Posts in Soils

Gondwana Link, global carbon and restoring landscapes

Keith Bradby, Gondwana Link wants to restore landscapes and the carbon stored will be additional to other benefits. — Gondwana Link - sustainable landscapes boost carbon storage

The topic of carbon is getting more and more mainstream. Recently Clint Jasper from Radio National’s “A Country Breakfast” interviewed Professor Jacqueline McGlade, from Downforce Technologies about her company’s satellite technology for estimating soil carbon. The Professor even had a piece in ‘The Australian’.
Also Robin Williams’ ‘The Science Show’ had an extensive program on the best methods to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
This interview is with Keith Bradby a lifelong avid reader and curious prober at the mysteries of life.
He received an Order of Australia in 2015 and an Excellence in Natural Resource Management Award in 2005.
He has run a beekeeping and native seed business, consulted to the mining sector and worked in local enterprise development. He even worked for three state cabinet ministers across both side of politics.
He has also consulted to emerging landscape efforts in New Zealand, southern Africa and Mexico, and is helping to establish EcoHealth programs in Australia and New Zealand and is the Chief Executive Officer, **Gondwana Link** Ltd as well as being involved in a heap of other organisations as well.
Gondwana Link has reconnected country across south-western Australia, from the wet forests in the southwest corner to the dry woodlands and mallee bordering the Nullarbor Plain, in which ecosystem function and biodiversity are restored and maintained.
For more information on Gondwana Link - https://gondwanalink.org/ Image: Ula Majewski

Yarrabee in 2006 prior to restoration works. The property purchase was made possible through an initial funding contribution from Wesfarmers, and is owned by Greening Australia. A different mix of funding enabled the restoration plantings. Yarrabee is a critical property adjoining Stirling Range National Park where this section of the completed Link will eventually connect with the park. Image: Amanda Keesing

Same view in 2019, 13 years after the start of the project. Image: Blair Parsons

warming climate, Soils, Landscape restorationAndrew Storrie15 November 2022landscape restoration, soil carbon

Greenhouse gas reduction down on the farm - what farmers are doing now - Part III

This is number 3 in the series on carbon and farming.
Farmers are out there now implementing strategies to reduce greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides, while continuing to make a profit.

Simon Wallwork and Cindy Stevens jointly run their 3,700 ha mixed cropping-sheep-cattle property at Corrigin in the central cropping belt of WA. They have been frustrated by the lack of will of politicians and administrators to develop and implement meaningful policies to minimise the impacts of human-induced climate change on the agricultural sector and the planet in general.

So after their youngest son asked what they were going to do about it, they got together with other keen growers and formed AgZero2030. Simon and Cindy are respectively Chair and Secretary.

AgZero2030 is a movement of WA farmers eager to influence climate action and to lead by example by making their own properties carbon neutral within the decade. They hope to encourage other growers to start managing their greenhouse gas production by promoting positive actions taken by fellow growers.

In this podcast Simon and Cindy explain what got them into AgZero2030 and what they are implementing on their own farm to meet their decarbonisation goals and meet the requirements of changing markets.

Links

Radio National Interview
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/saturdayextra/talking-transitions:-stories-from-the-frontlines-of-the-transit/13495492

‘Living climate change now’: how WA farmers are trying to turn the tide - Guardian Australia - https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/may/25/living-climate-change-now-how-wa-farmers-are-trying-to-turn-the-tide

AgExcellence Alliance - A climate of opportunity in Ag August 2021 https://agex.org.au/annual-forum/

Farmers for Climate Action - https://farmersforclimateaction.org.au/

Climate trends in Western Australia - https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/climate-change/climate-trends-western-australia

The Conversation - Climate Change and farming - https://theconversation.com/climate-change-means-australia-may-have-to-abandon-much-of-its-farming-166098

Agriculture, Soils, warming climateAndrew Storrie8 September 2021Greenhouse gas, carbon, climate change, zero carbon farming, Markets

Soil Carbon Part 2 - A soil scientist's viewpoint - Dr Fran Hoyle

In the previous podcast about soil carbon we heard from Peter McInerney from Wagga Wagga in New South Wales about practicing agronomist’s point of view on increasing soil carbon levels. Peter sees soil carbon as an important part of improving soils and therefore plant production.

There is no doubt about the benefits of soil carbon to soil health and agriculture. Loss of soil organic carbon means lower nutrients and water holding capacity and the soil becomes harder. It has been estimated that since Europeans colonised Australia we have lost up to 75% of total soil organic carbon. A sad state of affairs.

However there is a lot of talk about how we can take carbon out of the atmosphere and into the soil and be paid for it. But just how easy is that going to be particularly for a grower in Western Australia?

In this podcast I’m speaking with Dr Fran Hoyle who’s had several decades as an agronomist and soil scientist and has put a lot of years into measuring and studying soil carbon and how it behaves under different situations.

Fran started as a wheat agronomist with the West Australian Department of agriculture (DAFWA), and had an increasing focus on soil quality and biological function. More recently she joined the University of Western Australia continuing work on management of soil organic carbon and as Director of SoilsWest.

In this Giving a RATS pod cast we get more detail about soil carbon and what we can realistically expect on how to build up our soil carbon levels.

Contact Fran - https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/persons/frances-hoyle

SOIL WEST landscape narrow height email 10pc.png

Links

Further Reading