IUSS Alert 210 (December 2022)

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IUSS News

New IUSS Secretariat from January 2023

After a lengthy selection procedure, which started with a call in April receiving three applications followed by an online hearing and an evaluation carried out by the IUSS Executive Committee, the Full members approved by vast majority the recommendation of the Executive Committee to select CREA (Council for Agricultural Research and Economics of Italy) in Rome, as the new host of the IUSS Secretariat. The handover to the new Secretariat will take place in January.

Farewell from the current IUSS Secretariat

It is with lots of enthusiasm and dedication that Sigbert Huber and his team have run the IUSS Secretariat from 2015 in Vienna. Starting out with the Inter-Congress Meeting in Rio and the WCSS21 in Rio, followed by an IC meeting in Glasgow the term has ended with a very successful WCSS22 in Glasgow. They produced 96 Alerts and 16 Bulletins and organised several elections of IUSS officers and honorary members under the leadership of four different IUSS Presidents. These eight years of service have seen a number of changes such as two relaunches of the IUSS website, opening of a Twitter and a YouTube channel, launching of an IUSS book series under the framework of the International Decade of Soils 2015-2024 and the development of the IUSS Strategic Plan 2021-2030. During this term, new bonds were forged with national and international organisations in the common goal to protect the resource soil.

We wish all IUSS members Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2023!

All the best to the incoming IUSS Secretariat!

News regarding WCSS 2022

World Congress 2022 Attendees

The World Congress of Soil Science 2022 was an extraordinary event of global significance, and we have collected a variety of ED&I data to support those delivering future congresses. All graphics can be found on the WCSS22 page on the BSSS website.

Read more: https://soils.org.uk/wcss22/

WCSS 2022 on Sustainability Award Shortlist

WCSS 22 has been shortlisted for the Best Sustainable Conference award against COP 26 at the ABPCO Excellence Awards. The awards recognise industry best practice in association and not for profit events and we look forward to hearing the outcome soon!

WCSS 2022 in the Press

In August 2022, the British society of Soil Science was privileged to host the World Congress of Soil Science on behalf of the International Union of Soil Sciences. This was the largest project in the society’s history and was the perfect way to mark their 75th anniversary as an organisation. The Congress is a leading international soil science conference, held every four years in different countries and was attended in 2022 by over 1,600 soil scientists from around the globe. Due to the global interest in the conference, the British Society of Soil Science featured heavily in national and international publications and platforms.

IUSS Centennial – Call for session proposals

The IUSS Centennial website has opened the registrations and the call for session proposals at https://centennialiuss2024.org/.

Session proposals can be submitted until 30 June 2023.

The programme group chair and officers will build the session programme from the session proposals. The programme group chair may also suggest to merge proposed sessions that are similar.

Commission 1.4 Soil Classification Newsletter

Newsletter no. 8 from Commission 1.4 is now available on the IUSS website. Among others, this issue contains articles on Guy Smith Medal recipient Dr. Peter Schad, images and stories from Dr. Richard Arnold and information on past and upcoming events.

SUITMA Newsletter No. 4 online

The most recent newsletter of the Working Group Soils of Urban, Industrial, Traffic, Mining and Military Areas (SUITMA) is now available on the IUSS website.

News from national soil science societies

News from the British Society of Soil Science

Soil Policy Report

Our latest document, Soil Policy Report and COP 27 Discussion Document, follows on from the delivery of the World Congress of Soil Science earlier this year. The document which stemmed from the event’s first policy day, sets out the recommendations from an invited group of experts on what needs to be done to ensure soil is considered as part of the solution to societal issues including climate and food security. Speakers from across academia, the regulatory sector, sciences and industry agreed that to raise soils’ profile, we need to highlight the real societal costs, such as inadequate nutrition, which soil pollution can cause. The summary document will be followed by a full-length report in early 2023.

Read the report: https://soils.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/BSSS_Soil-Policy-Report_Oct22_final.pdf

BSSS support the Resolution for Soil Health

The British Society of Soil Science is delighted to be the latest organisation to support the Resolution for Soil Health. The resolution encourages international collaboration, to encourage governments to consider the draft resolution and garner support for soil to be considered as part of the COP 28 process. As an official Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) for UN Climate Change Conferences, we will work with the Resolution for Soil Health team over the coming year to highlight its work and encourage the devolved UK nations to support its position.

