NatureBase

How much does a one-off land management intervention impact what's going on beneath our soil in the mid- to long-term? Is it all down to seasonality? These are some of the questions we tackle with landholders regularly. There's what they can anecdotally see and observe over time, but those observations are not often linked with hard data that can be empirically reviewed. Which is why this particular article and set of research caught our eye. Research led by La Trobe University, examined subsoils that had been deep-ripped two years earlier with various types of amendments. They then sampled for both bacterial and fungal diversity, as well as both Soil Organic Matter (SOM) and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) levels. The soils enriched with organic substrates were found to have significant changes in fungal diversity compared to the control - most notably saprotrophic fungi, fungi that obtain nutrients from dead organic matter. Whilst that finding alone feels like an obvious one, what the research also revealed is that these changes in fungal diversity persisted even after SOM / TOC returned to baseline levels. The observed implication is that "a single application of deep-banded organic amendments was effective in enriching agriculturally significant fungi within dense clay subsoils after 2 years". In contrast, a fluid inorganic nutrient application did not achieve this outcome (liquid mixture of urea, ammonium nitrate and ammonium polyphosphate). A laser focus just on soil carbon levels leaves out a richer tapestry of soil health indicators. Which is why the NatureBase team continues to be a pretty loud cheerleader for the largely unsung microbial heroes in our soil. In that context, it's also a little bit exciting to see the release of the Soil Bacteria and Fungi Beta Diversity release as part of the Soil and Landscape Grid National Attribute Maps 😎 🌏🍄 - nice one TERN Australia. Article citation: Vido Joshua J., et al., (2024) Modified fungal diversity in dense clay subsoils after deep-banding organic substrate. Soil Research 62, SR23203. [link in comments] Attribute Map citation: Dobarco, M., Wadoux, A. & Xue, P. (2024): Soil and Landscape Grid National Soil Attribute Maps - Soil Bacteria and Fungi Beta Diversity (3" resolution) - Release 1. Version 1.0. Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network. (Dataset). [link in comments]

We were happy to see an update in our Inbox this morning from Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water - the ACCU Scheme Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings 2024 method is now live! Fantastic to see the quick turnaround, with the 2014 method just expiring in September. https://lnkd.in/gkpfQP8w

Hidden hunger - the dietary deficiency of vitamins or mineral micronutrients essential for human health. It is estimated that more than 2 billion people globally are affected by various forms of hidden hunger, including more than half of pre-school children. Soil health is one of the many drivers in the complex challenge that is hidden hunger. As we have flagged previously, it's estimated that up to 40% of all soils worldwide are moderately or severely degraded. A statistic that is only expected to worsen with current land use trends. Poor soil health in turn can lead to crop and animal nutrient deficiencies. This post is inspired by a couple of recent interactions we have had at NatureBase. The first, attending last week's Women in Soil Science Australia Seminar Series featuring Stephanie Watts-Fawkes from the University of Adelaide. Dr Watts-Fawkes generously shared insights into her team's research around mycorrhizal fungi for food and nutrition security and, particularly, the linkage between zinc deficiency in our agricultural soils and the link to deficiencies in cereal grains. The second, an article in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Hopkins Bloomberg magazine: Less Nutritious Crops: Another Result of Rising CO2 (link in comments). Whilst hidden hunger is already a pervasive problem, the article flags that higher CO2 levels make many foods even less nutritious. A range of research efforts are referenced in the article, including the sound bite that when carbon levels rise, the nutritional quality of vegetables changes with protein levels dropping by nearly 10%, iron by 16%, zinc by about 9% and magnesium by about 9%. The article is clear to stress that these are complex systems and that the consequences are still being worked through. We start to move into even more challenging times with atmospheric CO2 levels influencing that nutrient density further. And what of some of the further questions posed in the article - what is the effect on pollinators if the plants they visit have less protein, for example? We were chatting with a producer earlier today about the challenge of unpicking a laser-focus on volume of production versus a more balanced view of nutrient density. For those of us that have the luxury of contemplating the provenance of our food, a huge amount comes back to the health of the soil. #soilhealth #hiddenhunger

The year is flying by and we're already back to one of our favourite weeks - Australian Pollinator Week! A massive shout-out to Clancy Hall from Sunshine Coast Council, Ian Driver of Green Soul Native Bees and Jeannie Campbell from Bat Rescue Inc. The team have been running informative "Bats, bees and blossoms" sessions in the lead up to Pollinator Week. We had the fortune to sit in on one of the sessions last week. We went in thinking about your 'traditional' pollinators, but walked out with a whole new appreciation for some of our lesser credited pollinator species. Impossible to condense two hours of care and passion into a brief LinkedIn post, but two highlights: - The reliance of a broad array of Eucalypts specifically on flying foxes for pollination. Indeed, these trees produce most of their nectar and pollen at night to coincide with when bats are active. 98% of our hard timber species are dependent on flying foxes for pollination. So next time you think about, for example, koala conservation, also reflect on how important flying foxes are to a thriving ecosystem. - If you're thinking about adding a bee hotel to your property (no matter how large or small), opt for a diversity of hole sizes ranging from ~3-10mm. Critically, ensure the holes are a minimum of 100mm deep to deter unwanted gasteruptiid wasp impact. Many of the commercially available hotels are simply too shallow! If it includes bamboo, make sure the ends are enclosed. For more great tips, we've attached a link to Ian's site in the comments. Want to get involved - join the Australian Pollinator Count - running until 17 November. 🐝 🦇 🦋 🌺 https://lnkd.in/gj_jRv2j

