Visualising Australasia’s Soils Project – Phase 2

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Aiming to make Australasian soils data visible and reusable.

The Visualising Australasia’s Soils (VAS) project aims to help Australian farmers make decisions on complex soil management issues.

Phase two of the project aims to collaboratively create a self-sustaining and intrinsically valuable component of the Australasian soils knowledge system, intended to provide enduring benefit to research and education.

Commencement: 2023 | Completion: 2024

Funding body(s): The CRC for High Performance Soils (Soil CRC)
Project Lead Organisation: Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation (CeRDI)

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Background

Phase one of the VAS project (2018-2021) aimed to increase access to high-quality soil data from soil data custodians, which includes on-farm data provided by growers. Some of the outcomes of phase one include:

• Data Governance and Stewardship Guidelines.
• VAS data portal with spatial mapping.
• Social engagement report.
• Soil data inventory and summary.

Phase two hopes to see the VAS project and portal adopted by farming groups linked with the SoilCRC, such as the West Midlands Group.

Three key aims of this phase include:

• Co-develop the functionality of the VAS online portal.
• Maximise the re-use potential of federated soil data.
• (By 2024) Transition to an agreed governance model that ensures the future of the VAS data federation is supported by members, and enduring.

The West Midlands Group will work to support the above aims of phase two by:

• Providing access to reliable soil and other on-farm data.
• Delivering extension activities to support VAS adoption.
• Contributing to the delivery of tangible and attractive benefits to farming groups and other VAS participants.

Access VAS at https://data.soilcrc.com.au/map/about

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Media

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Want to get involved?

Get in touch with our Mixed Farming Systems Officer, Melanie Dixon.