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EARTH502-22A (HAM)
Land and Soil: Resources and Risks
15 Points
Staff
Convenor(s)
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David Lowe
02102772707
DE.3.02
david.lowe@waikato.ac.nz
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Lecturer(s)
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Aaron Wall
4140
FG.3.07
aaron.wall@waikato.ac.nz
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Tanya O'Neill
5608
F.1.11B
tanya.oneill@waikato.ac.nz
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Librarian(s)
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Paper Description
Land and Soil: Resources and Risks
Several land-use related themes are examined and integrated to help provide students with a better understanding of the issues involved with land use and especially its intensification in the Waikato region. Firstly, we show how farm-scale soil mapping and the use of Land Use Capability Handbook (3rd ed) for farm-scale land evaluation can aid decision making by land managers to help reduce or mitigate the environmental risks associated with particular land uses in ‘real-world’ soilscapes. Secondly, the concept of soil quality is examined with reference to the “500 Soils” project and recent developments regarding soil quality and soil health taking cognisance of concepts of soil as natural capital and its role in providing ecosystem services. Thirdly, some of the environmental consequences, including land and soil degradation and contamination by non-desirable elements or compounds, of the use and management of land are examined.
Note in schedule the initials of staff involved:
Prof David Lowe = DL
Dr Tanya O'Neill = TO
Dr Aaron Wall = AW
Guest lecturers:
Dr David Houlbrooke (AgResearch, Hamilton) = DH David.Houlbrooke@agresearch.co.nz
Dr Bryan Stevenson = BS (Landcare Research) StevensonB@landcareresearch.co.nz
Tokanui Farm:
Farm manager: Andrew Byles 029 838 5516
Farm admin: Denise Adams 07 870 5137
Paper Structure
The paper is in three sections: (1) farm-scale soil and LUC mapping (Tokanui Farm project), which includes GIS; (2) soil quality; and (3) land and soil degradation and contamination.
The paper is composed of lectures, field mapping exercises and conversion of maps in GIS, an essay on soil quality, and one student oral seminar.
Participants in the course will normally meet during term times for lectures in room E2.01 on Wednesdays 9-11 am (or as required/advised). A one-off guest lecture (L4) on farm dairy effluent by Dr Houlbrooke (AgResearch) will take place in the morning of Friday 11 March at 11.15 am on the Ruakura campus, the same day (Friday 11 March) we will undertake a part-day reconnaisance visit to Tokanui Farm after the AgResearch lecture (i.e. approx. 12.15-4.15 pm).
Students will undertake independent mapping on Thursday 17 March, Thursday 24 March, Friday 1 April (after 11 am), and Friday 8 April (after 11 am) as a key requirement of the paper. We also have four GIS sessions scheduled on some Thursdays 11 am to 2 pm (labs will normally be two hours in duration, i.e. 11 am to 1 pm, but an extra hour will be available for self study if needed from 1-2 pm), in lab KB.04, in April and May (see the schedule).
The paper is supported by learning resources accessed via Moodle
All assignments are essential.
By shifting two field mapping days to Thursdays (17 and 24 March), and making the two Friday mapping days part days only (1 and 8 April), we accommodate the clash on Friday mornings with the SCIEN methods paper.
Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the paper should be able to:
Assessment
Assessment Components
The internal assessment/exam ratio (as stated in the University Calendar) is 60:40. The final exam makes up 40% of the overall mark.
Required and Recommended Readings
Required Readings
We will lend each student a copy of each of Hewitt (2010), Webb and Lilburne (2011), and the LUC Handbook by Lynn et al. (2009). These texts must be returned in good condition at the end of the paper. (Failure to do so could result in penalties.)
Lynn et al. (2009) is also available for purchase ($45) from the New Zealand Society of Soil Science via Isabelle Vanderkolk (administrator at AgResearch Grasslands, Palmerston North, Isabelle.Vanderkolk@agresearch.co.nz, or it can be downloaded free from the Landcare Research website at http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/soil/luc/luc_handbook.pdf. A pdf version of the downloaded low-resolution version is available on Moodle as well as on the Landcare Research website.
