IUSS Alert - 21 (January 2007)
Information for and from the global soil science community
Happy 2007!
We have now entered a New Year and I wish all soil scientists the very best for a successful and prosperous 2007. I look forward to continued activity amongst soil scientist working together to sustain the soil and its diverse functions. The International Year of Planet Earth will be in 2008 and we are actively involved in the final stages of this programme and look forward to widespread involvement from soil scientists working together with other scientists and across national boundaries.
Stephen Nortcliff
Secretary General IUSS
Year of Planet Earth brochure - now also in French
The French Soil Science Society (Association Francaise pour leEtude du Sol) is happy to announce the release of the brochure 'Le sol Epiderme vivant de la Terre'. Click here to download the PDF (6.8 Mb). The International committee of the International Year of Planet Earth has produced a series of 12 brochures on the scientific themes and outreach program launched by the International Year. The one on the soil called 'Soil - Earth's living skin' was written by David Dent, Alfred Hartemink and John Kimble. The brochures are targeted towards the general public, but they need to be translated to national languages and adapted to the local context. 'Le sol Epiderme vivant de la Terre' is the translation into French by Roland Poss and Alain Ruellan. May this endeavour trigger other translations into many other languages!
Click here to download the brochure in French, here in English.
The Future of Soil Science
The booklet 'The Future of Soil Science' can now be freely downloaded from the IUSS website. The book contains the views from 55 soil scientists in 28 countries - from Finland to South Africa, from Canada to Ghana, Malaysia and China. The result is a palette of opinions and views reflecting great diversity but also several commonalities. It aims to feed the discussion of the pessimists ('pedology is dead and buried') and the optimists ('future for soil science is brighter than ever'). This book is compulsory reading for anyone interested in soil science and its future directions. It was freely distributed at the 18th World Congress of Soil Science. Click here to download the PDF.
IUSS 2006; The Future of Soil Science / edited by Alfred E Hartemink (1964). Wageningen: IUSS International Union of Soil Sciences, 165 pp. ISBN 90-71556-16-6. . A printed copy costs $25
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