IUSS News
Outcome of 2018 IUSS Presidential Election
The election of the next IUSS President has been concluded. The Council (National Soil Science Societies in good financial standing with IUSS, Executive Committee members and 3 Honorary Members) cast their vote by the closing date 15 October 2018. The result of the election was presented to the President and subsequently announced to Council members by email and on the IUSS website: Laura Bertha Reyes Sánchez from Mexico, current Secretary General of the Latin American Soil Science Society, received a clear majority of the votes and was the successful candidate in this election. She will take up the position of President-Elect on 1st January, 2019. She will be the first female President in the history of IUSS. IUSS was very pleased to have two strong candidates running for the position.
Playlist with videos from Soil Judging Contest held in Brazil – 21st WCSS
With the collaboration of UFRRJ graduate students, videos from the Soil Judging Contest, held at the University campus as part of the 21th WCSS, were prepared and are available by following the link below.
Watch the videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi-8j0XEXF7lgVpfhdRQJX_QjM8x7b272
General News
WORLD SOIL DAY, 5 December 2018
Are you ready to ‘Be the solution to soil pollution’?
#StopSoilPollution is at the heart of the Global Soil Partnership’s mandate as demonstrated by the Global Symposium on Soil Pollution. We work to ensure that people have safe and nutritious food to ensure active and healthy life without endangering essential ecosystems services.
Read more: http://www.fao.org/world-soil-day/en/
Use the WSD communication toolkit!
Create buzz around WSD! FAO have prepared a range of stunning communication materials in several languages – posters, infographics, cards, event banners, social media graphics, t-shirts, animations and the WSD logo in various languages…
Download the materials from: http://www.fao.org/world-soil-day/campaign-materials/en/
Add your event on the WSD interactive map!
Why not set up a meeting with farmers on sustainable soil management, or organize a soil clean-up, a soil science lab experiment, a visit to a soil museum, or even a soil sampling contest? Organize a World Soil Day (WSD) event and register it on the map. Spread the word, and let us know if you need help. And do share your success by sending photos of the event to FAO.
Read more: http://www.fao.org/world-soil-day/worldwide-events/en/
Register your event: http://www.fao.org/world-soil-day/worldwide-events/add-events/en/
Help translate the WSD logo in your language!
Have you checked whether the WSD logo is available in your local language? If not, send us the translation and our team will prepare a high quality logo version, which will be shared on our website.
Read more: http://www.fao.org/world-soil-day/wsd-logo/en/
[From: The Global Soil Partnership – Special announcement No. 10, 17 October 2018]
Take part in a survey about soil organic carbon management (SOC)
The CIRCASA Project Team would like to ask for your views on the role of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) management for climate change mitigation and sustainable development.
The survey is part of the H2020 CIRCASA project (https://www.circasa-project.eu/). The aim of CIRCASA is to improve international research cooperation and strengthen the international research community in the field of soil carbon sequestration in agricultural soils at European Union and global levels. To support this aim a Strategic Research Agenda is being co-designed with stakeholders. With this survey, the organisers would like to learn more about stakeholders’ perceptions on the role of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) management for climate change mitigation and sustainable development. It will take about 30 minutes to complete the survey.
Access the survey: https://polls.ecologic.eu/index.php/791211?lang=en
The Mysterious ‘Alien Soil’ Growing Deep Underground
Almost a third of a mile underground, in the dark, damp vaults of the vast Frasassi cave system in central Italy, curious patterns appear on the walls. Stretching for miles, the designs are slimy to the touch, similar to the consistency of wet clay. “The most simple phrase I can think of [to describe them] would be alien soil,” says Jennifer Macalady, an associate professor of geosciences at Penn State University. These mysterious formations are known as biovermiculations, a term that describes their worm-like shapes. They can be found not only in caves, but basically anywhere that’s dark, moist, and underground—mines, sewers, even your basement. They’re visually distinctive for the repetitive patterns they form: centimeter-wide lines that branch into labyrinthine configurations that sometimes resemble the folds of a human brain.