Delivering Sustainable International Events

Executive Officer, Sarah Garry, launched the guidance Delivering Sustainable International Events to industry leaders and associations at the International Congress and Convention Association’s (ICCA) 61st Congress in Kraków, Poland in November. As part of our Congress legacy, we will continue to promote these recommendations and encourage other organisations to deliver their events sustainably.

BSSS Marks World Soil Day

The Society was delighted to support a World Soil Day event at Cranfield University, including the first showing of Society funded ‘Dirty Matters – The Soil Game’. We also published a blog about the importance of soil and were featured in Countryside Jobs.

News from the Spanish Soil Science Society

World Soil Day at the Technological College of Huesca

The Technological College of Huesca (University of Zaragoza, Spain), a College of Agricultural Engineering and Environmental Sciences, with the collaboration of the Territorial Delegation in Aragon of the Spanish Soil Science Society (SSSS) and the Official College of Agricultural Engineers of Aragon, Navarre and the Basque Country, have organized different activities related to the soil, following the international initiative promoted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), to celebrate World Soil Day 2022.

On 16th November, a practical workshop with didactic experiments with the soil for pre-university education intended for High School biology and geology teachers was given by Clara Martí, Andoni Alfaro and David Badía, members of the Technological College of Huesca.

Given that the World Soil Day 2022 slogan is ‘Soils: where the food begins’, a conference on ‘Sustainable nutrition in agricultural soils’ was organised (30 November) by Agronomist Engineer J. Betrán Aso, Head of the Agricultural Quality and Analysis Unit of the Agro-Environmental Laboratory of the Government of Aragon. In addition, an exhibition of old books on soil science, was shown by the staff of the Library of Technological College of Huesca.

During the following days (from 30 November to 12 December), an open contest was held for the students of that University with questions on soils and plant nutrition.

Link to the test: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSesbPfZ2H-FbRKlxESLU_ZjdB-v_R3tacNDrUrTxDj4qbQzrA/viewform

News from the Latin American Soil Science Society (SLCS)

WSD in the Latin American Soil Science Society: SLCS

On December 5, 2022, celebrating the World Soil Day, the Latin-American Soil Science Society’s strong educational commitment to soil science was rewarded by being winners of the King Bhumibol Award as well as second and third place winners in the FAO-IUSS Children’s booklet contest on Soils: where food begins.

The Geology Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) won the FAO World Soil Day King Bhumibol award 2022. Second place was for ‘The amazing journey where food is born’ by Juan Camilo Fontalvo Buelvas from the Mexican & Colombian Soil Science Societies. Third place for ‘Special picnic on World Soil Day’ went to Jully Gabriela Retzlaf de Oliveira from the Brazilian Soil Science Society.

Argentine Society of Soil Science

The IUSS president opened the XXVIII Argentine Congress of Soil Science that was held from November 15 to 18, 2022 in Buenos Aires and gave a speech on “Why, how and for whom an Interdisciplinary Education in Soil Sciences from preschool to postgraduate”.

Congress website: https://congreso2022.suelos.org.ar/

Chilean Society of Soil Science

The IUSS president inaugurated the XIV Chilean Congress of Soil Science, organized by the Chilean Society of Soil Science in Valdivia, Chile, from November 22 to 25.

Likewise, the president of the IUSS offered the inaugural speech of this congress with the theme “Opportunities and challenges for the Chilean Soil Science Society within the framework of the IUSS Strategic Plan 2021-2030”.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AIihx5VlOk

Congress website: https://congresoschcs.cl/

General News

5 December 2022 – Happy World Soil Day

IUSS Distinguished Service Medal

Following its mission, since 2012, the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) has recognized outstanding world soil leaders, who have translated soil science into action, by awarding the IUSS Distinguished Service Medal. This is an extraordinary WSD for the Global Soil Partnership which received this prestigious prize from Ms Laura Bertha Reyes Sanchez, IUSS President. In the words of Ms Reyes Sanchez, “this medal is given in recognition of the outstanding actions of the GSP in favour of Soil Sciences and for promoting the knowledge and appreciation of the soil resource“.

[From Global Soil Partnership (GSP) Special announcement No. 45, 5 December 2022]

Glinka World Soil Prize

This year’s Glinka World Soil Prize Laureate is Dr Ashok Kumar Patra from the ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science in Bhopal, India. This prize recognizes his 33-year dedicated career in soil science research and education.

[From Global Soil Partnership (GSP) Special announcement No. 45, 5 December 2022]

Winners of the WSD children contests

Another aim of the World Soil Day campaign it to reach out to children and young people and explain why soils are fundamental to life. With this in mind, the WSD team has prepared a number of contests to involve young people as well as inviting designers and educators to work out how to present the messages across. Check out the over 200 posters and 30 booklets that we received. Big congratulations to all contestants.

Poster contest

Laura Bertha Reyes Sanchez, President of the IUSS announced the winners following an online public ballot that reached 25 695 votes in less than 48 hours! The winners of category A (5-10 years old) is Edanur M. and Roşna B., Asya Ç. from Türkiye and the winner of category B (10-14 years old) is Yun-Yi from China.

Booklet contest

Ms Reyes Sanchez also unveiled the names of the three prize-winners of the children’s booklet contest on soils for nutrition: 1st prize to Anja Weber from Kenya, 2nd prize to Juan Camilo Fontalvo Buelvas from Mexico and 3rd prize to Jully Gabriela Retzlaf de Oliveira from Brazil.

[From Global Soil Partnership (GSP) Special announcement No. 45, 5 December 2022]

King Bhumibol WSD Award

The Geology Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico won the King Bhumibol Award 2022 offered by Thailand and the FAO celebrating World Soil Day. Dr. Elizabeth Solleiro, Vice Chair of Commission 1.6 Paleopedology of Division 1 of the IUSS, and Mr. C. Axel Cerón, Vice President of the new Young and Early Career Scientists Working Group of IUSS Division 4, travelled to Thailand to receive this important award.

Part of the innovative work presented to obtain this award was supported by the IUSS Stimulus Fund, a project that was carried out in collaboration with the group of young scientists from the Mexican Soil Science Society (SMCS) who work with Dr. Solleiro. The IUSS attaches great importance to supporting members and especially young scientists with the Stimulus Fund to carry out educational projects, of which this award is a direct result.

Congratulations to UNAM’s Institute of Geology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and to the IUSS Young and Early Career Scientists Working Group.

Inauguration of National Soil Collection in Italy

During the World Soil Day 2022 celebration, the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics of Italy (CREA) has inaugurated the National Soil Collection at the experimental farm located at Fagna (Municipality of Scarperia and San Piero, Tuscany). It is among the first in the world, with 32,612 samples coming from 13,156 soil excavations (profiles and mini-pits) carried out in Italy. About 5,500 are currently displayed. All excavations are georeferenced and all samples have been characterized for the main physicochemical properties. Samples (small quantities) and database of the Soil Collection are available to scholars on request (giovanni.labate@crea.gov.it). At the experimental farm of Fagna there is a guesthouse where scholars from any part of the world can be hosted for a study period.

News from the International Science Council (ISC)

ISC and UNEP sign agreement

The ISC and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have a long history of effective collaboration on mobilizing scientific expertise for environmental assessment, and have now signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support closer cooperation on strengthening the capacity of science to achieve common objectives on environmental sustainability. The agreement will strengthen the contribution of the international scientific community and scientific knowledge towards environmental policy and practice, which will be essential to ensure evidence-based decision-making at a key juncture in global environmental policy. Read more: https://council.science/current/news/isc-unep-mou-science-environmental-policy/

Call for nominations for GEO-7 authors, reviewers, fellows and collaborating centres

We are pleased to share with you another call for nominations from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) regarding the preparation of the seventh edition of the Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7) assessment and its accompanying Summary for Policymakers. UNEP is seeking nominations of experts from a broad range of expertise – from natural sciences to policy, economics and social sciences, as well as expertise in outlooks and scenarios – to act as authors, review editors or fellows. Experts will be working closely with the co-chairs of the assessment and the GEO Secretariat to ensure a solutions-focused, policy relevant and scientifically credible GEO-7 is produced by 2026.

