2 - Intactness and Integrity

3 - Natural Capital Valuation

Soil organic matter (SOM) affects the soil functioning and the ecosystem services that soil provides.

Land management affects the soil’s stocks of soil organic matter. The stocks of soil organic matter in New Zealand’s major soils are being determined, and the direction and rates of change in these stocks established. We are quantifying how land management influences the changes in soil organic matter and this will be used to predict future changes in our soil carbon stocks and their implications for soil functioning and future land-use options.

The soil functions of pH buffering, water and nutrient regulation, which are controlled by organic matter, are being quantified. This will lead to new understanding of the influence of land use and management practices on the regulation of soil organic matter levels, C stocks and nutrient cycling. This new knowledge will enable quantification of soil organic matter in the determination of a soil’s natural capital value.

The following documents are available to download: