Engaging in transdisciplinary soil research: A roadmap for soil scientists

Abstract

To address complex challenges and help advance a systems theory for soils requires soil scientists to be able to engage with knowledges outside the discipline of soil science. However, there is a lack of examples and guidance available to support different ways of producing new knowledge. Drawing on our experience as a transdisciplinary team, we present a roadmap comprising five key steps for undertaking transdisciplinary, soil‐centred research. The five steps are: addressing complex challenges, building relationships, weaving knowledges and building connectivity, developing holistic understandings and moving beyond knowledge translation. The central tenet of the roadmap is connectivity, with soil health at the core of the interrelationships of people, soil and food. To illustrate the application of this roadmap, we share learnings from two case studies that focused on understanding connections between people and soil, through food production in an Aotearoa New Zealand context. These case studies weave together mātauraka Māori (Māori Indigenous knowledge) and soil science, guided by social science framings, providing examples of how to undertake Transdisciplinary Research (TDR) and guidance for others looking to extend the boundaries of our field by connecting and applying new approaches to knowledge creation, and in so doing advance the development of a soil systems approach