Read more: https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/the-mysterious-alien-soil-growing-deep-underground/
Life Under a Rock: Bacteria in Extreme Environments
How long does it take hypolithic cyanobacteria communities to grow? And do cyanobacteria grow differently in different deserts? High school science teacher Michael R. Wing set out to answer those questions as the leader of the Worldwide Artificial Hypoliths Project. Teaching material for Grade Level 9-12; 15 min – 1 hr, activity type: data analysis, ecology, microbiology
Read more: https://www.sciencefriday.com/educational-resources/life-hidden-beneath-the-rocks/
Enhanced greenhouse gas production potential from urban wetland soils
Tidal wetlands in close proximity to urban centers receive significant anthropogenic inputs from surface runoff, sewage overflow, and treated wastewater. While wetlands are important in global carbon dynamics due to large carbon soil pool, this benefit is offset by potential methane and nitrous oxide emissions effluxes from these low-oxygen ecosystems. How soluble carbon and nitrogen pollution, typical of anthropogenic inputs, will impact wetland greenhouse gas production rates is unclear. In a paper recently published in the Soil Science Society of America Journal, researchers investigate the impact acetate and inorganic nitrogen additions had upon carbon dioxide and methane production in a series of laboratory incubation experiments with wetland soils of varied salinities. Experiments demonstrated that acetate additions, not inorganic nitrogen additions enhanced both carbon dioxide and methane production rates from all soils.
[From: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Science Policy Report: 45, 17 October 2018]
Some plants nurture soil bacteria that keep them healthy
The bacteria which inhabit human beings, particularly the guts of those beings, have been found in recent years to be important for fending off disease. That something similar happens in other animal species is doubtless true as well. But work by Seon-Woo Lee at Dong-A University and Jihyun Kim at Yonsei University, both in South Korea, suggests that it is not only animals which benefit from such bacterial shielding, but plants do too. In their study, a soil bacterium known as TRM appeared to provide protection for 40 percent of the tomato plants grown. These results suggest that plant wilt may be tackled by applying certain bacteria or chemicals to soil.
[From: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Science Policy Report: 45, 17 October 2018]
Stories from the soil
Soil health is a hot topic, and for good reason. Soils are one of our most vital resources and we must give them the attention they deserve. The goal of Stories From The Soil is to advance the collaborative and innovative soil health efforts occurring across the United States by sharing the soil management practices of leading growers, researchers, and land stewards. There has been tremendous progress in recent years in better understanding the importance of soil health practices to provide agricultural and horticultural productivity and sustainability. Follow along as we tell these stories and learn more about the soil beneath our feet.
[From: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Science Policy Report, 3 October 2018]
Conferences, Meetings and Workshops
2019
International Scientific Conference “XXII Dokuchaev Conference for Young Scientists”
25 February – 1 March, 2019, Saint-Petersburg, Russia. The organizing committee of the International Scientific Conference “XXII Dokuchaev Conference for Young Scientists” «Soil as the System of Functional Connections in Nature» invites you to take part in the conference. Participants of the conference can be students, post-graduate students and young scientists under 35 years old.
Deadline for application for participation as a speaker: October 31, 2018
Abstracts should be uploaded before December 20, 2018
Website: http://www.dokuchaevskie.ru/?lang=en
EGU General Assembly 2019
April 7–12, 2019, Vienna, Austria. The EGU General Assembly 2019 will bring together geoscientists from all over the world to one meeting covering all disciplines of the Earth, planetary and space sciences. The EGU aims to provide a forum where scientists, especially early career researchers, can present their work and discuss their ideas with experts in all fields of geoscience.
Abstract submission: 22 October 2018 – 10 January 2019
Read more: https://www.egu2019.eu/
AquaConSoil 2019 – Sustainable use and management of soil, sediment and water resources
May 20-24, 2019, Antwerp, Belgium. AquaConSoil2019 will take place in the cultural capital of Flanders. Antwerp is both a bustling industrial port city and an outstanding historic centre for Belgian craftwork and artistry. It will host delegates from research institutes and universities, governmental and consultant organisations and from industry. AquaConSoil is organized by Deltares, in cooperation with a Flemish consortium under the lead of VITO / VLAKWA and OVAM.
Deadline for abstract submission: Nov. 15, 2018
Read more: www.aquaconsoil.org
Spring school on mapping and assessment of soils
20 – 24 May 2019, Wageningen Campus, the Netherlands. Are you interested in improving your skills in digital soil mapping, geostatistics and R environment for statistical computing? Are you interested in a better understanding of soils and their assessment? If so, the spring school courses are a good choice for you.
