For soil 'beginners'

Soils are amazing, and there is so much to learn about them. Here is some content that you may find interesting as a starting point on your journey into the soil. Use the search function or page tags if you want to dig deeper.

Understanding soils

Learn about a fascinating and crucially important matter!

Soils are not just dirt! We often think so, because soils are hidden below-ground, out of sight. But did you know that soils are home to over one quarter of all living species? Or that globally soil are the largest terrestrial carbon pool? Soils also clean our drinking water, are a source of raw materials, and they are 3-D archives of our natural and also cultural history.

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Here's some other stuff that might interest you

Soil survey - the basics

On why and how we do soil surveys, and what the outcomes of a soil survey look like.

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Visual Soil Assessment (VSA)

Self-assess your soil

Use our guides to assess soil quality easily, quickly, reliably and cheaply on a paddock scale.

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Soils in Te Ao Māori

Learn about Māori–soil relationships, and the role these relationships could play in safeguarding and managing our precious soils for the future.

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