IUSS Alert 80 February 2012
IUSS Intercongress Meeting Korea, 3–8 June 2012
The IUSS Intercongress Meeting will be held 3-8 June 2012 at the International Convention Center (ICC) in Jeju, Korea - the same venue as for the 20th World Congress of Soil Science (8-13 June 2014). There will be several IUSS council meetings, a one day scientific symposium and scientific and cultural tours. Council meetings will start on 4 June and please send items for the agenda before 1st March to the Secretary General at . Information on the venue will be available soon but please contact the IUSS President Prof Jae Yang at
News from the British Society of Soil Science
Posters and Leaflets - The British Society of Soil Science have developed 8 topical soil education posters and accompanying leaflets which are free to download from their website at www.soils.org.uk/pages/education/education-downloads
The 2012 annual meeting - Soil Science with respect to Global Food Security will be hosted by the University of Nottingham. The meeting will focus on the required contributions and potential opportunities for soil science with respect to Global Food Security. The forecasted increasingly variable weather patterns will influence the environment and its ability to support sustainable food production. Major challenges include water scarcity, a decrease availability of key inputs to food production, managing carbon and differing local impacts of climate change. Soil science is at the heart of all these issues. The meeting will consist of two days with four sessions strongly related to the main theme and an un-themed session where presentations from any aspect of soil science are encouraged. We invite you to contribute oral and poster abstracts to this meeting, the deadline for submissions is the 1st May 2012. For further information please see the website www.soils.org.uk/events/event-88/
Conferences, Symposia, Meetings
Soils in Space and Time. 30 September – 4 October 2013, Ulm Danube, Germany. The programme is available from the conference website at https://iuss-division1.uni-hohenheim.de/. "Soils in Space and Time" is one of the key issues documenting the variability of the pedosphere. Soils are variable but all of us have a limited experience. Therefore it is of utmost importance to exchange knowledge from time to time and from place to place. As Division I was established by IUSS pedologists working in related fields of soil morphology, genesis, geography, classification are combined to join their efforts in order to improve and communicate their knowledge. Especially the dynamic commissions paleopedology and pedometrics can add new methods and findings to improve our work. This is especially also due to the working groups which feel related. This is the first divisional conference - Everybody should try to use the options given. Join us and make the new experience.
7th International Conference of the Urban Soils Working Group, SUITMA, of the International Union of Soil Sciences. Nicolaus Copernicus University of Torun, Poland. SUITMAs (Soils in Urban, Industrial, Traffic, Mining and Military Areas) are one of main components of urban ecosystem. They are very diverse and heterogeneous, and fulfill primary functions of utmost importance. SUITMA 7 is held in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Torun, famous for its gothic architecture. One-day pre-conference tour (Northern Poland red brick gothic castles), two-day mid-conference field tour (18 & 19 September 2013) will be offered in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Province and a post-conference tour (20 - 23 September 2013) will be organized in Poland and Czech Republic, with not only soils but also interesting social part (breweries visiting) included in the program and finish in Golden Prague, Czech capital, to address issues related to urban and industrial soils of Central Europe. We will be very pleased to invite you to participate in SUITMA 7 to share your ideas and experience for the benefit of urban communities and SUITMAs. For more information visit conference website: www.suitma7.umk.pl or email Przemyslaw CHARZYNSKI, Chairman of SUITMA 7: You are also welcomed to join SUITMA 7 group on Facebook to be instantly informed on news and updates concerning the Conference.
IUSS Global Soil C Conference, 3-7 June 2013, Madison, USA. The IUSS Global Soil Carbon Conference is an IUSS Division, Commission and Working Group conference that focuses on soil C in space and time, soil C properties and processes, soil C in relation to soil use and management, and the role of soil C in sustaining society and the environment. All Divisions, Commissions and Working Groups will have a special symposium highlighting and summarizing what is known about soil C in their soil science subdiscipline. It aims to become a soil science intradisciplinary conference focusing on a highly topical issue: soil C. Each Commission and Working Group will have about 30 to 45 minutes to present their work. It will be done in plenary and no separate sessions are planned in order to exploit the full benefits of the intradisciplinary approach. An approximately planning is given on the IUSS website, click here. More information soon.
