’s a qualitative and not a quantitative assessment. Doing so gives you a picture of why certain types of crops are not growing well, which is a big deal for farmers and growers for food production.”
For instance, according to soil biology, “clayey and silty soils” are sensitive to compaction.
It could happen due to overgrazing or heavy machinery.
“Organisms present in the soil are strictly aerobic, meaning they need a level of oxygen in the soil. For them to thrive, such compactions should be stopped.
“Learning the soil microbiology helps to know what kind of fix or prevention the landowner may need.”
Mr Orazi helps growers and farmers create pathways or sustainability roadmaps for their land.
“Soil is the first step but we go beyond it. We look at the soil and discuss ways we can improve it. For example, in most cases we first start talking about the need to reduce the amount of fertilisers used to reduce costs and improve fertility.”
On average, a farmer or grower spends close to $80,000 on fertilisers ina year, which makes up about 20 percent of their working costs, he says.
From his previous experiences through soil testing he has found approximately 50 percent of the used fertilisers are lost in waterways.
“Plants can absorb only so much. In most cases it’s just half of what is sprayed”.
“We then explain the situation to the concerned farmer and grower and present them ways to leverage the soil and yet retain its overall natural fertility.
“With the price of fertilisers and agrochemicals skyrocketing since Covid-19, it’s a good opportunity to buy less of them and reduce overall operational costs.
“So to recapitulate our services, we conduct an aerial view of farms, identify the problems and see which areas can be restored.
“We look at the soil, create a strategy or systems approach for the farm and look for sustainable options on revitalising the soil and reducing costs.”
They help landowners with any project from regenerating the native ecosystem to ecotourism to land diversification.
For plant lovers and urban gardeners, Mr Orazi says there are a lot of ways to look after a plant. The most important is to understand what drives plant health.
“It’s actually the health of the roots that determines overall plant health. Sometimes people don’t give much thought to roots because we usually tend to focus on what we see above ground.
“But if your root is sick, then the soil is not healthy. That’s also when you start to see the effects on other parts of the plant as well.
“Try to make sure that you have good drainage and allow oxygen to improve soil diversity and ensure you have good plant structure.”
For more details or to contact Mr Orazi, go to his facebook page Jacopo Orazi
