World Soil Of The Year

2024 IUSS World Soil of the Year

The “Chernozem of the Balti Steppe, Moldova” was officially proclaimed as the inaugural “IUSS World Soil of the Year” during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Centennial Congress and Celebration in Florence. Official nomination of this soil was provided by the Soil Science Society of Poland and the Canadian Society of Soil Science, on behalf of the Moldovan Society of Soil Science. Dr. Boris Boincean received the award from IUSS President Edoardo Costantini, on behalf of the Moldovan Society of Soil Science, and then provided an overview of the Chernozems of the Balti Steppe. This was complemented with a presentation, by Dr. Cezary Kabala (Chair of the IUSS WRB Working Group), on the global significance of chernozemic soils. Further information regarding the 2024 IUSS WSY can be obtained by contacting Dr. Boincean (bboincean@gmail.com).

In recognition of the success of various national programs, the IUSS WSY program has been implemented to enhance soil literacy across numerous countries and on a global scale. It is expected that this will aid in compiling a registry of soil heritage, to recognize the inherent natural and cultural values of soils, thereby helping to open doors for soil science to integrate with environmental protection activities and projects. A dedicated webpage is currently being developed for the WSY program on the IUSS website.

To support promotion of the 2024 IUSS WSY, a special issue of Geoderma Regional will be published with a focus on chernozemic soils internationally – this is now open for submissions. Further details can be obtained by contacting Cezary Kabala (cezary.kabala@upwr.edu.pl).

Efforts are also currently underway to convert the IUSS WSY Task Force to a regular Working Group within Division 1 – Soils in Space and Time. In the meantime, the call for nominations for the 2025 IUSS WSY is already open. Inquiries, regarding either participating in the Task Force/Working Group or the 2025 IUSS WSY call, can be directed to the Chair of Division 1, Richard J Heck (iuss.div1@gmail.com).

IUSS World Soil of the Year Working Group
Stephan Mantel – Chair / stephan.mantel@wur.nl
Jose Joao L. L. De Souza – Vice-chair / jjlelis@ufv.br
Boris Boincean – member
Cesary Kabala – member
Daniela Sauer – member
David Badia-Villas – member
David Dent – member
Edoardo Constantini – member
Eduardo Guimaraes Couto – member
Klaus Jarosch – member
Péter László – member
Pierre Roudier – member
Richard Heck – member
Sergey Goryachkin – member

Word Soil Year Guidelines 2025

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