For urban populations, individuals living in a postal code with greater tree species richness have ~5% increased likelihood of reporting good mental health. Individuals living in a postal code with greater bird diversity have ~6-7% increased likelihood of reporting good mental health. These are some of the key findings from a recent study linking data across 36 Canadian Metropolitan Areas from 2007-2022. A South Australian study published late last year indicated that, when offered access to manufactured versus nature play spaces, children self-select to spend more time in nature play spaces. Further, nature play spaces prompted more imaginative and cooperative play between children. An earlier Finnish study (amongst many others) reveals the linkage between a well-functioning immune system and early exposure for children to green space. The three examples are just extracts from a growing body of research pointing out how fundamental access to nature is for both our physical and mental wellbeing. We think the authors of the Canadian research sum it up well: "We’re at a critical juncture: just as we are beginning to understand the well-being benefits of birds and trees, we’re losing species at a faster rate than ever before. It’s estimated that there are three billion fewer birds in North America compared to the 1970s and invasive pests will kill 1.4 million street trees over the next 30 years." In Australia, 144 new species were added to the national threatened species list in 2023; five times more than the yearly average. Population sizes of threatened birds have declined to half (47%), and threatened plants to almost one quarter (73%) of their populations, on average, since 1995. Another study looking specifically at Brisbane found that, specifically, the birds that fill our mornings with song and our parks and gardens with colour are disappearing from our cities. In the wake of Australia's first Nature Positive Summit and with debate ongoing on Australia's environmental laws, a new article has been published by a joint The University of Queensland, Griffith University and QUT (Queensland University of Technology) team. Their view is that our existing legislation is very unlikely to deliver nature positive outcomes. They suggest four key steps are needed: 1. Legislate for ‘absolute net gain’. 2. Limit and compensate for biodiversity loss. 3. Secure net gains beyond development impacts. 4. Enforce transparent monitoring. Those changes are crucial, not just for our threatened species, but also for our own wellbeing. Those steps are just as relevant in urban planning as they are in largescale habitat preservation and restoration. Image credit Lilith Armstrong via the The Ecological Society of Australia. Articles and papers - references in comments as there were a fair few today! #biodiversity

Consultation for the first Nature Repair Market methodology has opened: Replanting Native Forest and Woodland Ecosystems. The emphasis is on direct planting with an implicit assumption that our supply chains and resources are ready to go. As we've flagged before, only 10% of our native species are readily available via seed purchase. Furthermore, taking Queensland as an example, detailed flora lists by regional ecosystem often do not exist. How then, do we anticipate such a method to be successful in truly repairing nature, if we don't have the fundamental building blocks in place to successfully design and implement such projects? We've been discussing regeneration of a degraded block (that would meet the criteria for the slated method), seeking input from an ecologist possessing deep local knowledge of the ecosystem. For this particular block, the recommendation was native regeneration from the existing seed-bank. There is the inevitable conclusion that some landscapes, better suited to native regeneration, may well go the way of many previous large-scale tree plantings (with the poorly reflected planting lists and available species), just to fit the method. It makes for better photos and we feel better because we've taken action to a quicker outcome, putting tubestock in the ground. We share a comment from a research paper in Tropical Forests [link in comments]: "While many restoration initiatives predominantly focus on active tree planting, implementing these approaches at large spatial scales can pose challenges. These challenges include limited availability of quality seeds, low seedling survival and establishment rates, and substantial costs associated with procuring seedlings, plantation establishment and management." The paper advocates for Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR), a set of restoration strategies and interventions primarily based on natural regeneration. In ANR, such interventions may be fencing or weed control as examples. ANR echoes many of the principles pioneered in Australia by the Bradley sisters in the 1970s. Those that have been through the roller-coaster of emotions around the integrity behind Human Induced Regeneration (HIR) may be wincing by this point, if you're still with us. For the hot potato that HIR has become, we fear we may have thrown the good out with the bad. In certain situations, particularly highly degraded landscapes, there is a clear place for direct tree planting. However, to state the blindingly obvious, nature is complex and maybe, just maybe, a one-size fits all approach to ecosystems captured in the draft method across giant swathes of every state and territory other than the NT, may not be quite nuanced enough to ensure biodiverse sustained "nature repair". Article citation: T. Oluwajuwon et al. (2004), Bibliometric and literature synthesis on assisted natural regeneration. Tropical Forests, Vol 7, Jul 2024. Image: Front cover of Joan Bradley's book - "Bringing Back the Bush".

