Building a critical evidence base for aligning landholder practices with healthy landscape outcomes.
1B – Soils
This six-year ongoing research project systematically surveys rural landholders across six key farming regions in five Australian states, working closely with local framing and NRM organisations. Using a Social Benchmarking theoretical framework, the comprehensive survey instrument captures detailed data on agricultural and land management best practices, barriers to adoption, and evolving landholder perspectives.
Enabling comparison across regions and over time generates meaningful insights into rural land management practices and drivers. These insights have already informed strategic planning and policy development from local to national scales, shaping investment priorities and knowledge-sharing. As the project progresses with follow-up surveys, it builds a critical evidence base for aligning landholder practices with healthy landscape outcomes.
This presentation will share key findings to date, methodological innovations, and implications for future initiatives. The project highlights the value of sustained social data collection to complement biophysical research and improve integration of community perspectives into policy and practice.