Read more: http://www.isric.org/utilise/capacity-building/springschool
30th Congress of Soil Science Society of Poland ‘Soil – Source of Life’
September 2-7, 2019, Lublin, Poland
The 30th Congress of the Polish Soil Science Society will be organized under the slogan “Soil is the source of life”. The main organizer of the Congress is Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, with the participation of the Board of the Polish Soil Science Society, Lublin University of Life Sciences, Institute of Agrophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Lublin, Institute of Cultivation, Fertilization and Soil Science – State Research Institute in Puławy, Roztocze National Park and Polesie National Park.
First announcement: http://www.soilcongress2019.umcs.pl/images/docs/announcement_1.pdf
Website: http://soilcongress2019.umcs.pl
Contact: soilcongress@umcs.pl
9th ESSC International Congress on ‘Soil’s Contribution to People: from Food to Life supporting Services’
September 26-28, 2019, Agricultural University of Tirana, Albania. On behalf of the ESSC (European Society for Soil Conservation) and the Organizing Committee, we are pleased to invite you to attend the 9th ESSC International Congress on ‘Soil’s Contribution to People: from Food to Life supporting Services’. The objective is to stimulate reflections on the importance of soil resources on man’s existence and as a source of food and life supporting services.
Read more: https://www.iuss.org/media/1st_circular_letter_essc_2019_tirana_congress_invitation.pdf
New publications
Soil Amendments for Sustainability: Challenges and Perspectives
1st Edition edited by Amitava Rakshit, Binoy Sarkar, Purushothaman Abhilash. Published September 13, 2018 by CRC Press, 404 pages, 20 color & 118 B/W illustrations, ISBN 9780815370772, price hardback GBP 115.00, price e-book (VitalSource): GBP 35.99.
This book focuses on the pros and cons of amendment materials to restore the functioning of soil resources. It presents a holistic overview on affected land revitalization, clean up and revegetation using these amendments that could be implemented in the long term management of the soil-plant-atmosphere-animal continuum.
Global Soil Security: Towards More Science-Society Interfaces
1st Edition edited by Anne Richer de Forges, Florence Carré, Alex B. McBratney, Johan Bouma, Dominique Arrouays. Published September 21, 2018 by CRC Press, 138 pages, ISBN 9781138093058, price hardback GBP 115.00, price e-book (VitalSource): GBP 35.99.
Global Soil Security: Towards More Science-Society Interfaces contains contributions presented at the 2nd Global Soil Security conference, held 5-6 December 2016 in Paris. These chapters focus on how to achieve soil security. This involves scientific, economic, industrial and political engagement to inform soil-users, policy makers and citizens with the objective of implementing appropriate actions. The contributions to this book address the five dimensions of soil security, namely: capability, condition, capital, connectivity and codification.
Engineering Practices for Management of Soil Salinity – Agricultural, Physiological, and Adaptive Approaches
1st Edition edited by S. K. Gupta, Megh R. Goyal, Anshuman Singh, Published by Apple Academic Press on 27 September 2018, 420 pages | 13 Color Illus. | 25 B/W Illus., ISBN: 978-1-77188-676-5, price hardback GBP 111.20. Abiotic stresses are known to adversely impact agricultural productivity on millions of hectares globally, and it is projected that these problems are likely to increase, primarily due to anthropogenic interventions as well as climatic changes. Understanding abiotic stresses—especially salt stress on soil—calls for an interdisciplinary approach because salt-stressed soils need hydro-technical, chemical, and agronomic interventions as well as an understanding of plant response when exposed to these stresses. This volume explores and conveys the latest information on emerging technologies in the management of abiotic salt stress and their field applications.
Nickel in Soils and Plants
Edited by Christos Tsadilas, Jörg Rinklebe, Magdi Selim. 1st Edition published by CRC Press in September 2018, 391 pages | 8 Color Illus. | 59 B/W Illus., ISBN: 978-1-49-877460-4, ISBN ebook: 978-1-31-515466-4, price hardback: GBP 116.00, price ebook (VitalSource): GBP 72.50.
Nickel (Ni), the fifth common element on the earth is widespread in the environment. Recently Ni has been proved essential for normal growth of many organisms, and at the same time Ni can become toxic to organisms when high in concentration. In several parts of the world, high Ni concentrations are causing serious environmental impacts. This book will be the first to discuss the problems related to Ni presence and raise the need for full investigation and more efforts to support this goal. It will present the recent advances in research on Ni nutrition of plants, Ni contamination of the environment—that is, soils, waters and plants—and methods of remediation.
