This report is part of a technical series developed for the NSW Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Program. It was designed and implemented by the then NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, and the former Office of Environment and Heritage, with contributions from the former catchment management authorities (CMAs) and the NSW Department of Primary Industries.
The program was designed to determine whether New South Wales lands were being managed on a sustainable basis; that is, within their inherent capability, based on the 13 CMA regions in the NSW state of the catchments 2010 reports. The aim was to establish up to 100 monitoring sites within 10 priority soil monitoring units in the 12 larger CMA regions to provide a baseline for future comparison. Fewer sites were to be established in the smaller Sydney Metropolitan CMA region.
Soil data collection, along with laboratory analysis, was undertaken at each site to determine land and soil capability. Land management data were collected by surveying landholders and local experts. These baseline data provide a point from which to assess whether long-term changes in land and soil capability and land management achieve the statewide target to increase in the area of land managed within its capability by 2015.
Protocols for soil condition and land capability monitoring documents the establishment of these monitoring sites for monitoring long-term changes in soil condition and land management.
The 2014 report, Soil condition and land management in New South Wales, provides a reanalysis of the results for the monitoring, evaluation and reporting program on soil condition and land management within capabilities.
More information
State of the catchments monitoring, evaluation and reporting technical report series.
