IUSS Alert 208 (October 2022)

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IUSS News

Outcome of 2022 IUSS Presidential Election

Victor Okechukwu Chude from Nigeria, former President of the Soil Society of Nigeria, received 47 votes in his favour, no votes against and no abstaining votes. All votes cast equal 61% of the Council members.

He will take up the position of President-Elect on 1st January, 2023.He will be the first African IUSS President (2025/26) in the history of IUSS and will celebrate with us the next WCSS in China in 2026.

Let us congratulate him on this success!

If you want to know more about Prof. Chude, please click here: https://www.iuss.org/about-the-iuss/iuss-presidential-election/.

News from national soil science societies

Soil Science Society of China

Newsletter Vol.5 and Vol.6 recently launched

The two most recent newsletters of the Soil Science Society of China are now available online. Policy highlights include the passing of a new law to strengthen black soil protection.

General News

Global assessment of storm disaster-prone area

Rainfall Erosivity Density (RED) is a measure of rainstorm aggressiveness and a proxy indicator of damaging hydrological events. By using measured Rainfall Erosivity Density (RED) for 3,625 raingauges worldwide and applying kriging methodologies, we could identify the damaging hydrological hazard-prone areas that exceed warning and alert thresholds (1.5 and 3.0 hm-2 h-1 yr-1, respectively). In this study, we analysed the spatial pattern of hydrological hazard associated with rainfall erosivity with a global-scale visualisation. The results indicated that about 31% and 19% of the world’s land area have a greater than 50% probability of exceeding the warning and alert thresholds. Data available:

[From ESDAC Newsletter 146, October 2022]

Land and Soil Management Award

The European Land Owners Organisation (ELO) is going to reward land use and soil management practices mitigating soil threats. You can apply for this award until 15 January 2023. The award is bestowed to the winner every year during the Forum for the Future of Agriculture.

[From ESDAC Newsletter 146, October 2022]

Phosphorus budget and P stocks

We estimate the Phosphorus (P) budget from agricultural lands of EU and UK (ca. 173 million ha). This takes into account the P inputs (fertilizers, manure, chemical weathering, atmospheric deposition) and the P outputs (crop production, plant residues removal, losses by erosion) for the period 2011–2019. The P budget and the P inputs/outputs are available at NUTS2 (Regional scale) and country scale. In addition, we estimate the P displacement and losses due to water erosion at catchment scale and aggregate them at sea outlet. We make also the datasets for both Total P and Available P (Olsen) concentration and stocks available. More details of the empirical model is given in the published study.

Data available: https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/content/phosphorus-budget-and-p-stocks [From ESDAC Newsletter 145, September 2022]

Call for costs of sediments removal

The EUSO Working group on soil erosion addresses the question on the costs of sediments removal. This WG will develop a study on estimating the off-site costs of soil erosion. Therefore, there is a call for data on the costs of removing sediments from dams, ports, rivers, etc. In case you are aware of studies or reports quantifying the costs of removing sediments (or energy revenue costs due to sedimentation), please contact the WG chair: panos.panagos@ec.europa.eu. The overall objective is to have a pan European estimation of sediments removal. The topic will be also addressed during the WG soil erosion session on 26th October 2022.

[From ESDAC Newsletter 145, September 2022]

BBC The Compass talks “The Living Soil”

This past month the BBC World Service’s The Compass podcast featured stories on “The Living Soil”. These episodes feature researchers and practitioners whose work focuses on the importance of soil life and its protection.

[From GSBI Newsletter – October 2022]

Soil macroinvertebrate communities: A world-wide assessment

Read the article by Patrick Lavell and colleagues in Global Ecology and Biogeography.

Macroinvertebrates comprise a highly diverse set of taxa with great potential as indicators of soil quality. Communities were sampled at 3,694 sites distributed world-wide. We aimed to analyse the patterns of abundance, composition and network characteristics and their relationships to latitude, mean annual temperature and rainfall, land cover, soil texture and agricultural practices.