Read more: https://www.routledge.com/Nickel-in-Soils-and-Plants/Tsadilas-Rinklebe-Selim/p/book/9781498774604
Novel Bioremediation Processes for Treatment of Seleniferous Soils and Sediment
By Shrutika Laxmikant Wadgaonkar. 1st Edition published by CRC Press on 17 October 2018. 214 pages, ISBN: 978-1-13-838480-4, price paperback GBP 53.59.
The aim of this Ph.D. was to develop a technology for the remediation of seleniferous soils/sediments and to explore microbial reduction of selenium oxyanions under different respiration conditions and bioreactor configurations. Seleniferous soil collected from the wheat-grown agricultural land in Punjab (India) was characterized and its soil washing was optimized by varying parameters, where addition of oxidizing agents showed maximum selenium removal efficiency. Aquatic plants, Lemna minor and Egeria densa were used to study phytoremediation of the selenium-rich soil leachate containing oxidizing agents.
Climate Change Impacts on Soil Processes and Ecosystem Properties, Volume 35
Edited by: William Horwath, Yakov Kuzyakov. 1st Edition published by Elsevier on 18 October 2018, 236 pages, Hardcover ISBN: 9780444638656, Paperback ISBN: 9780444639509, eBook ISBN: 9780444638687, price ebook: EUR 166.90.
Climate Change Impacts on Soil Processes and Ecosystem Properties, Volume 35, presents current and emerging soil science research in the areas of soil processes and climate change, while also evaluating future research needs. The book combines the five areas of soil science (microbiology, physics, fertility, pedology and chemistry) to give a comprehensive assessment. This integration of topics is rarely done in a single publication due to the disciplinary nature of the soil science areas. Users will find it to be a comprehensive resource on the topic.
Compactaciones naturales y antrópicas en suelos argentinos (Natural and anthropogenic compactions in soils of Argentina)
By Perla A. Imbellone and Carina R. Álvarez (Eds.) Asociación Argentina de la Ciencia del Suelo. Buenos Aires. 2018. ISBN 978-987-46870-1-2. In Spanish, with abstracts in English. 547 p.
This book deals with the genesis and properties of natural and anthropogenic pans from different regions of Argentina. It is divided into two parts: the first one includes an introductory chapter about the different types of hardening and the characteristics and implications of pans with a special reference to fragipans. These pans are also discussed in three study cases in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Córdoba (Pampean Region) and Chaco (Northeast). Compact layers in a semiarid region (Catamarca) and stone-lines in subtropical soils (Misiones) are also included. The chapters describe the soil formation factors, morphological, physical and chemical properties and the processes leading to hardening, as well as the implications for land use. The second part includes twelve chapters describing anthropogenic surface and subsurface densifications induced by conventional and no tillage farming and cattle trampling. Density, porosity, strength, macro- and microstructure and biosensors (roots) are some of the indicators discussed to evaluate densification. Preventive measures and remediation strategies are proposed.
Open Access eBook: https://www.suelos.org.ar/publicaciones/Compact_Nat_ y antropicas.zip y antropicas.zip
The Soils of Argentina
Edited by Rubio, Gerardo, Lavado, Raul S., Pereyra, Fernando X. Published in the World Soils Book Series by Springer, 268 pages, ISBN 978-3-319-76853-3, price hardcover EUR 139,99 | GBP 119.99 |USD 169.99; price ebook: EUR 118,99 | GBP 95.50 | USD 129.00.
This is the first comprehensive book on Argentinian pedology. It discusses the main soil types of Argentina, their geographical distribution, classification, functions, agricultural use, ecological aspects, and the threats to which they have been subjected during centuries of intensive and extensive management. The description of the soils is accompanied by a complete set of data, pictures and maps, including benchmark profiles and an overview of the country’s agricultural production. It also deals with future scenarios of the relationships between soil science and other disciplines and the main challenges that soil science will face in the future. Further, the book explores aspects of the main soil forming factors, such as climate, vegetation, geology and geomorphology, making use of new, unpublished data and elaborations, and presents a history of pedological research in Argentina.
Read more: https://www.springer.com/de/book/9783319768519
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