Key soil attributes and land-management dataset for Australian agroecosystems linking baseline and resampling surveys
12 affiliations
- 1CSIRO Agriculture & Food, Kaurna Country, Gate 4 Waite Road, Urrbrae, SA 5064 Australia
- 2CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Canberra, ACT 2601 Australia
- 3CSIRO Data61, PO Box 1130, Bentley, WA 6102 Australia
- 4Department of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia, Research Rd, Nuriootpa, SA 5355 Australia
- 5Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Hobart, Tasmania Australia
- 6Department of Energy Environment and Climate Action, 1301 Hazeldean Road, Ellinbank, VIC 3821 Australia
- 7School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351 Australia
- 8SoilsWest, Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems, Food Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150 Australia
- 9Université Paris-Saclay, INRAe/AgroParisTech, UMR EcoSys, 91120 Palaiseau, France
- 10Department of Energy Environment and Climate Action, 915 Mount Napier Road, Hamilton, VIC 3300 Australia
- 11Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation, 41 Boggo Road, Dutton Park, QLD 4102 Australia
- 12CSIRO Agriculture and Food, St Lucia, Qld Australia
Abstract
The Soil Organic Carbon Monitoring project provides a dataset from 308 agricultural sites distributed across Australia’s major farming regions, integrating soil attributes (biological, chemical and physical) and elemental properties with detailed temporal land-management information. Baseline soil samples were collected between 2009 and 2012 under the Soil Carbon Research Program, and the same sites were resampled between 2022 and 2025. The dataset includes laboratory measurements of soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, pH of 1:5 soil/water suspension, pH of 1:5 soil/0.01 M calcium chloride extract, electrical conductivity (EC) of 1:5 soil/water extract, whole-soil bulk density, permanganate-oxidisable carbon, and soil elemental composition measured by portable X-ray fluorescence for a wide suite of major and trace elements. Ten soil samples were collected at three depths (0 - 0.10, 0.10 - 0.20, and 0.20 - 0.30 m) on a 25 × 25 m grid, except for the rangeland sites, where a large polygon area was used as the sampling support. At some sites, cores were kept separate (not composited based on the depth supports, known as detailed sites), while at other sites, they were composited at each depth support. Particle size distribution and direct measurements of soil organic carbon fractions (particulate, humic and resistant carbon) were performed on a spatially representative subset of 300 samples, selected to capture variability in soil properties inferred through the gathered infrared spectral datasets for the whole dataset. In addition, paddock-level land-management histories spanning 2010–2023 document crop and pasture types, tillage and residue management, fertiliser application, irrigation status, and grazing. These records enable estimation of annual carbon inputs using a multi-model crop simulation ensemble. All components are spatially referenced and interoperable, allowing integration of soil properties, agriculture management practices, and positional data. This resource supports benchmarking of SOC stocks and changes, evaluation of management impacts, and development of monitoring, reporting, and verification frameworks for soil carbon and soil health in Australian agroecosystems.
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BibTeX
@article{pasut2026soil,
title = {{Key soil attributes and land-management dataset for Australian agroecosystems linking baseline and resampling surveys}},
author = {Chiara Pasut and Christina Asanopoulos and Xueyu Zhao and Mark Farrell and Ming Li and Andrea Powell and Georgia Reed and Paul Adkins and Thomas Carter and Anna McBeath and Janine McGowan and Sheridan Morton and Steve Szarvas and Kumara Weligama and David Beutel and Hue Dang and Sara Ormond and Bonnie Armour and Glenn Brown and Doug Crawford and Mary Garrard and Frances Hoyle and Ronny Lauerwald and Raia Silvia Massad and Malcom McCaskill and Massimiliano De Antoni Migliorati and Rob Moreton and Tamara O’Keeffe and Katherine Polain and Steven Reeves and Amanda Schapel and Liz Stower and Brian Wilson and Senani Karunaratne},
journal = {Scientific Data},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1038/s41597-026-07850-8},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-026-07850-8},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Key soil attributes and land-management dataset for Australian agroecosystems linking baseline and resampling surveys
AU - Chiara Pasut
AU - Christina Asanopoulos
AU - Xueyu Zhao
AU - Mark Farrell
AU - Ming Li
AU - Andrea Powell
AU - Georgia Reed
AU - Paul Adkins
AU - Thomas Carter
AU - Anna McBeath
AU - Janine McGowan
AU - Sheridan Morton
AU - Steve Szarvas
AU - Kumara Weligama
AU - David Beutel
AU - Hue Dang
AU - Sara Ormond
AU - Bonnie Armour
AU - Glenn Brown
AU - Doug Crawford
AU - Mary Garrard
AU - Frances Hoyle
AU - Ronny Lauerwald
AU - Raia Silvia Massad
AU - Malcom McCaskill
AU - Massimiliano De Antoni Migliorati
AU - Rob Moreton
AU - Tamara O’Keeffe
AU - Katherine Polain
AU - Steven Reeves
AU - Amanda Schapel
AU - Liz Stower
AU - Brian Wilson
AU - Senani Karunaratne
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/14
JO - Scientific Data
DO - 10.1038/s41597-026-07850-8
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-026-07850-8
AB - The Soil Organic Carbon Monitoring project provides a dataset from 308 agricultural sites distributed across Australia’s major farming regions, integrating soil attributes (biological, chemical and physical) and elemental properties with detailed temporal land-management information. Baseline soil samples were collected between 2009 and 2012 under the Soil Carbon Research Program, and the same sites were resampled between 2022 and 2025. The dataset includes laboratory measurements of soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, pH of 1:5 soil/water suspension, pH of 1:5 soil/0.01 M calcium chloride extract, electrical conductivity (EC) of 1:5 soil/water extract, whole-soil bulk density, permanganate-oxidisable carbon, and soil elemental composition measured by portable X-ray fluorescence for a wide suite of major and trace elements. Ten soil samples were collected at three depths (0 - 0.10, 0.10 - 0.20, and 0.20 - 0.30 m) on a 25 × 25 m grid, except for the rangeland sites, where a large polygon area was used as the sampling support. At some sites, cores were kept separate (not composited based on the depth supports, known as detailed sites), while at other sites, they were composited at each depth support. Particle size distribution and direct measurements of soil organic carbon fractions (particulate, humic and resistant carbon) were performed on a spatially representative subset of 300 samples, selected to capture variability in soil properties inferred through the gathered infrared spectral datasets for the whole dataset. In addition, paddock-level land-management histories spanning 2010–2023 document crop and pasture types, tillage and residue management, fertiliser application, irrigation status, and grazing. These records enable estimation of annual carbon inputs using a multi-model crop simulation ensemble. All components are spatially referenced and interoperable, allowing integration of soil properties, agriculture management practices, and positional data. This resource supports benchmarking of SOC stocks and changes, evaluation of management impacts, and development of monitoring, reporting, and verification frameworks for soil carbon and soil health in Australian agroecosystems.
SN - 2052-4463
ER -