Design and results from a national soil carbon stock benchmarking and monitoring system for agricultural land in New Zealand

Despite the importance of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and stock changes, few countries are monitoring changes through time with direct soil measurements. National-scale changes of SOC stocks in New Zealand’s mineral soils, reported to meet international requirements, are currently predicted bas...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Paul L. Mudge, Georgie L. Glover-Clark, Stephen J.E. McNeill, Zach Dewhurst, Veronica Penny, Jonno Rau, Emily McKay, Carolyn B. Hedley, Andre Eger, Scott Fraser, Ngaire Foster, Pierre Roudier, Sam R. McNally, Maya Korth, Nina Koele, Shana Dooley, Lena E. Reifschneider, Lauren O’Brien, Anthony Ward, Thomas Caspari, Maddison Bingham, James Arbuckle, Hamish Maule, Kaleb McCollum, Gerard Grealish, Balin Robertson, Maya Greet, Amy Milnes, Louis A. Schipper
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Geoderma
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125001922
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850113888293486592
author Paul L. Mudge
Georgie L. Glover-Clark
Stephen J.E. McNeill
Zach Dewhurst
Veronica Penny
Jonno Rau
Emily McKay
Carolyn B. Hedley
Andre Eger
Scott Fraser
Ngaire Foster
Pierre Roudier
Sam R. McNally
Maya Korth
Nina Koele
Shana Dooley
Lena E. Reifschneider
Lauren O’Brien
Anthony Ward
Thomas Caspari
Maddison Bingham
James Arbuckle
Hamish Maule
Kaleb McCollum
Gerard Grealish
Balin Robertson
Maya Greet
Amy Milnes
Louis A. Schipper
author_facet Paul L. Mudge
Georgie L. Glover-Clark
Stephen J.E. McNeill
Zach Dewhurst
Veronica Penny
Jonno Rau
Emily McKay
Carolyn B. Hedley
Andre Eger
Scott Fraser
Ngaire Foster
Pierre Roudier
Sam R. McNally
Maya Korth
Nina Koele
Shana Dooley
Lena E. Reifschneider
Lauren O’Brien
Anthony Ward
Thomas Caspari
Maddison Bingham
James Arbuckle
Hamish Maule
Kaleb McCollum
Gerard Grealish
Balin Robertson
Maya Greet
Amy Milnes
Louis A. Schipper
author_sort Paul L. Mudge
collection DOAJ
description Despite the importance of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and stock changes, few countries are monitoring changes through time with direct soil measurements. National-scale changes of SOC stocks in New Zealand’s mineral soils, reported to meet international requirements, are currently predicted based on transitions of land use using a statistical model calibrated with historic data. However, historical data were often originally collected for purposes other than SOC monitoring and are not fully spatially representative and the current model is also based on the assumption that SOC stocks do not change through time, if land use does not change. Here, we outline the design and report benchmark results from New Zealand’s National Soil Carbon benchmarking and Monitoring programme (NSCM), where 504 sites were established to determine a robust baseline of SOC stocks for agricultural land in New Zealand, with spatially representative sampling across five broad land use classes. Mean slope-corrected SOC stocks for the 0–30 cm layer for all agricultural land on mineral soils in New Zealand were 101.3 Mg.ha−1, and 138.2 Mg.ha−1 for the 0–60 cm layer. SOC stocks in the 0–30 cm layer were highest under dairy pasture (110.7 Mg.ha−1) followed by hill country drystock pasture (104.3 Mg.ha−1), flat-rolling drystock pasture (98.7 Mg.ha−1), perennial horticulture (84.8 Mg.ha−1) and lowest under cropland (80.1 Mg.ha−1). Differences between land uses could not be attributed to land use alone, as the location of different land uses is often related to soil type and climate. Results provide spatially representative data that will feed into national soil carbon inventory reporting and is a crucial baseline against which to compare future sampling to determine if SOC stocks are changing in New Zealand’s agricultural land.
