This paper integrates an understanding of land/soil and water processes that occur at paddock to catchment to national scales. Emphasis is on management practices that optimise resource use for land-based production purposes, focusing on avoiding or minimising environmental effects.

Topics include soil degradation, soil fertility, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling, and the hydrological setting within which land use practices take place. Hydrological topics build on understanding catchment-scale processes and estimating water balance components, including evaporation and drainage. Topics in the paper are set within the context of resource management law and the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management.