[From GSBI Newsletter – October 2022]

2023 GFFA Science Slam – Apply now!

Dear students, doctoral researchers, young scientists and postdocs,

We would like to invite you to apply to perform at the GFFA Science Slam in Berlin on 20 January 2023. You will present your research project live in front of a great audience. As slammer, you will also get a booth at the Innovation Forum on 19 and 20 January to present your research subject to visitors. Upon your successful application, accommodation and travel expenses will be covered.

The GFFA Science Slam is a competition during which presenters (“slammers”) introduce their scientific research topics, which should match the GFFA topic, in an entertaining way. The focus is on giving a diverse, primarily non-expert audience the opportunity to learn scientific concepts. The audience then votes on the slams, judging them not only on scientific content but also on comprehensibility and on their entertainment value. The presentation with the highest audience rating receives a prize at the end of the event. You can watch the 2022 GFFA Science Slam (virtual event) on the GFFA Review website and get impressions of the GFFA Science Slam 2020 (in presence) here.

Apply here with your research subject, your slam concept and a short introduction video of yourself by latest 12 November 2022!

For more information on the topic look at the background paper or visit the GFFA homepage.

2022 Earth Week Webinars

The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) hosted a webinar titled “Updating Soil Survey to Meet Dynamic New Challenges and Sustainable Soils for a Sustainable Planet”.

This was the final webinar in the 2022 Earth Science Week series. It highlighted the importance of maintaining soil quality and how to do so sustainably, such as by incorporating organisms into the soil food web to enhance soil quality. The speakers also showcased the use of GIS in mapping soils, with a case study on a project in Kansas that focuses on the Keith soil series.

[From ASA, CSSA, SSSA Science Policy Report, October 26, 2022]

What is blue carbon, and why is it important?

“Blue carbon” is a term for carbon captured by the world’s oceans and coastal ecosystems. Mangrove forests, tidal marshes, and seagrass beds are the main vegetated coastal areas that store vast amounts of blue carbon. It’s not really blue – it’s named after the color of the ocean. Blue carbon is an important tool in reducing the effects of climate change.

[From ASA, CSSA, SSSA Science Policy Report, October 26, 2022]

Conferences, Meetings and Workshops

Due to the Corona pandemic and ensuing travel restrictions many of the events planned for 2020 and 2021 had to be cancelled or postponed. For a current list of upcoming events, please consult the IUSS website: https://www.iuss.org/meetings-events/

2022

1st Brazilian Meeting of Soil Micromorphology

11 to 15 November 2022

São Paulo, Brazil

The mini course and the event itself will be held in the premises of the Luiz de Queiroz School of Agriculture (ESALQ) in Piracicaba, University of São Paulo (USP). The tour will travel a route between Piracicaba, São Pedro and Itaqueri da Serra, showing the microstructures of soil profiles and their relations with the landscapes.

Website: http://rbms.esalq.usp.br/

Webinar on mercury contaminated sites

14 December 2022

3 to 5 pm Central Europe Time

Simultaneous translation English / Spanish will be organized.

The program will be available in early November.

The COMMON FORUM on Contaminated Land Management in Europe (www.commonforum.eu), the Latin American Network for the Prevention and Management of Contaminated Sites – ReLASC (www.relasc.org), and the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention (www.mercuryconvention.org) share an interest to exchange regarding the implementation of the Minamata convention, in particular as well in developing cooperation to countries and colleagues in Latin-America.

Two main topics will be addressed through the presentation of concrete cases and interventions of experts: polluted sites by chlor-alkali-plants and remediation of mercury polluted sites.

2023

Intersol 2023 – Soil: a springboard for the transition of territories

28-30 March 2023

Lille, France

Deadline for submission of papers: December 12, 2022

Topics of the conference:

• Sustainable soil management • Diagnosis and treatment of pollutants in soils • Territorial planning and conversion of sites • Biodiversity and environmental risks • Regulatory and legal news • Special session: young researchers, creators of innovation, startups

InterPore2023

22-25 May 2023

Edinburgh, Scotland

Deadline for submitting abstracts: Monday, 12 December 2022

Event page: www.interpore.org/2023 Flyer: https://www.iuss.org/media/interpore2023_flyer_compressed.pdf

4^th Global Soil Security Conference (GSS2023) – Global Soil Security: Beyond the Soil

26–29 June 2023

Seoul, Korea

Deadline for Abstract submission: March 31, 2023

Deadline for registration: June 16, 2023

Soil security has become the central dogma of the sustainable soil management that should integrate the roles of soil functions for soil health, ecosystem services, climate change and human health. We will tailor the GSS 2023 programs specifically to connecting soil security to the theme of GSS 2023.