format Article
id doaj-art-c2a06775ba324c5b8da064e439493147
institution OA Journals
issn 1872-6259
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Geoderma
spelling doaj-art-c2a06775ba324c5b8da064e4394931472025-08-20T02:37:02ZengElsevierGeoderma1872-62592025-07-0145911735410.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117354Design and results from a national soil carbon stock benchmarking and monitoring system for agricultural land in New ZealandPaul L. Mudge0Georgie L. Glover-Clark1Stephen J.E. McNeill2Zach Dewhurst3Veronica Penny4Jonno Rau5Emily McKay6Carolyn B. Hedley7Andre Eger8Scott Fraser9Ngaire Foster10Pierre Roudier11Sam R. McNally12Maya Korth13Nina Koele14Shana Dooley15Lena E. Reifschneider16Lauren O’Brien17Anthony Ward18Thomas Caspari19Maddison Bingham20James Arbuckle21Hamish Maule22Kaleb McCollum23Gerard Grealish24Balin Robertson25Maya Greet26Amy Milnes27Louis A. Schipper28Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Private Bag 3127, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand; Corresponding author.Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Private Bag 3127, Hamilton 3240, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln 7640, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln 7640, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln 7640, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Private Bag 3127, Hamilton 3240, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Private Bag 3127, Hamilton 3240, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Private Bag 11052, Palmerston North 4442, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln 7640, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Private Bag 3127, Hamilton 3240, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Private Bag 11052, Palmerston North 4442, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Private Bag 11052, Palmerston North 4442, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln 7640, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln 7640, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln 7640, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln 7640, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Private Bag 11052, Palmerston North 4442, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Private Bag 11052, Palmerston North 4442, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Private Bag 11052, Palmerston North 4442, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln 7640, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Private Bag 3127, Hamilton 3240, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, DX Box YP80001, Dunedin 9016, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln 7640, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Private Bag 11052, Palmerston North 4442, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Private Bag 11052, Palmerston North 4442, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln 7640, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln 7640, New ZealandManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Private Bag 11052, Palmerston North 4442, New ZealandUniversity of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New ZealandDespite the importance of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and stock changes, few countries are monitoring changes through time with direct soil measurements. National-scale changes of SOC stocks in New Zealand’s mineral soils, reported to meet international requirements, are currently predicted based on transitions of land use using a statistical model calibrated with historic data. However, historical data were often originally collected for purposes other than SOC monitoring and are not fully spatially representative and the current model is also based on the assumption that SOC stocks do not change through time, if land use does not change. Here, we outline the design and report benchmark results from New Zealand’s National Soil Carbon benchmarking and Monitoring programme (NSCM), where 504 sites were established to determine a robust baseline of SOC stocks for agricultural land in New Zealand, with spatially representative sampling across five broad land use classes. Mean slope-corrected SOC stocks for the 0–30 cm layer for all agricultural land on mineral soils in New Zealand were 101.3 Mg.ha−1, and 138.2 Mg.ha−1 for the 0–60 cm layer. SOC stocks in the 0–30 cm layer were highest under dairy pasture (110.7 Mg.ha−1) followed by hill country drystock pasture (104.3 Mg.ha−1), flat-rolling drystock pasture (98.7 Mg.ha−1), perennial horticulture (84.8 Mg.ha−1) and lowest under cropland (80.1 Mg.ha−1). Differences between land uses could not be attributed to land use alone, as the location of different land uses is often related to soil type and climate. Results provide spatially representative data that will feed into national soil carbon inventory reporting and is a crucial baseline against which to compare future sampling to determine if SOC stocks are changing in New Zealand’s agricultural land.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125001922
spellingShingle Paul L. Mudge
Georgie L. Glover-Clark
Stephen J.E. McNeill
Zach Dewhurst
Veronica Penny
Jonno Rau
Emily McKay
Carolyn B. Hedley
Andre Eger
Scott Fraser
Ngaire Foster
Pierre Roudier
Sam R. McNally
Maya Korth
Nina Koele
Shana Dooley
Lena E. Reifschneider
Lauren O’Brien
Anthony Ward
Thomas Caspari
Maddison Bingham
James Arbuckle
Hamish Maule
Kaleb McCollum
Gerard Grealish
Balin Robertson
Maya Greet
Amy Milnes
Louis A. Schipper
Design and results from a national soil carbon stock benchmarking and monitoring system for agricultural land in New Zealand
Geoderma
title Design and results from a national soil carbon stock benchmarking and monitoring system for agricultural land in New Zealand
title_full Design and results from a national soil carbon stock benchmarking and monitoring system for agricultural land in New Zealand
title_fullStr Design and results from a national soil carbon stock benchmarking and monitoring system for agricultural land in New Zealand
title_full_unstemmed Design and results from a national soil carbon stock benchmarking and monitoring system for agricultural land in New Zealand
title_short Design and results from a national soil carbon stock benchmarking and monitoring system for agricultural land in New Zealand
title_sort design and results from a national soil carbon stock benchmarking and monitoring system for agricultural land in new zealand
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125001922
work_keys_str_mv AT paullmudge designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT georgielgloverclark designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT stephenjemcneill designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT zachdewhurst designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT veronicapenny designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT jonnorau designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT emilymckay designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT carolynbhedley designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT andreeger designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT scottfraser designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT ngairefoster designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT pierreroudier designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT samrmcnally designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT mayakorth designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT ninakoele designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT shanadooley designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT lenaereifschneider designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT laurenobrien designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT anthonyward designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT thomascaspari designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT maddisonbingham designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT jamesarbuckle designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT hamishmaule designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT kalebmccollum designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT gerardgrealish designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT balinrobertson designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT mayagreet designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT amymilnes designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand
AT louisaschipper designandresultsfromanationalsoilcarbonstockbenchmarkingandmonitoringsystemforagriculturallandinnewzealand