We're big advocates for the importance of whole-of-system planning on property - be that at an ecosystem level or across planned revenue streams. This extends to the integration of agriculture, nature repair and the integration of complementary opportunities such as renewables. So, today, a follow-up post on the opportunities of solar grazing, sharing some lessons learned on the early movers in this space in Australia: - The design and construction of solar farms needs to include line-of-sight to the particular needs of the inclusion of stock around the infrastructure. For example, 2P rather than 1P systems, panel heights (particularly for cattle) and secure wiring. - Liabilities and accountabilities need to be clearly articulated and agreed. What happens if a sheep chews through a wire? - Have watering points been planned for? - Alternate layouts need to be considered to allow for division of the broader solar farm into cells to enable rotational grazing. “It’s just got to be done properly and designed for both agricultural benefits and solar production. And if you do it properly it can be fantastic.” The estimates are that sheep grazing in solar farms can cut mowing costs for the solar developer by about a third. In parallel, the land is kept as agriculturally productive land - not excluded. We engage with a fair few landholders that have either signed, or are considering signing up, for a renewable easement on their land. The attitude is that it's land they will forgo as part of their rotational grazing plans. It's great to start to see coverage in the media that this doesn't need to be the case. The more awareness there is amongst producers and landholders that they have options in this space, and are armed with the knowledge to negotiate the right contract, the better off their whole-of-farm planning and productivity can be. Article credit: Rachel Williamson, A multi-billion dollar solar sheep rental industry is taking shape in Australia. RenewEconomy, 30 Sep 2024 (accessed online 15-10-2024; link in comments). Article and Image credit: Rachel Williamson, Study says solar can reduce moisture loss and has minimal impact on grasslands. RenewEconomy, 6 Jul 2023 (accessed online 15-10-2024; link in comments).

We've been looking at an interesting rehabilitation sight on heavy clay and higher rainfall. There's a need for immediate slope stabilisation and a desire to increase forage for pollination services on parts of the site, coupled with a return to native forest forest in other areas. Only 10% of our native species are readily available via seed purchase here in Australia. From there, the available seed disproportionately represents trees and shrubs. A lot of the "little guys" - the herbs and grasses - are missing. Which makes it challenging to plan site-specific native meadows and pasture. Something we see as particularly critical at the intersection between regenerative agriculture and landscape regeneration. Indeed, reforestation mandated by regulated biodiversity requirements (think end-of-life mine sites or development offsets) and carbon projects (quick growing, maximise credits) are often at odds with ensuring a representative biodiverse planting scheme is utilised. Investment in upskilling and seed supply chains is critical if we want to move beyond seed catalogues dominated by page after page of eucalypts and acacias, from ecosystems with high mining activity. Beyond seed supply, looking at innovative restoration techniques and opportunities for restoring biodiversity is key. A team from the University of Melbourne and the Royal Botanic Gardens of Victoria, working with the City of Melbourne, have created an inner-city diverse native grassland. Planted in 2020, the team has recently published findings from their efforts. These efforts are particularly interesting given the clay soils and focus on utilisation of a diverse and local set of species. It's given us some pretty good inspiration to keep going! We also hope it's a model adopted in more urban areas - referencing the well-documented flow-on impacts to native insect numbers and diversity (and beyond). A smorgasbord of relevant research papers to share today (as always links in comments): - Horsfall, Katherine et al., "Interacting effects of sand, slugs and jute drive community composition in direct-seeded urban wildflower meadows.", Journal of Applied Ecology, (Sep 2024). - Andres, Samantha et al., "Constraints of commercially available seed diversity in restoration: Implications for plant functional diversity.", Plants People Planet, (June 2024). - Mata, Luis et al., "Indigenous plants promote insect biodiversity in urban greenspaces.", Journal of Applied Ecology, (June 2021). - Mata, Luis et al., "Large positive ecological changes of small urban greening actions.", Ecological Solutions and Evidence, (August 2023). Image credit: The Conversation, "How we created a beautiful native wildflower meadow in the heart of the city using threatened grassland specices.", published 4 October 2024 and accessed 8 October 2024. #biodiversity #ecosystemservices #sustainableag #naturepositive

Sharing a lighter article today - "Healthy Soil Grows Healthy Food - and Stronger Economies", co-authored by a team from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the German-based Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union. For those living and breathing this space everyday, it's high level, but nevertheless, it's a tidy article summarising key elements of soil health, the interplay with land management practices and the value of healthy soil. The authors have looked at Germany, as an example, framing the potential benefits of a relatively small increase in soil organic matter of just 1% over 10-years. They estimate this could represent a total annual benefit of about €4.2 billion: - €3.3 billion attributed to improved soil nutrient content, leading to improved crop yields and the reduced need for synthetic fertilisers. Framed another way, that's plant-based calories for ~30 million people. - Then €0.9 billion from improved water management, including improved drought resilience. All the above without even getting to carbon. Here at NatureBase we know it all starts with the soil - be it a grazing operation, cropping system or native restoration project. It's why it's great to see articles focusing on the resilience and food security aspects integral to sustainable land-use. Article citation: Kurth, et al (2024). Healthy Soil Grows Healthy Food - and Stronger Economies, BCG, 12 September 2024 [link in comments]. Image citation: Shallow soil samples taken from a Queensland property in the Rangelands by the NatureBase team. #soilheath #sustainableag