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ASPAC-I/19/Report

Report of the First meeting of the

Pacific Soil Laboratory Network (ASPAC)

Brisbane, Australia, 17-18 October 2019

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ASPAC-I/19/Report

REPORT OF THE FIRST MEETING OF THE PACIFIC SOIL

LABORATORY NETWORK (ASPAC)

Brisbane, Australia, 17-18 October 2019

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

Rome, 2019

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The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication

do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food

and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of

any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the

delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

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Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 6

Highlights and conclusions ............................................................................................................................ 6

Status of participating laboratories .......................................................................................................... 6

Regional work plan.................................................................................................................................... 8

Position of ASPAC in GLOSOLAN ............................................................................................................... 8

Governance ................................................................................................................................................... 9

Venue and time of the next meeting ............................................................................................................ 9

Annex I. List of participants ......................................................................................................................... 10

Annex II: Agenda ......................................................................................................................................... 11

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Introduction

Following the endorsement of the global implementation plan for Pillar 5 in June 2017 and the launch of the Global Soil Laboratory Network (GLOSOLAN) on 1-2 November 2017, the Regional Soil Laboratory Network (RESOLAN) for the Pacific was established through its first meeting in Brisbane, Australia on 17-18 October 2019. The meeting was organized by the Global Soil Partnership (GSP) with the support of the Australasian Soil and Plant Analysis Council (ASPAC). The meeting was opened by Mr. Paul Kennelly, ASPAC Chair and by Ms. Francesca Mancini on behalf of Ms. Eriko Hibi, FAO Subregional Coordinator for the Pacific Islands and FAO Representative in Samoa. Seventeen lab managers from six countries attended the meeting along with five guest speakers. The list of participants is available in Annex I.

Linking to the objectives of GLOSOLAN, the Pacific Soil Laboratory Network (ASPAC) aims to strengthen the performance of laboratories through use of standardized methods and protocols. Although the network agreed to work on the harmonisation of soil analysis results at the inter-regional level so to make them comparable and interpretable across laboratories, countries and regions, the network noted that a regional harmonization is not needed as all Pacific laboratories implement the protocols in the Soil Chemical Methods – Australasia book. To note that the few exceptions to this rule are due to the implementation of national legislations.

The objectives of the first ASPAC meeting were to (i) confirm the governance and organisational structure of the Pacific RESOLAN under the auspice of the Australasian Soil and Plant Analysis Council (ASPAC), (ii) review the performance of laboratories in the ASPAC Inter-laboratory Proficiency Trial, (iii) determine the areas of support that could be offered to help improve the performance of regional laboratories, (iv) assess the potential for harmonisation of soil data, and (v) discuss the requirements for further development of methodologies and their interpretation.

Highlights and conclusions

The meeting lasted two full days (see the agenda in Annex II) and consisted of presentations to introduce the network, report on major events of relevance to ASPAC, assess the status of national laboratories participating to the meeting, and explain technical concepts related to lab analysis and data and methods harmonization. In this regard, Mr. Peter Wilson, Chair of the Pacific Soil Partnership (PSP), reported on the outcomes of the Pacific Week of Agriculture stressing that much attention was posed on the nutrient management system of the Pacific Islands. Still, Mr. Roger Hill, Chair of the ASPAC ILPP, Mr. David Lyons, ILPP ret. and Mr. Rob de Hayr, PSP Pillar 5 Chair, reported on the results of the ASPAC proficiency trial and its implications for improvement. Ultimately, the presentations served to open the discussion and to define the work of ASPAC in 2020 and its position in GLOSOLAN.

Status of participating laboratories

Participants from the Pacific Island nations were given the opportunity to present their laboratory with a focus on the soil analysis they perform (type, number and equipment used) and the projects supporting their work. Participants also provided information on the presence and number of mobile laboratories and soil testing kits in use in their country. An overview of individual laboratories capacities is herewith provided:

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1. Number of soil samples analysed per year

- <500: 6 labs

- From 1000 to 3000: 2 labs (Fiji and PNG)

2. Do you get any support from your government/institution?

- Yes: 5 labs

- No: 3 labs

3. Stability/length of the contracts

- contracts up to 3 years long: 5 labs

- Contracts up to 5 years long: 1 lab

- Permanent contracts: 2 labs

4. Training of staff

- Absent: 7 labs

- Monthly: 1 lab (Fiji - Lal)

5. STK: yes (3) no (5) 6. Mobile labs: yes (0) no (8)

Thereafter, participants were kindly asked to look into the weaknesses and strengths of their own laboratory, and to report about their expectations on GLOSOLAN and ASPAC. Overall, laboratories’ expectation linked to the willingness to overcome their limits in terms of (in order of priority):

- Lack of consumables and minor accessories - Equipment maintenance and equipment update - Staff number and qualification (training) - QA/QC (also availability of reference material) - Data interpretation - IT support (establishment of database and inventories) – Laboratory Management System - Accreditation - Reduce external interferences (contamination) - Reduce costs of inter-lab studies - Methods development and validation (link to research) - Funds - Availability of research resources (books, forum membership, etc.)