The deadline for nominations to become a GEO-7 author, review editor or fellow is 5 January 2023
The deadline for nominations to become a collaborating centre to provide support to the GEO-7 is 15 January 2023

Please consider sharing this call widely with your members and wider networks and encourage nominations of relevant experts. Young Academies are particularly encouraged to share the call with their members since selected fellows of the GEO-7 will benefit from an 11-week training course on global science to policy.

More information and nomination form: https://council.science/members/membership-notice-board/call-authors-review-editors-fellows-geo7/

Arizona State University Forensic Soil Survey

Are you in law enforcement, are you a forensic soil analyst, or a forensic service provider? If you are over 18 and fluent in English, we’re interested in hearing about your experience and thoughts about forensic soil or geological materials evidence. You are invited to participate in a voluntary survey requiring about 15 minutes run by Dr. Gwyneth Gordon of Arizona State University about soil or geological material evidence. We want to determine the frequency of collection and analysis of soils or geological materials for forensic purposes. We also want to know about the methods used in analysis and what unmet needs the forensic and legal community may have.

To participate in this survey or to find out more, please go to https://forms.gle/N6c2qdBWxPPgh2pd7 or contact PI Gwyneth Gordon at gwyneth.gordon@asu.edu.

Multiple concurrent soil erosion processes

Using a multi-model approach, we show the spatial risk of soil erosion by water, wind, tillage and harvesting and where the co-occurrence of these different processes is observed. Moreover, in a study in Nature Sustainability, we analysed where these locations of multiple erosion co-occurrence are likely to intersect with the projected increase of dry/wet climate conditions. Of the circa 110 million hectares (M ha) of arable land in the European Union, our estimates show that 43 M ha are vulnerable to a single driver of erosion, 15.6 M ha to two drivers and 0.81 M ha to three or more drivers. About 3.2 M ha of arable land are vulnerable to the possible interaction of increased flood, drought, water and wind erosion. For first time, we also present the data on tillage erosion. Data for all erosion processes are available:

Read more: https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/content/multiple-concurrent-soil-erosion-processes [From ESDAC Newsletter 147, November 2022]

ESDAC 2.0

The European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC) hosts more than 95 blocks of datasets, 6000 maps, six soil atlases, 500 scientific publications, and a copious amount of soil-related material. Through its data repository publishing activities, ESDAC has licensed over 50,000 datasets during the past 15 years; 10,000 of them in 2022 alone. It has published 147 monthly newsletters and it is followed by more than 12,000 subscribed users, who receive regular updates. In this study, we make a summary of ESDAC performance and provide insights on future developments: new data flows (LUCAS modules, HORIZON programmes) plus technical advancements.

Data in ESDAC: https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/resource-type/datasets

[From ESDAC Newsletter 147, November 2022]

Historical reconstruction of soil erosion in Europe (1860-2018)

This dataset includes the reconstruction of soil erosion rates in Europe (including UK, Switzerland and Western Balkans). The data provided have been aggregated per decade starting from 1860. The soil erosion change is driven by changes in land use and rainfall erosivity. The annual variations do not follow a linear pattern through time (because of fluctuations in rainfall). Long-term changes indicate an overall increase in erosion rates from 1860 to 1960 mainly due to land cover changes and agricultural intensification. We also make available the annual historical soil loss rates by water erosion (period 1860 – 2018). Advanced users may also download the monthly files (12 bands per file). The annual and monthly soil erosion reconstruction data (1860-2018) can be useful inputs for Earth System Models. Data of this research study are available:

[From ESDAC Newsletter 147, December 2022]

Soil Biodiversity science recognized at the COP-15 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal, QC

This week the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative (GSBI) was given a mandate by the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Conference of the Parties – to work with UN and other scientific bodies to implement soil biodiversity science and other soil related targets: “Invites the United Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils of the Global Soil Partnership and the Global Initiative for Soil Biodiversity to support the implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework with regard to soil-related targets and actions, including their monitoring and reporting;” p 242, Draft of the Fifteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity

[From GSBI Newsletter – December 2022]

Plant productivity shapes the mineral-protection of surface soil carbon storage regardless of soil age

César Plaza (Instituto de Ciencia Agrarias, Madrid), Pablo García-Palacios (Instituto de Ciencia Agrarias, Madrid) and Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo (Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla) highlight their work with the CLIMIFUN global survey and discuss the importance of plant productivity over soil age in explaining soil carbon composition and the implications for this in a changing climate.

