IUSS Alert - 24 (April 2007)
Information for and from the global soil science community
Nominations for IUSS officers by 30th June 2007
If you would like to become an IUSS officer for the period 2010-2014 you need to be nominated first and then elected. The elections will be held later this year but nominations for all officers need to be received by the Secretary General before the end of June 2007. Nominations can be done by (i) a current division or commission officer, (ii) your own national soil science society, but (iii) you can also nominate yourself. All nominations need to include a 300 words short bio (and an URL to your homepage if you have one) and please send them to Stephen Nortcliff at
New IUSS Newsletters
Pedometron
This 21st Pedometron newsletter (first one was published in 1991) is the biggest so far and compiled by the Commission chair Murray Lark and Vice chair Budiman Minasny. In this new Pedometron issue there is an article on plans and activities of the IUSS Working Group Digital Soil Mapping, on early pedometric problems and early pedometricians, on nominations for the best paper awards in pedometrics (a good tradition), on soil bibliometrics and the h index, on variability of SOC, fractals and mutlifractals (not of your bones), on the Pedometrics conference in August 2007 (Germany), reports of conferences and courses, vacancies, and a short profile of a pedometrician and non-pedometrican. Click here for the PDF.
Soil history
The 14th Newsletter of the Commission on the History, Philosophy and Sociology of Soil Science of the IUSS and the SSSA Council is the first produced by the new Commission chair ED Landa and the Vice Chair Christian Feller. The newsletter starts with an introduction by the new officers who are in charge since the 18th World Congress of Soil Science (WCSS). In this newsletter you find articles on the soil history website by Eric Brevik, CD with historical USA publications, full report on the 18th WCSS by Benno Warkentin including an overview of the presentations of soil history in different countries and parts of the world, an article by Rattan Lal on history of agriculture and the plough, an article by Benno Warkentin on the former British West Indies. Click here for the PDF.
Free books on the web
Most scientific information is exchanged through our journals, but some of it takes places through books and reports. These are great times for those of us that like to chase information and be up to date with what is available. With Google Scholar you can pick up grey literature whereas with Google Books you can view parts of many soil science books, and sometimes the whole book. Now a collection of historic soil science and agricultural books (including those of von Liebig, Jenny, Albrecht, Howard, King) can be freely downloaded from the holistic agricultural library, click here. Dr Budiman Minasny from the University of Sydney scanned V.V. Dokuchaev's Russian Chernozem. It is a PDF of 48 Mb and if you like a copy send him an . Something else: if you like the books of Ernest Hemingway and what he said about the soil (book by H.R. Mount: Hemingway's tribute to soil) click here. Keep reading folks!
Soil Microbiology, Ecology, and Biochemistry
3rd Edition
Now in its third edition, Eldor Paul and a team of experts in soil microbiology and agronomy include six new chapters, full-color throughout, the latest techniques for studying soil organisms and their processes, and more! New chapters in this edition include: Bio-remediation; Soil Molecular Biology; Biodiversity; Global Climate Change; Basic Physiology; and Ecological Interpretations. Also discussed is new information on exciting emerging methodology, tracers, molecular analysis, and computer applications. This classic revised text now provides a companion website with figures for classroom presentation use. IUSS members, receive a 10% discount today! More details here
Bibliographic & ordering Information:
Hardbound, 552 pages, publication date: January 2007
ISBN-13: 9780125468077
ISBN-10: 0125468075
Imprint: Academic Press
Price: GBP 41.99, US$72.95, EUR 60.95
EUROSOIL Congress 2008 "Soil - Society - Environment"
Vienna (Austria) 25-29 August, 2008
EUROSOIL 2008 is organised by the European Confederation of Soil Science Societies (ECSSS) in cooperation with the IUSS and the national Societies of Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slowak Republic, Slowenia and Switzerland. There will be 30 symposia, 9 workshops, several meetings and numerous pre - and post-congress excursions in Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slowak Republic, Slowenia and Switzerland. All information is now available, including deadlines and registration form, under www.ecsss.net or contact Winfried Blum at
Deadline IUSS bulletin 110 (that's the next one)
All material for the next IUSS Bulletin should be in before the end of April 2007. Send all announcements, polemics, articles, book reviews, reports of meetings, all brilliant and unusual ideas (and lesser ones) to the . We will happily publish them!
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