Papers on each of the topics will be provided in handouts for assignments and via Moodle.
Recommended reading
Büneman, E.K., Bongiorno, G., Bai, Z., Creamer, R.E., De Deyn, G. et al. 2018. Soil quality – a critical review. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 120, 105-125.
Chibnall, E., Curran-Cournane, F. 2015. Soil quality for dairy and converted dairy sites in the Auckland region 2014 and changes after 18 years. Auckland Council Technical Report, TR2015/020.
Curran-Cournane, F. 2015. Soil quality state and trends in New Zealand’s largest city after 15 years. International Journal of Biological and Ecological Engineering 9, 325-332.
Curran-Cournane, F. 2020. Differences in soil quality and trace elements across land uses in Auckland and changes in soil parameters from 1995-2017. Auckland Council Technical Report, TR2020/001. 94 pp.
Curran-Cournane, F. 2021. Testing the boundaries to circumvent policy that aim to protect our best land and soils. New Zealand Soil News 69 (2), 2-5.
Curran-Cournane, F., Vaughan, M., Memon, A., Fredrickson, C. 2014. Trade-offs between high class land and development: recent and future pressures on Auckland’s valuable soil resources. Land Use Policy 39, 146–154.
Curran-Cournane, F., Lear, G., Schwendenmann, L., Khin, J. 2015. Heavy metal soil pollutionis influenced by the location of green spaces within urban settings. Soil Research 53,306-315.
Curran-Cournane, F., Cain, T., Greenhalgh, S., Samarsinghe, O. 2016. Attitudes of a farming community towards urban growth and rural fragmentation—an Auckland case study. Land Use Policy 58, 241–250.
Curran-Cournane, F., Golubiewski, N., Buckthought, L. 2018. The odds appear stacked against versatile land: can we change them? New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 61, 315-326.
Curran-Cournane, F., Carrick, S., Barnes, M.G., Ausseil, A.-G., Drewry, J.J., Bain, I.A., Golubiewski, N.E., Jones, H.S., Barringer, J., Morell, L. 2021. Cumulative effects of fragmentation and development on highly productive land in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, DOI: 10.1080/00288233.2021.1918185
Deloitte 2018.New Zealand’s food story: The Pukekohe hub. Quick stats on horticulture in New Zealand and reports. https://news.fuseworksmedia.com/977fca0b-03b9-41e1-88dc-482236d0ce09?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter.
Dominati, E., Mackay, A., Bouma, J., Green, S. 2016. An ecosystems approach to quantify soil performance for multiple outcomes: the future of land evaluation? Soil Science Society of America Journal 80, 438-449.
Greenhalgh, S., Samarasinghe, O., Curran-Cournane, F., Wright, W., Brown, P. 2017. Using ecosystem services to underpin cost–benefit analysis: is it a way to protect finite soil resources? Ecosystem Services 27, 1–14.
Hewitt, A.E. 2010. New Zealand Soil Classification 3rd ed. Landcare Research Science Series 1. Manaaki Whenua Press.133 pp.
Hewitt, A.E., Dominati, E., Webb, T., Cuthill, T. 2015. Soil natural capital quantification by the stock adequacy method. Geoderma 241-242, 107-114.
Hewitt, A.E., Balks, M.R., Lowe, D.J. 2021. The Soils of Aotearoa New Zealand (1st ed.) Springer, Cham, xx + 332 pp.
Hicks, D., Vujcich, V . 2017. Farm-scale land use capability classification for Auckland. Auckland Council Technical Report, TR2017/016. 33 pp.
Janzen, H.H. and 7 others 2011. Global prospects rooted in soil science. Soil Science Society of America Journal 75, 1-8.
Lilburne L, Sparling G, Schipper L 2004. Soil quality monitoring in New Zealand: development of an interpretative framework. Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment104, 535-544.