Individual laboratories’ presentations are available on the ASPAC webpage in the GSP, GLOSOLAN website.

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Regional work plan

Participants worked in group to develop a work plan to address the common needs they identified (see

Table 1).

Table 1. ASPAC work plan to address regional common needs

Need Activity description

Consumable and equipment

Online platform that works like a free market. Labs with surplus of consumables to make them available to Labs in need

Consumable and equipment

Make big orders at the national level so to reduce transportation costs or get bigger discounts

Staff training Creating a training matrix for lab's staff (identification of gaps and individual strengths)

Staff training People with strong competencies to train the ones in need (in house training). All knowledge should not stay with one person only

Staff training Organization of national trainings (in person or online - videos, zoom, etc.) with external trainers when needed

Data interpretation It can be addressed through staff training. It is another subject for training

QA/QC Develop a protocol for improving QA/QC

QA/QC Improvement through training

Reference material Inclusion of national samples into the ASPAC PT

Laboratory Management System Review Vincent system…if it is good, propose it to other labs

Position of ASPAC in GLOSOLAN

Ms. Lucrezia Caon (GLOSOLAN Coordinator, GSP Secretariat) introduced participants to the agenda of the

3rd GLOSOLAN meeting and asked participants for their opinion on:

- The proposal to run global laboratory assessments on a regular basis

ASPAC supported this proposal and suggested to repeat this global exercise every 2-3 years at the

purpose of monitoring the progresses of the network. Because the Pacific region provided little

inputs to the Global Soil Laboratory Assessment 2018, Mr. de Hayr recommended to run a regional

assessment by the end of 2019 in order to get a regional baseline for future monitoring analysis.

- The Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) GLOSOLAN should work on harmonizing in 2020.

Because of the large number of analysis performed by participating laboratories, it was not possible

to get to a suggestion on the SOPs GLOSOLAN should work on harmonizing in 2020. However, Mr.

De Hayr, who will be representing ASPAC at the 3rd GLOSOLAN meeting, committed to look into the

ASPAC database in order to identify the most frequently analysed soil parameters and methods

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used. ASPAC recommendations on the methods GLOSOLAN should focus on in 2020 will be made

accordingly.

- Supporting documents on Proficiency Testing (PT)

ASPAC found the “questionnaire to identify potential samples providers”, the “basic guidelines on

how to produce a sample for internal control and proficiency testing”, and the “technical schedule

to inform laboratories participating in GLOSOLAN PT about their performance” sufficient to support

PT exercises under GLOSOLAN. ASPAC did not consider the preparation of a training manual on

how to prepare reference soil samples necessary. This decision builds on the fact that they already

have and rely on the ASPAC manual on the topic.

Governance

Because of the peculiarities of the region, no National Soil Laboratory Networks will be established in the Pacific. The network agreed to adopt the governance and organisational structure of the Australasian Soil and Plant Analysis Council (ASPAC).

Venue and time of the next meeting

The second ASPAC meeting will be organized in 2020. Venue and time to be confirmed.

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Annex I. List of participants

Francesca Mancini on behalf of Ms. Eriko Hibi, FAO Subregional Coordinator for the Pacific Islands and FAO

Representative in Samoa

Ms. Lucrezia Caon, Global Soil Partnership Secretariat, FAO HQ

Ms. Nopmanee Suvannang, GLOSOLAN Chair

Mr. Paul Kennelly, Nutrient Advantage, Aus., ASPAC Executive Chair (Victorian State Representative)

Mr. Rob De Hayr, DES Chemistry Centre, Aus., ASPAC Executive (Queensland State Representative)

Ms. Nell Peisley, CSIRO, Aus., ASPAC Executive (Aus. Capital Territory Representative)

Mr. Craig Newman, Agvita, Aus., ASPAC Executive (Tasmanian State Representative)

Mr. Graham Lancaster, Southern Cross University, Aus., ASPAC Executive (New South Wales State

Representative)

Mr. Matthew Wheal, Australian Wine Research Institute, Aus., ASPAC Executive (South Aus. State

Representative)

Mr. William Boedecker, ARL, New Zealand, ASPAC Executive (New Zealand Representative)

Ms. Stephane Cameron, ASPAC Executive (Newsletter Editor)

Ms. Deeksha Krishna, Soil Science Lab, CAFF, Fiji

Mr. Tata Telawika, Unitech Analytical Services Laboratory, Papua New Guinea

Mr. Pousui Fiame Leo, Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa, Samoa

Mr. Mohammad H. Golabi, Soils Laboratory, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, UOG, Guam

Mr. Vincent Lal, Institute of Applied Science Analytical Laboratory, Fiji

Ms. Janet Lipai, NARI Prof John Kola Chemistry Laboratory, Papua New Guinea

Ms. Mere Kosi Tauvoli, Agricultural Chemistry Laboratory (FACL), Fiji

Mr. Daya Perera, School of Agriculture and Food Technology, Samoa

Mr. Roger Hill, Chair ASPAC ILPP

Mr. David Lyons, ILPP ret.

