Measuring soil carbon

A new nationwide study, funded by the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre and sampling about 500 farm sites, is benchmarking New Zealand's soil carbon stocks and tracking how they change under different land uses. This guide describes how sites are chosen, how deep and how often sampling happens, and what landowners can expect if their property is selected.

For farmers who want to measure soil carbon on their own land, the guide walks through the options, from a single paddock estimate through to a statistically robust whole-farm study, with costs, sampling methods and the questions worth answering before you start, drawing on guidance from Dr Paul Mudge at Manaaki Whenua. Getting clear on your objective first is the difference between a useful result and a wasted sample.