8th International Symposium on Plant Soil Interactions at Low pH (8thPSILPH) will be held at University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, INDIA: Please submit abstracts before 31st March 2012. Visit www.8thpsilph.org.in for symposium details. The 8thPSILPH will provide a forum for the exchange of knowledge, information and ideas among scientists dealing with different aspects of agriculture and agro-ecology of acid soils. The 8thPSILPH continues the discussion on acid soil issues started in Canada in 1987, followed by subsequent symposia in USA (1990), Australia (1993), Brazil (1996), South Africa (2001), Japan (2004) and China (2009). The major theme of the 8thPSILPH will be Understanding Plant-Soil interactions at Low pH for Enhanced Crop Productivity.
Special issue on Soil as a Source & Sink for Greenhouse Gases
Science of the Total Environment; Guest Editors: Nanthi Bolan, Mary Beth Kirkham and Surinder Saggar. In view of the interest in soils as a source and sink of greenhouse emission in relation to global climate change, the Editors of the Science of the Total Environment have agreed to devote a thematic special issue to this topic. This Special Issue aims to gather all interested researchers in terrestrial ecosystems in which soil is used as a sink for carbon sequestration and to reduce greenhouse emissions in order to manage climate change. Confirmation of your contribution before 31st March 2012 including the title, the list of authors and potential reviewers (email to ). Submission is 31 September, 2012. Please closely follow the Guide to Authors which can be found on: www.journals.elsevier.com/science-of-the-total-environment/ and indicate in your submission that your paper is for that special issue.
Call for Nominations
The International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science, Division of History of Science and Technology (IUHPS/DHST) invites submissions for the third DHST Prize for Young Scholars, to be presented in 2013. Initiated at the 22nd International Congress of History of Science in 2005 held in Beijing, the DHST Prize is awarded by the IUHPS/DHST every four years to up to five young historians of science and technology for outstanding doctoral dissertations, completed within last four years. The 2013 DHST Prize will not specify distinct categories, but the entries must be on the history of science or technology in any part of the world. The Award Committee will endeavor to maintain the broadest coverage of subjects, areas and chronology. Each Prize consists of a certificate, assistance with travel and accommodation expenditures to the IUHPS/DHST Congress in Manchester in July 2013 and a waiver of registration fee. Submission deadline: 31 August 2012. Eligibility: Applicants must have a doctoral degree in the history of science, or technology awarded no earlier than July 2008.Application procedure: Along with an electronic version of original dissertations (and English summaries for non-English language papers), applications must be made in the Form Appendix 3, and received at the Award Committee Office no later than 31 August 2012:
DHST-YSP Office: , Institute for History of Natural Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Deadline: 29 February 2012
Rewarding leadership for sustainable land management
Applications for the 2012 Land for Life Award are now open. The award will go to inspiring initiatives which secure the health and productivity of soil for the well-being of present and future generations. The prize will be awarded to those efforts which reduce land degradation through sustainable land management, or are outstanding examples of political leadership, policy, business, advocacy campaigns or scientific research. The Jury particularly welcomes nominations of candidates whose work is: innovative, collaborative, achieved in partnership across sectors, supports free knowledge sharing and capacity building, empowers vulnerable and marginalized groups, and fosters gender equality, cultural diversity and social inclusion. Three awards will be granted in 2012 from a total prize fund of up to USD 100,000. The deadline for applications is 29 February 2012. Winners will be announced on the World Day to Combat Desertification, 17 June 2012. www.unccd.int/land4life/menu.php
Call For Entries: SSSA Awards & Scholarships
The Soil Science Society of America is accepting nominations for 2012 Awards, which honors researchers, educators, professionals, and students. Nominate someone for one of the dozens of awards (scholarships allow for self-nominations). Deadlines: March 21 to initiate online nominations and March 28 for reference letters and final submission.