Mr. Warren Webber, Executive Officer ASPAC

Mr. Jim Payne, President Soil Science Aus, Qld Branch

Mr. Phil Moody, Associate Professor, University of Queensland

Mr. Peter Wilson, CSIRO, Chair of the Pacific Soil Partnership

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Annex II: Agenda

First meeting of the Pacific Soil Laboratory Network (ASPAC)

17-18 October 2019, Ecosciences Precinct, Brisbane, Australia

Wednesday 16th October 2019

Arrival of participants and welcome dinner at 19:00 at Brewhouse Hotel

Thursday 17th October 2019

Time Topic Presenter

08:30-08:45 Tea and Coffee on arrival

08:45-09:00 Welcome and opening remarks

- Overview of Agenda

- Meeting objectives and expectations

Paul Kennelly ASPAC

Francesca Mancini on behalf of Ms. Eriko Hibi, FAO Subregional Coordinator for the Pacific Islands and FAO Representative in Samoa

9:00-9:20 ASPAC Executive Meeting (Paul Kennelly Chair)

Meeting of Pacific lab managers with GLOSOLAN Chair and FAO

Ms. Lucrezia Caon, Global Soil Partnership, FAO and Ms. Nopmanee

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Time Topic Presenter

Item 1. Intro to the Global Soil Partnership and the Global Soil Laboratory Network (GLOSOLAN)

Suvannang, GLOSOLAN Chair

9:20 – 10:10 Item 2. The Pacific Soil Laboratory Network

10:10 – 10:30 Item 3. Report from the Pacific Week of Agriculture

Mr. Peter Wilson, CSIRO, Chair of the Pacific Soil Partnership

10:30-11:00 Morning Tea

11:00-11:30

ASPAC Executive Meeting cont-

Item 4. Results of the ASPAC proficiency trial and implications for improvement

Rob De Hayr (PSP

Pillar 5 Chair)

11:30 – 12:30 Item 5. The ASPAC ILPP – how it works and how to use the results too help improve lab performance- Include feedback on performance in ASPAC ILPP round

Principles of QA/QC

Roger Hill (Chair ASPAC ILPP) David Lyons (ILPP ret.)

12:30-13:15 Lunch

13:15 – 14:45 Item 6. Individual laboratory presentations (in alphabetic order)

Deeksha Krishna, Soil Science Lab,

CAFF, Fiji

Tata Telawika, Unitech Analytical

Services Laboratory, Papua New

Guinea

Pousui Fiame Leo, Scientific

Research Organisation of Samoa,

Samoa

Soils Laboratory, College of Natural

and Applied Sciences, UOG, Guam

Moderators: Ms. Lucrezia Caon, Global Soil Partnership, FAO and Ms. Nopmanee Suvannang, GLOSOLAN Chair

14:00

ILPP committee meeting

Roger Hill (Chair)

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Time Topic Presenter

Vincent Lal, Institute of Applied

Science Analytical Laboratory, Fiji

Janet Lipai, NARI Prof John Kola

Chemistry Laboratory, Papua New

Guinea

Mere Kosi Tauvoli, Agricultural

Chemistry Laboratory (FACL), Fiji

Rob De Hayr, DES Chemistry Centre,

Australia

Paul Kennelly ASPAC Chair

14:45 – 15:30 Item 7. Identification of regional needs and priorities on soil laboratory analysis

Moderators: Ms. Lucrezia Caon, Global Soil Partnership, FAO and Ms. Nopmanee Suvannang, GLOSOLAN Chair

15:30-16:00 Afternoon Tea

16:00-17:00 Item 8. International Issues

ISSPA governance & 2021 Canada Symposium

2020 Australasian Soil Science Conference

Topics for the conference

Warren Webber (Executive Officer ASPAC), Roger Hill

Jim Payne (President Soil Science Aus, Qld Branch), Rob De Hayr

17:30 ASPAC Annual General Meeting

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Friday 18th October 2019

Time Topic Presenter

08:00-08:30 Tea and Coffee on arrival

8:30-10:30 Item 9. Workshop - Soil Analysis methods and interpretation

Is there opportunity for harmonisation

Special methods for problem soils

Phil Moody (Associate Professor, University of Queensland) and all

10:30-11:00 Morning Tea

11:00-13:00 Item 10. Workshop of solutions to requirements identified in session 6 & 8

ASPAC support etc.

How to deliver

QA/QC discussion

All

13:00-14:00 Lunch

14:00-14:30 Tour of Chemistry Centre Labs Rob De Hayr

14:45-15:30 Item 11. Position of ASPAC in GLOSOLAN Lucrezia Caon

15:45-16:00 Afternoon Tea

16:00-16:30 Item 12. Summary of decisions and way forward

- Time and venue of the next meeting

Rob De Hayr

16:30 End