First Announcement: https://www.iuss.org/media/gss_2023_1st_announcement_0928.pdf

Conference website: https://www.gss2023.org

2024

ISMOM 2024 – 9th International Symposium of Interactions of Soil Minerals with Organic Components and Microorganisms

10-14 October 2024

Tsukuba, Japan

Following the spirit of ISMOM, we plan to put a focus on “aggregate” or “soil structure” as the physical constraints for the interactions among minerals, organic matter, and microbes in soil. Among regular topics of ISMOM, we also hope to cover topics associated with volcanic soil and paddy soil. You will have a chance to see these soils in the landscape at the post-conference field trip (October 15-17).

For the complete list of upcoming events, please see the event calendar on the IUSS website: https://www.iuss.org/meetings-events/

New publications

Soil for Nutrition: state of the art

FAO, 2022. Rome, Italy. 96 pages, ISBN: 978-92-5-136610-3.

Food starts with soils, and as the target date to accomplish the SDGs grows closer, it is more urgent than ever to reverse soil degradation and tackle its effects on agrifood systems. This booklet aims to review the role of soil fertility in producing sufficient, safe, and more nourishing food for healthier plants, animals, and people. It also offers recommendations for solutions that can provide a more nutritious agrifood system for enhancing human health and wellbeing while protecting the environment. Soil fertility and nutrition involve processes at scales ranging from molecules to the entire planet. Our interventions in these processes may exacerbate the global challenges we face but can also be modified to solve them. This booklet contributes to understanding processes related to soil fertility from the perspectives of food production and food security, and the environmental and climate change impacts associated with fertilizer misuse and overuse. The booklet also outlines the main areas of opportunity and the way forward to solve the nutrient imbalance prevailing in our current agrifood systems.

Download: https://www.fao.org/3/cc0900en/cc0900en.pdf or https://doi.org/10.4060/cc0900en.

Improving soil health

Edited by Prof. William R. Horwath, University of California-Davis, USA. Published by Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing on 11 October 2022, 470 pages, ISBN-13: 9781786766700, hard cover: GBP 150.00.

The book provides a considered assessment of key management strategies to enhance the physical, chemical and biological health of soils in achieving sustainable improvements in crop yields. The book reviews the role of cultivation practices as well as organic and other soil amendments, such as biofertilizers. By assessing the dimensions of soil health, and reviewing the wealth of evidence on how well individual techniques contribute to improving soil, the book shows how farmers can achieve sustainable improvements in both productivity and profitability.

*Special Offer*

Receive 20% off your purchase of the book using code ISH20 via the BDS Website. Discount code expires 31^st December 2022.

Micronutrient Fertilizer Use in Pakistan

Historical Perspective and 4R Nutrient Stewardship

By Abdul Rashid, Munir Zia, Waqar Ahmad. First edition published September 13, 2022 by CRC Press, 340 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations, ISBN 9781032307626. Price hardback GBP 104.00 (excl. sales tax); VitalSource eBook: purchase GBP 35.99, 6-month rental GBP 24.75.

Micronutrient research has been an important component of the soil fertility and plant nutrition program in Pakistan since the identification of zinc deficiency in rice in 1969. Since then, considerable progress has been made on diagnosis and management of micronutrient nutrition problems in crops. However, now there is growing R&D evidence that micronutrient malnutrition in humans could be addressed through enriching staple food grains with micronutrients.

This book presents the latest R&D information on micronutrient problems in crop plants/cropping systems and their corrective measures. The current status, the constraints, and economic benefits of using micronutrient fertilizers for optimizing crop productivity and soil resource sustainability are discussed along with estimating future potential requirement of micronutrient fertilizers to optimize crop productivity, produce quality, and soil resource sustainability.

Job offers

If you are interested in working in soil sciences and related fields of expertise, please see current job offers at: https://www.iuss.org/jobs/

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