title: Comparison of soil carbon and nitrogen stocks of adjacent dairy and drystock pastures

authors: Barnett, Alice Louise

subjects: Soil carbon

abstract: The largest terrestrial store of carbon (C) is in soil and research has shown that anthropogenic land use change and management practices can alter soil C stocks.  A concern is that small losses of soil C can contribute to large increases in atmospheric CO2.  Research has focused on identifying which land use conversions modify soil C dynamics and more recently, how management practices influence soil C stocks, with particular emphasis on croplands and forests but less on grazed pasture systems.  The soil nitrogen (N) cycle has also been modified with increased N inputs, especially under agriculture where N fertilisers and N-fixing plants are used. 

About 33% of New Zealand’s total land area is used for grazing.  A previous study observed that between the 1980s and 2000s soils on flat land under dairy farming had lost significant amounts of C and N, while soils under drystock farming on flat land had not.  A conclusion drawn from the previous study was that a dairy farm was likely have a lower soil C stock than an adjacent drystock farm on the same soil, on flat land.  The reasons for the reported soil C and N losses from dairy farm soils are not well understood and require further testing and verification using other approaches.  

The objectives of this thesis were to firstly, determine if there was a difference in soil C and N between adjacent dairy and drystock farms on the same soil and secondly, if differences were detected whether they were dependant on differences in farming intensity, as defined by stocking rate. 

A synthesis of recent literature showed that when differences in soil C have been observed under various grazing intensities, soil C was generally always lower under higher stocking rates.  However, many of the grazing intensity studies were based in semi-arid regions and not particularly applicable to New Zealand’s pastoral grazing systems.

I sampled 25 adjacent dairy and drystock farms (paired sites) on flat land in the Waikato Region to 0.6 m depth and analysed samples for C, N and soil dry bulk density by horizon. Sampling sites at each paired site were an average of 108 m apart and located on the same soil with a similar slope, aspect and topography. The estimated average stocking rate for dairy farms (24 ± 0.8 SU ha-¹) was higher (P<0.01) than drystock farms (14 ± 2.0 SU ha-¹). The mean soil C and N stocks for the whole soil profile (0–0.6 m) were 173.1 ± 12.4 t C ha-¹ and 18.5 ± 0.9 t N ha-¹ for the dairy farms and 182.7 ± 15.0 t C ha-¹ and 19.1 ± 5.7 t N ha-¹ for the drystock farms. The soil C and N stocks for the whole soil profile were not significantly different between dairy and drystock farms. However, when soil horizons were considered separately there was a significant difference in C stocks of the A horizon (P<0.05). The mean soil C in the A horizon under dairying was 94.7 ± 5.7 t C ha-¹ and 103.3 ± 6.1 t C ha-¹ under drystock, with dairy farms having an average of 8.6 ± 4.1 t C ha-¹ less than the drystock farms (P<0.05). No significant difference in soil N stock of the A horizons was detected. The increased variability of soil C and N with depth meant that the significant difference in soil C of the A horizon was not evident when the whole soil profile was considered. The A horizon thickness under dairy farming was shallower (P<0.05) and the soil dry bulk density was higher (P<0.05) than the drystock farms, indicating soil compaction. The total mass of soil sampled from the A horizons was similar for both types of grazing (0.14 ± 0.01 t m-²). Therefore, the significant difference in soil C of the A horizon was likely to be a consequence of land management rather than sampling different masses of soil.

My result that dairy farms had less topsoil C than adjacent drystock farms aligned with the conclusion drawn from a previous study of New Zealand pastoral grazing systems.  The result also supported the general trend of less soil C under higher stocking rates than lower stocking rates observed in the literature synthesis.  Further work is required to understand what has driven the difference in topsoil C under dairy and drystock farming on flat land in New Zealand.  Future research should include exploring how important stocking rates and the type of livestock being grazed are on soil C and N dynamics, as this may be useful information for future farming management decision making.

text: Comparison of soil carbon and nitrogen stocks of adjacent dairy and drystock pastures The largest terrestrial store of carbon (C) is in soil and research has shown that anthropogenic land use change and management practices can alter soil C stocks.  A concern is that small losses of soil C can contribute to large increases in atmospheric CO2.  Research has focused on identifying which land use conversions modify soil C dynamics and more recently, how management practices influence soil C stocks, with particular emphasis on croplands and forests but less on grazed pasture systems.  The soil nitrogen (N) cycle has also been modified with increased N inputs, especially under agriculture where N fertilisers and N-fixing plants are used. 

