News Archive

Managing Australia’s Soils: A policy discussion paper Summary of submissions from public consultation
(by the National Committee on Soil and Terrain)

In 2006, The National Committee on Soil and Terrain (NCST) requested agreement from the Natural Resource Policies and Programs Committee (NRPPC) to develop a strategic approach to managing Australia’s soil and land resources

In October 2008, the 83-page discussion paper, Managing Australia’s Soils: A policy discussion paper, prepared by Andrew Campbell, was sent to approximately 450 stakeholders for comment (NCST letter of thanks). Download the full report or the executive summary.

The Soils of Southern South Australia
(by James Hall, David Maschmedt and Bruce Billing)

This new 446 page, full-colour, South Australian Dept of Water, Land & Biodiversity Conservation (DWLBC) publication describes the soil resources of SA’s productive and diverse temperate zone (commonly known as the ‘agricultural areas’), summarising concepts and data specifically relating to soil type. In particular, the nature, diversity, distribution, limitations and potential of these resources are described.
Read more ...

The Digital Atlas of Australian Soils can now be downloaded from ASRIS

The Atlas of Australian Soils (Northcote et al 1960 – 68) was digitized by the Bureau of Rural Sciences in 1991 and has been available from the Australian Natural Resources Data Library for some time. Although this dataset has many limitations and there have been many efforts to provide better data, it is still in demand, primarily due to its complete coverage of the country. To assist with access to the data and to the various interpretations of the mapping units, and also provide some understanding of uses and limitations of the data, it can now also be downloaded from ASRIS.
[Download]

Australian Soil and Land Survey Field Handbook (3rd Edition) is now available from CSIRO Publishing

The much anticipated third edition of the Australian Soil and Land Survey Field Handbook has been released to the delight of practitioners and educators.

The Field Handbook (commonly known as the ‘Yellow Book’) is an essential resource for soil scientists, ecologists, geomorphologists, educators and students and has enjoyed remarkable success as part of the popular Australian Soil and Land Survey Handbook Series which covers all aspects of land resource survey in Australia.

The latest edition includes revised chapters on location and vegetation as well as some new landform elements.

The Field Handbook specifies methods and terminology for soil and land surveys and is widely used throughout Australia, providing the reference set of definitions for the characterisation of landform, vegetation, land surface, soil and substrate.

The 264-page book is available from CSIRO Publishing for $64.95.

Significant new data uploaded to ASRIS

A recent DAFF funded project has facilitated the upload of considerable additional mapped soil data to ASRIS from state and territory agencies.

Data includes improved coverage and attribution of Level 4 and 5 data in Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.