Papers which focus on the SKN sharing knowledge and extension
Several SKN members have contributed to papers published in a Special Issue of Soil Use and Management Soil information sharing and knowledge building for sustainable soil use and management: insights and implications for the 21st Century.
The paper by McInnes-Clarke et al. (2019) reflects on the progress of the SKN and assesses its positive impact on raising awareness and understanding of soils using qualitative examples from workshops, a survey from the 2018 National soil judging competition and metrics from social media and online resources. SKN successes and learning experiences are discussed along with notions of trust, credibility and the importance of people in delivering positive outcomes.
The paper by Packer et al. (2019) states that more needs to be done to improve soil management and stem land degradation with on-ground extension and training workshops. Positive attendance and feedback from SKN courses and workshops indicate extension success and confirm a strong demand for practical independent soil management advice aided by government-based databases to enhance on-site workshops. We argue that effective soil knowledge transfer requires interaction and discussion between soil scientists and land managers. Many land managers and advisors have difficulty accessing and translating soil data in relevant land management decisions. Combining data with effective soil knowledge transfer is successfully demonstrated at workshops and field days.