About 33% of New Zealand’s total land area is used for grazing.  A previous study observed that between the 1980s and 2000s soils on flat land under dairy farming had lost significant amounts of C and N, while soils under drystock farming on flat land had not.  A conclusion drawn from the previous study was that a dairy farm was likely have a lower soil C stock than an adjacent drystock farm on the same soil, on flat land.  The reasons for the reported soil C and N losses from dairy farm soils are not well understood and require further testing and verification using other approaches.  

The objectives of this thesis were to firstly, determine if there was a difference in soil C and N between adjacent dairy and drystock farms on the same soil and secondly, if differences were detected whether they were dependant on differences in farming intensity, as defined by stocking rate. 

A synthesis of recent literature showed that when differences in soil C have been observed under various grazing intensities, soil C was generally always lower under higher stocking rates.  However, many of the grazing intensity studies were based in semi-arid regions and not particularly applicable to New Zealand’s pastoral grazing systems.

I sampled 25 adjacent dairy and drystock farms (paired sites) on flat land in the Waikato Region to 0.6 m depth and analysed samples for C, N and soil dry bulk density by horizon. Sampling sites at each paired site were an average of 108 m apart and located on the same soil with a similar slope, aspect and topography. The estimated average stocking rate for dairy farms (24 ± 0.8 SU ha-¹) was higher (P<0.01) than drystock farms (14 ± 2.0 SU ha-¹). The mean soil C and N stocks for the whole soil profile (0–0.6 m) were 173.1 ± 12.4 t C ha-¹ and 18.5 ± 0.9 t N ha-¹ for the dairy farms and 182.7 ± 15.0 t C ha-¹ and 19.1 ± 5.7 t N ha-¹ for the drystock farms. The soil C and N stocks for the whole soil profile were not significantly different between dairy and drystock farms. However, when soil horizons were considered separately there was a significant difference in C stocks of the A horizon (P<0.05). The mean soil C in the A horizon under dairying was 94.7 ± 5.7 t C ha-¹ and 103.3 ± 6.1 t C ha-¹ under drystock, with dairy farms having an average of 8.6 ± 4.1 t C ha-¹ less than the drystock farms (P<0.05). No significant difference in soil N stock of the A horizons was detected. The increased variability of soil C and N with depth meant that the significant difference in soil C of the A horizon was not evident when the whole soil profile was considered. The A horizon thickness under dairy farming was shallower (P<0.05) and the soil dry bulk density was higher (P<0.05) than the drystock farms, indicating soil compaction. The total mass of soil sampled from the A horizons was similar for both types of grazing (0.14 ± 0.01 t m-²). Therefore, the significant difference in soil C of the A horizon was likely to be a consequence of land management rather than sampling different masses of soil.

My result that dairy farms had less topsoil C than adjacent drystock farms aligned with the conclusion drawn from a previous study of New Zealand pastoral grazing systems.  The result also supported the general trend of less soil C under higher stocking rates than lower stocking rates observed in the literature synthesis.  Further work is required to understand what has driven the difference in topsoil C under dairy and drystock farming on flat land in New Zealand.  Future research should include exploring how important stocking rates and the type of livestock being grazed are on soil C and N dynamics, as this may be useful information for future farming management decision making.

year: 2012

title: Virtue Ethics and Corporate Governance

authors: Grant, Patricia Louise

subjects: virtue ethics

abstract: The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological study was to explore directors’ lived experience of ethics in their task of corporate governance so as to capture some of the multiple facets of this phenomenon: specifically how directors understand the role of ethics in their task of corporate governance and how they understand and practise ethics. The focus of the investigation was the role and relative importance of directors’ personal ethics as opposed to corporate governance rules or regulations and to what extent their understanding and practise of ethics as such, resembled Kantian ethics, utilitarianism and Aristotelian virtue theory (AVT). Such issues have implications primarily for the influence of leaders’ personal ethics in the context of corporate governance failure and whether AVT in particular can contribute to the achievement of best-practice governance. AVT differs from the other two ethical theories because it focuses on the importance of a good character for the making and carrying out of sound ethical judgments. It assumes that human nature contains the seeds of ethics and that a good character can develop over time with the help of role models and experience. The study also discusses the subjective aspects of the ethical experience and the debate about the relationship between descriptive and philosophical branches of business ethics. The researcher chose to take an interpretive phenomenological approach using an AVT conceptual framework. The focus of the inquiry was what the individual’s narratives imply about what he or she experiences every day. This allowed the researcher to go further by interpreting the meanings for the purposes of practice and research. The use of the AVT conceptual framework facilitated the examination of the relevance of philosophical ethics for business practice in general and in particular to investigate the relevance of AVT as opposed to the two other ethical theories. 

