Soil health and soil quality

Soil health and soil quality are broad concepts that describe the state of the soil and whether a soil is well suited to how it is being used. The two terms are often used interchangeably although some maintain there is a difference between the two.

This section dives into our research on soil health and resilience, how soil quality/soil health is being monitored in New Zealand, and what conclusions we can draw from this for national soil health.

Our soil health and resilience research

Our soil health and resilience research

Soil quality monitoring in NZ

Soil quality monitoring in NZ

State of New Zealand's soils

State of New Zealand's soils

Defining soil health

A good attempt at defining the concept of soil health and soil quality is “the continued capacity of the soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals and humans".

Soil quality is generally used in a more land-use specific context, for instance a good soil quality for forestry may be a poor soil quality for dairy. It’s can therefore be important to ask: ‘Soil quality…for what? Whereas soil health more broadly refers to the condition of the soil and whether the soil has been degraded.

Soil’s physical, chemical and biological properties are all linked to soil quality and soil health, and no one property alone can describe a soil’s state. Soil fertility, amount of organic matter (humus), soil aeration and structure, and the biological life of a soil are all part of its quality and health. Because different soil types have different properties, there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ soils. Soils are either suited or unsuited to specific crops or products. The soil’s physical, chemical and biological properties can however be degraded if the soil resource is not well looked after.

Soil and ecosystem health

Soil quality monitoring in NZ

The state of New Zealand soils

Related topics

Understaing soils thumb

Understanding soils

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 soils are the largest terrestrial carbon pool? Soils also clean our drinking water, are a source of raw materials, and form three-dimensional archives of our natural and cultural history.

TeAo Māori thumb

TeAo Māori: relationships with soil

Find out about the mana of the soil, and soil health from a kaupapa Māori perspective. Māori have had a long connection with and understanding of soil, reaching back centuries to Polynesian migration. The knowledge (mātauranga Māori, mōhiotanga, māramatanga, tohungatanga) is ancient, traditional, and historical as well as contemporary.

Soil classification thumb

Soil classification

The names people use for soils will always reflect the needs of the day and the understanding people have of the part soil plays in underpinning many of our activities.
These pages attempt to provide background information about the different naming systems that have been used over the years, and, where possible, indicate how they relate to each other.

High country soil survey. Image: Ian Lynn

Soil surveys have been carried out by Manaaki Whenua and its predecessor organisations since the early 1930s. Find out why soil surveys are being done, what actually happens during surveys, and what kind of products they generate.

We have a history of more than 80 years of soils research and a vast knowledge base has accumulated during that time. These pages highlight the various types of soil data available, and how to access them.

Soil health thumb

Soil health and soil quality

Soil health and soil quality are broad concepts that describe the state of the soil and whether a soil is well suited to how it is being used. The two terms are often used interchangeably although some maintain there is a difference between the two. This section dives into our research on soil health and resilience, how soil quality/soil health is being monitored in New Zealand, and what conclusions we can draw from this for national soil health.

Soil function thumb

Soil functions - the basics

Soil provides ecological functions too important to be overlooked. Shelter for plants and animals, guardian of groundwater, source of our food, forage, and fibre and an archive of natural history and human heritage.

soils MWLR thumb v2

Soils at Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research

Our research looks at the complex inter-relationships that control the response of soils and landscapes to climatic and human-induced pressures, evaluating current risk, and offering sustainable land management and land use options.

Back to top