Soil information

Published maps and information for the district include:

• The "Waimea Plains Soil Survey" (2017). This report comprised five areas of the Waimea Plains from Queen Street to Brightwater. These areas are Lower Queen Street, Redwood Valley, Waimea West, Brightwater, and Central Plains. A total of 4,497 soil pits and augers were interpreted for soil type and properties across the 6,500 ha survey area. From these, the extent of soils throughout the map were based on indicators that include topography, land use and vegetation. The survey map has a scale of 1:16,000, and has sufficient detail to provide accurate soil and land management information to land owners. For each of the five areas, a soils report has been provided outlining the soil's versatility, physical chracteristics, extent and origin and other useful information.
• The Golden Bay area (Takaka township, East Takaka and Motupipi, Puramahoi Coastal area and Kotinga) (2016). This mapping was carried out at a scale of 1:20,000, and can be used with confidence to indicate soil type, variability, potential uses and physical characteristics (texture, structure and drainage). The information gathered on each soil includes a profile description and land productivity rating.
• The “General Soil Survey of the South Island.” (1968). This was carried out to give an overall picture of soil pattern and to provide basic information for predicting future land use and broad fertility needs on a national basis. It was carried out at a scale of 4 miles to 1 inch. (1:250,000). 
• “Soils and Agriculture of the Waimea County” (1966). This report is a culmination of a number of surveys and maps carried out and compiled over the years dating back to the 1920’s. It included surveys of the flood plains and lower terraces to classify soils for tobacco culture and also included reconnaissance surveys for the General Soil Survey of the South Island. The Soils and Agriculture of the Waimea County was published at a scale of 1:127,000.

These publications are available on request from Council.

New soil survey is currently being carried out by the Tasman District Council in the coastal area between Braeburn and Upper Moutere.

This survey is intended to provide better information on the soil and land versatility within rural 3 zoning, where some of the greatest development pressures exist on the Districts most versatile soils. The survey follows on from the Waimea Plains Soil Survey and is to be compiled using the same methods and sampling density, producing maps of the same scale and function.

Soil health can be affected by loss of organic matter, a breakdown of soil structure, erosion by wind and water or chemical contamination. The health of the soil influences both farm economics and the environment. To look after our soils we must know what soil characteristics are important and how to measure them. The main characteristics to assess are:

• fertility
• amount of organic matter 
• physical condition (for example, whether it has become compacted)
• amount of beneficial soil life, such as bacteria and earthworms.

Soil health on-farm assessment

Ssoil sampling can be carried out and the results fed through the Landcare Research soil indicator tool SINDI. to help interpret soil quality.

The key soil properties that need to be measured are Olsen P, pH, mineralizable N, Total C, Total N, bulk density and macroporosity. These are standard commercial tests available through the fertiliser companies and laboratories. It is not necessary to have all 7 indicators to use SINDI but the more indicators you have, the better the resulting interpretation. SINDI is freely available onthe website:

• Landcare Research: SINDI

A nutrient budget allows you to identify nutrient inputs to the farm, such as:

• fertiliser
• purchased feed
• clover nitrogen (N) fixation
• Dairy shed effluent

It also allows you to identify where nutrients go off the farm (outputs), such as:

• farm products – for example, milk, wool, meat
• transfer to non-productive areas - for example, races, stock camps, yards
• leaching and runoff losses to waterways
• gaseous losses to the air.

Nutrients lost from land are a major cause of reduced water quality in our regions rivers. See the Tasman District Council surface water quality reports for further information on water quality in the district.

Fertiliser management

Nutrient budgets are just one step in effective nutrient management. Getting the fertiliser on the right place at the right time is just as important. The Code of Practise for Fertiliser Use has been produced by the fertiliser industry to guide users on all aspects of fertiliser use. The User Guides enable farmers to maximise production and minimise any adverse effects of fertiliser use.

Four User Guides cover Arable, Horticultural, Pastoral Farming and Plantation Forestry. They can be found on:

• FertResearch: Fertilizer Code of Practice

Nutrient management

Managing nutrients carefully can save you money and improve farm decision-making. Together with soil test results, you can use a nutrient budget to assess farm fertiliser requirements, targeting nutrients where you most need them. Nutrient budgets are like financial budgets. They’re useful tools to plan ahead and keep track of what’s coming in and going out. The OVERSEER® nutrient budgeting computer programme has been developed to assist farmers. You can contact the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) Policy, Hamilton office, for a free copy of the OVERSEER® programme. You can also download it from:

• AgResearch: OVERSEER nutrient budget programme

How to look after our soils

Different farm management options available to maintain soil health include minimizing compaction and increasing the organic matter content through to reducing soil loss from erosion. Other useful information can be obtained from the following links:

• Ministry for Primary Industries: Land and soil information
• Landcare Research: Soils and Landscapes

The council carries out a programmeof monitoring the state of the regions soil health. This has been carried out in line with national protocol and the national programme which started in 2001.

 Several soil quality characteristics are monitored. These are described in the chart below:

The latest data collected in 2009 indicate that the sampled soils were in a healthy state. Further information can be found in:

An ongoing programme of soil intactness or erosion assessment has been implemented to help identify trends and issues relating to soil disturbance and land instability in the Tasman District. 

The first assessment was carried out on data collected off 2001 aerial photography. This photography covers the majority of privately owned land that may be used for land-based productive purposes. The data was collected from 6,005 points.

The survey indicates through the presence or absence of vegetation whether points are at risk of soil disturbance. It also differentiates whether disturbance results from the shifting around of soil by land use activities, or erosion and accumulation by natural processes. Finally, it assesses the extent of vegetative cover whether natural or planted ‑ and measures its effect with respect to soil conservation.

The 2001 Data 

The 2001 data indicates that:

• 85% of the soil in the survey area is intact. 
• 8% of the soil is disturbed by land use activities: tracking, roading, cultivation, harvesting and earthworks are present. 
• 6.3% of the soil is unstable due to natural disturbance: landslide, slip, earthflow, gully, sheet, stream bank erosion, rockfall and windblown sand.

Fresh disturbance by land use related activities such as roading, cultivation, harvesting and earthworks is most intensive on dairy farms, where the majority of the disturbed area is due to the presence of farm tracks and lanes. Although the majority of dairying is based on flat land where surface water run-off is less prevalent than, say, on hill country, localised sedimentation is known to occur and affect the in-stream values of small streams. Fresh disturbance in exotic forests also is significant. 

Exotic forestry is the largest commercial-based land use type situated on hill country in the survey area hence the effect of the disturbance can potentially be significant, as silt in run-off from the disturbed sites is likely to enter water bodies. The table below demonstrates the levels of disturbance.

The survey also indicates that there is only a low level of natural erosion through the survey area and land use is not showing up as significantly accelerating this level. More detail can be found in the Report:

•  Soil Intactness Monitoring Programme for the Tasman District 2001 (pdf, 513 KB)