Read more: GSBI Blog “Beneath Our Feet“

[From GSBI Newsletter – December 2022]

New paper on soil microbiomes in agroecosystems

A new paper by Martin Hartmann and Johan Six in the journal Nature Reviews Earth & Environment summarizes the key functions of soil microbiomes in agroecosystems, the dependence of these functions on the structural integrity of the soil, and how agricultural influences the link between soil structure and microbiome functioning.

[From GSBI Newsletter – December 2022]

Call for Papers

Geoderma Regional seeks papers on transitioning to healthy soils with agroforestry systems. This special issue will report on the most recent studies conducted in tropical, temperate, and Mediterranean climates that demonstrate how agroforestry systems contribute to soil improvements as we transition to healthy soils. This special issue welcomes empirical studies and reviews with regional relevance on the following topics in relation to agroforestry and silvopastoral systems: carbon sequestration and climate change adaptation; soil fertility and nutrient cycling, soil health indicators (chemical, physical and biological), plant-soil interactions, rhizosphere processes; land-use change, soil restoration; soil ecosystem services; agroforestry design, indigenous knowledge on agroforestry.

Article Submission Deadline: March 31, 2023

Conferences, Meetings and Workshops

2023

Flow and transport coefficients in porous media: from direct simulation to automated prediction

January 10, 2023

Online & in-person (The University of Texas at Austin), 4 pm CET (9 am CST), participation is free of charge

Online access: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89955981805?pwd=RHpPWlUxTktyVkNtL0Q1OWNZYXV4QT09

Permeability, diffusion coefficients or electrical resistivity of porous media containing multiple fluids phases are important in hydrology, enhanced oil recovery, energy storage or micro-vascular networks. Direct simulation combined with images (e.g. X-ray or scanning electron microscopy) provides a way to compute them in a specific porous media case regardless of its complexity.

Flyer: https://www.iuss.org/media/masa_webinar.jpg

Zoom into Soil Webinar

11 January from 12:00 – 1:00 pm CET

We, the British Society of Soil Science, are delighted to announce that the first Zoom into Soil webinar of 2023. The webinar is free for anyone to attend and please register in advance. Visit our YouTube channel to catch up on the most recent webinars on asbestos and HS2.

January 2023 “GSBI Speaks!”

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Online, 08:00 Mountain, 10:00 Eastern, 15:00 UK, 16:00 Central Europe

Valerie Behan-Pelletier, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, world-renowned expert in soil mites and their ecology, on the importance of soil life for all life on Earth.

Registration: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/1616696718964/WN_ahkxJ2d9QYGk9boxVL4GsA

GSB3 Demonstration Event – Farming for soil health: Building resilient agricultural systems from the ground up

16 March 2023

Wexford, Ireland

Join researchers and stakeholders after the Third Global Soil Biodiversity Conference for a demonstration event at the research farm of Teagasc Johnstown Castle. Presentations at this one-day event will demonstrate the practices and technologies that can be adopted on farms to assess and enhance soil health. This is a free event and you must register to attend.

Further details on registration available shortly at https://gsb2023.org/

Wageningen Soil Conference 2023 – working together on solutions for a sustainable world

August 29 to September 1, 2023

Wageningen, Netherlands

Deadline for abstracts: April 17, 2023

Wageningen University & Research and ISRIC are delighted to invite you to the fifth edition of the Wageningen Soil Conference. The conference has an interactive character with conference sessions as well as workshops on divergent soil-related topics. The focus of the conference will be on working together on solutions for a sustainable world.

First announcement: https://www.iuss.org/media/wsc2023_first_circular.pdf

SUITMA 12 Conference

4-7 September 2023

Santiago de Compostela, Spain

The 12th edition of the SUITMA conference celebrates 25 years of the creation of the working group. Soils are at the center of global concerns including food security, climate change and biodiversity, and they are essential to achieve many of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, anthropic activities have altered the properties and functionality of many soils, especially during the last century, to a point that anthropogenic soils have deserved specific approaches for their study. The SUITMA12 conference will address all aspects of research on classification, properties, functioning and sustainable management of anthropogenic soils.

Abstract submission: 15 March 2023

Early bird registration: 15 May 2023

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