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirty-four directors, eight of which were interviewed a second time. The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) technique was used to interpret the data. The findings revealed that directors understand ethics to be integral to their task and that they rely on their personal ethics in carrying out their corporate governance activities. Moreover their experience of ethics resonated with the key features of AVT, aspects which on the whole were not addressed by Kantian ethics and utilitarianism. What is more, directors’ understandings seem to point to an innate objective element underpinning their personal code developed over time through learning and experience. This finding highlights the need to accommodate the subjective-objective complexity of the lived experience of ethics. The findings also indicate that philosophical ethics is needed to adequately account for the lived experience of ethics; directors’ descriptions of their experience contained and were inseparable from ethical standards, the realm of philosophical ethics. In light of the resemblance between AVT and directors’ lived experience of ethics, corporate governance reformers and educators should place just as much emphasis on the development of good character as on learning about ethical duties and how to balance outcomes.

text: Virtue Ethics and Corporate Governance The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological study was to explore directors’ lived experience of ethics in their task of corporate governance so as to capture some of the multiple facets of this phenomenon: specifically how directors understand the role of ethics in their task of corporate governance and how they understand and practise ethics. The focus of the investigation was the role and relative importance of directors’ personal ethics as opposed to corporate governance rules or regulations and to what extent their understanding and practise of ethics as such, resembled Kantian ethics, utilitarianism and Aristotelian virtue theory (AVT). Such issues have implications primarily for the influence of leaders’ personal ethics in the context of corporate governance failure and whether AVT in particular can contribute to the achievement of best-practice governance. AVT differs from the other two ethical theories because it focuses on the importance of a good character for the making and carrying out of sound ethical judgments. It assumes that human nature contains the seeds of ethics and that a good character can develop over time with the help of role models and experience. The study also discusses the subjective aspects of the ethical experience and the debate about the relationship between descriptive and philosophical branches of business ethics. The researcher chose to take an interpretive phenomenological approach using an AVT conceptual framework. The focus of the inquiry was what the individual’s narratives imply about what he or she experiences every day. This allowed the researcher to go further by interpreting the meanings for the purposes of practice and research. The use of the AVT conceptual framework facilitated the examination of the relevance of philosophical ethics for business practice in general and in particular to investigate the relevance of AVT as opposed to the two other ethical theories. 

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirty-four directors, eight of which were interviewed a second time. The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) technique was used to interpret the data. The findings revealed that directors understand ethics to be integral to their task and that they rely on their personal ethics in carrying out their corporate governance activities. Moreover their experience of ethics resonated with the key features of AVT, aspects which on the whole were not addressed by Kantian ethics and utilitarianism. What is more, directors’ understandings seem to point to an innate objective element underpinning their personal code developed over time through learning and experience. This finding highlights the need to accommodate the subjective-objective complexity of the lived experience of ethics. The findings also indicate that philosophical ethics is needed to adequately account for the lived experience of ethics; directors’ descriptions of their experience contained and were inseparable from ethical standards, the realm of philosophical ethics. In light of the resemblance between AVT and directors’ lived experience of ethics, corporate governance reformers and educators should place just as much emphasis on the development of good character as on learning about ethical duties and how to balance outcomes.

year: 2013

title: Te Matua Tangata

authors: Maxwell, Te Kahautu

subjects: Ringatū

abstract: He haka tēnei e körero ana mō te taenga mai o te whakapono o Te Matua Tangata, arā, Te Ringatū, ki roto o Te Whakatōhea i raro i a Hira Te Popo, ariki o Ngāti Ira ki roto o Te Whakatōhea.

text: Te Matua Tangata He haka tēnei e körero ana mō te taenga mai o te whakapono o Te Matua Tangata, arā, Te Ringatū, ki roto o Te Whakatōhea i raro i a Hira Te Popo, ariki o Ngāti Ira ki roto o Te Whakatōhea.

year: 2011-04