A review of both the living and non-living components of soil organic matter (SOM) in the agricultural soils of Tasmania, Australia, and the relationship of SOM to the functions of soil has been undertaken. The relationships between soil organic carbon (SOC) and other inherent and dynamic soil properties of Tasmanian soils, SOC stocks, the components and the controlling factors are reviewed. The dynamic nature of SOM is reviewed as targets, rates of change and trends on different soil orders and under different management as well as the correlation to soil physical, chemical and biological properties. Information on macro fauna, meso fauna, fungi and bacteria is considered to acknowledge that SOM is a dynamic, changing resource that reflects the balance between the living components that add new organic matter and the loss of organic matter from the dead component.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	organic carbon, humus, biochar, dynamic, crop yield
Research Division:	Environmental Sciences
Research Group:	Soil Sciences
Research Field:	Carbon Sequestration Science
Objective Division:	Environment
Objective Group:	Soils
Objective Field:	Farmland, Arable Cropland and Permanent Cropland Soils
Author:	Cotching, WE (Dr Bill Cotching)
ID Code:	122324
Year Published:	2018
Web of Science® Times Cited:	2
Deposited By:	Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture
Deposited On:	2017-11-09
Last Modified:	2018-04-16
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