Lynn, I.H., Manderson, A.K., Page, M.J., Harmsworth, G.R., Eyles, G.O., Douglas, G.B., Mackay, A.D., Newsome, P.J.F. 2009. Land Use Capability Survey Handbook 3rd Edition. AgResearch Hamilton, Landcare Research, Lincoln, GNS Science, Lower Hutt. 163 pp.
Massey, C. (editor) 2017. No free lunch. Can New Zealand feed the world sustainably? The New Zealand Land and Food Annual, Massey University Press, Palmerston North/Albany. 284 pp.
Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ 2018. New Zealand’s Environmental Reporting Series: Our Land 2018. Available from www.mfe.govt.nz and www.stats.govt.nz
Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ 2019. New Zealand’s Environmental Reporting Series: Environment Aotearoa 2019. Available from www.mfe.govt.nz and www.stats.govt.nz
Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ 2021. New Zealand’s Environmental Reporting Series: Our land 2021.Available from www.mfe.govt.nz and www.stats.govt.nz
Ministry for Primary Industries 2019. Proposed National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land. https://www.mpi.govt.nz/news-and-resources/consultations/proposed-national-policy-statement-for-highly-productive-land/
Ministry for Primary Industries 2019. Valuing highly productive land. A discussion document on a proposed national policy statement for highly productive land. MPI Discussion Paper 2019/05. 70 pp. [Note this paper was co-published by Ministry for the Environment] https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/36624-discussion-document-on-a-proposed-national-policy-statement-for-highly-productive-land
Palm, C., Sanchez, P., Ahamed, S., Awiti, A. 2007. Soils: a contemporary perspective. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 32, 99-129. 10.1146/annurev.energy.31.020105.100307
Pretty, J. 2018. Intensification for redesigned and sustainable agricultural systems. Science 362, eaav0294. DOI: 10.1126/science.aav0294 (comprises 7-page article and a 1-page summary)
Sparling G, Schipper L 2004. Soil quality monitoring in New Zealand: trends and issues arising from a broad-scale survey. Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment 104, 545-552.
Sparling GP, Schipper LA, Bettjeman W, Hill R 2004. Soil quality monitoring in New Zealand: practical lessons from a 6-year trial. Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment 104, 523-534.
Taylor M, Cox N, Littler R, Drewry J 2017. Trends in soil quality monitoring data in the Waikato region 1995-2015. Waikato Regional Council Technical Report 2017/26. Retrievable from www.waikatoregion.govt.nz
Taylor M, Caldwell J, Sneath G. 2017. Current state and trend of cadmium levels in soil, freshwater and sediments across the Waikato region. In: Science and policy: nutrient management challenges for the next generation. (Eds L. D. Currie and M. J. Hedley). Occasional Report No. 30. Fertilizer and Lime Research Centre, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. 11 pp.
Webb, T.H., Lilburne, L.R. 2011. Criteria for defining the soil family and soil sibling – the fourth and fifth categories of the New Zealand Soil Classification. 2nd edition. Landcare Research Science Series 3. 38 pp.
Recommended Readings
Online Support
Online support will be provided via Moodle, which is accessible to all students who are enrolled in the paper.
Workload
The paper involves 10 lectures; four tutorials/progress meetings incl GIS labs; a half-day reconnaisance farm visit and subsequent independent mapping on Tokanui Farm (up to 4 days) and associated write-up including preparing maps in GIS; preparation of an essay on soil quality; preparation and presentation of one oral seminar; and preparation for a final 3-hour exam. A 500-level 15 point paper in any of the science subjects offered by the University of Waikato typically involves up to ~30 hours of supervised study and it is assumed that up to ~120 hours will be spent in private study by an ‘average’ student. Students should allocate the ~120 hours approximately as 70% for course work and 30% for exam preparation.
Linkages to Other Papers
This paper is complementary to ENVSC503-21B 'Terrestrial Ecosystem-Atmosphere Exchange Processes'.
Prerequisite(s)
Prerequisite papers: EARTH321 or EARTH322 or ERTH333 or ERTH334
Restriction(s)
Restricted papers: ERTH535