Soil health and condition

Summary

In South Australia, healthy soil is vital in supporting our primary industries and agribusiness which in 2024/25 was worth around $17.1 billion in revenue and $9.1 billion in production value, employing around 76,000 people (full time equivalent). Soils underpin our food, fibre and renewable-fuel systems, and also provide important beneficial environmental functions.
The monitoring of soil health and condition provides DEW and our partners with a scientific basis to inform and contribute to the sustainable management of our state’s landscape.

This page will help you understand:
•    what defines a healthy soil
•    the key indicators of a healthy soil
•    current soil health monitoring programs
•    strategies for maintaining healthy soils.

Soil health

Soil health is the ability of soil to function as a living ecosystem in relation to its natural capacity.

A healthy soil:

• is fit-for-purpose;
• sustains biological productivity both above and below ground;
• maintains landscape function and environmental quality;
• regulates our climate;
• promotes plant, animal and human health; and
• is productive, resilient and profitable.

Monitoring soil health

Due to the multifaceted nature of soils, there is no single approach for measuring soil health.

DEW collates and analyses data from a range of soil health indicators to monitor and report on trends in the health and condition of soil in the agricultural areas of South Australia.

The key indicators of soil health and condition that DEW monitors are:

• soil erosion protection (wind and water)
• soil acidity
• land salinity
• soil carbon
• crop water use efficiency.

The monitoring of soil health and condition provides DEW and our partners with a scientific basis to inform and contribute to reports and plans such as:

• State of the Environment Reporting for South Australia
• trend and condition report cards: Days protected from soil erosion; Soil acidity
• Australian State of the Environment Reporting
• state and regional landscape plans and reports.

A wide range of survey methods and data analysis techniques are used to measure soil health and condition. However, some direct measures are difficult or expensive to undertake, meaning that surrogate or indirect measures have been used as indicators of condition. For example, it is very difficult and expensive to measure soil erosion. It is far more practical, and useful to measure the protection of land from the risk of erosion over time. If the protection from erosion is improving, this will be demonstrated by less actual soil erosion in the long term.

Maintaining healthy soils

Maintaining and enhancing soil resources is essential if our future needs for food, water, and energy security are to be met. Farmers across the state recognise the importance of soil health in our overall ecosystems, and are working on innovative ways to improve soil health and resilience on their properties.

Best practice conservation agriculture techniques for optimising production and maintaining soil health typically focus on:

• maximising soil cover (e.g. stubble retention or use of perennial crops)
• increasing soil organic matter (e.g. use of organic amendments)
• minimising soil disturbance and compaction (e.g. reduced tillage)
• manage soil pH (e.g. lime application)
• promote soil microbial biodiversity (e.g. crop rotations)
• fit-for-purpose fertiliser use (e.g. fertiliser use matches crop needs).

Find out more:
•    Soil and ecosystem services
•    Land manager knowledge and practices
•    Soil health: why it matters – Soil CRC
•    Condition of agricultural land in South Australia (Report): Executive Summary | Full Report - DWLB

Page Updated: March 2026