New Publications
Geografía de suelos de México (Soil Geography of Mexico). Vol. I / P. Krasilnikov, F.J. Jiménez-Nava, T. Reyna-Trujillo, N.E. García-Calderón (eds.). Mexico: UNAM, Facultad de Ciencias, 2011. xvi+462 p. + 1 CD-ROM (12 cm). (In Spanish) ISBN: 978-607-02-2704-2. This book represents an extensive work on soil geography of Mexico. The first volume includes two major parts: an introduction to soil geography and the soil characteristics of 7 of the 17 physiographic regions of the country, the rest will be described in a second volume. This study is a joint effort of specialists from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), Postgraduate College and some other Mexican and foreign universities and institutions, with totally 35 contributors to the book. The publication is the first textbook and a desk reference edition on soil geography in Spanish. Thus, it is recommended not only for specialists from Mexico and neighboring countries, but for all the Spanish-speaking pedologists interested in the rules of spatial distribution of soils on the terrestrial surface. The contents of the 1st volume are the following: 1) Spatial distribution of soils and factors that determine it, 2) Parent material as a geographical factor of distribution of soils, 3) Climatic factor of soil distribution in Mexico, 4) Relief as a factor of soil distribution in Mexico, 5) Time as a factor of variation and geographical distribution of soils, 6) ecosystems as a factor of geographical distribution of soils, 7) Changes in soil cover due to anthropogenic influence: a focus on tropical regions, 8) Methodology of soil geography, 9) Pedodiversity: concept, evaluation and its use for global analysis of soils, 10) Mapping soil degradation in Mexico: evolution and perspectives, 11) Soil mapping and soil maps of Mexico, 12) Regional soil geography: Baja California’s peninsula, 13) Regional soil geography: Sonora’s flatland, 14) Regional soil geography: Sierra Madre Occidental, 15) Regional soil geography: the Great Planes of North America, 16) Regional soil geography: Yucatan’s peninsula, 17) Regional soil geography: Chiapas and Guatemala´s ridges, 18) Regional soil geography: Cordillera Centro Americana. For ordering information please contact: Rosanela Alvarez and Mercedes Perelló, Coordinación de Servicios Editoriales de la Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM:
Price: 30 USD
Amazon Forest and Savanna Lands. -A guide to the climates, vegetation, landscapes and soils of central Tropical South America. Thomas T. Cochrane and Thomas A. Cochrane. 2011. AMAZON. ISBN: 1452866376, EAN13: 9781452866376. Full Colour, 190 pages. Price $49. This book provides an overview of the land resources of the Amazon in terms of its complex of climates, landscapes, vegetation and soils. The main text is subdivided into 3 sections supported by "References to Studies” available free from the authors´ web site: http://www.agteca.org. Section 1 is an updated sequel to the pioneering digital Land Systems study of the region carried by the senior author and published by CIAT-EMBRAPA-CPAC in 1985 (ISBN 84-89206-39-2). The authors have re-digitized that study as a Personal Computer Version with Database. Section 2 summarizes 3 larger-scale land resource studies of critical areas of Amazonia; "The Geo-economic Region of Brasilia", "The Northern Amazon Region of Bolivia" and "The Western Amazon State of Rondonia, Brazil". It starts with a discussion on the methodology developed for those studies which was subsequently refined and adopted by the ISSS (now IUSS) in developing the SOTER methodology. Section 3 summarizes a series of novel findings from the studies. The main text is supported with 44 pages of appendices covering a series of practical technologies, including references to the authors’ equation to correct Al toxicity in mineral soils, their differential equation to estimate fertilizer needs, and their new osmotic potential equation that has helped elucidate “solution flow through the soil-plant continuum” and “K deficiency in plants”. In synthesis, the book in addition to providing an insight into the soils and ecological complex of forest and savanna lands throughout Amazonia, summarizes a series of technologies of importance to the study of tropical lands and agriculture in general. It is considered that it would be a valuable reference source for many soil, agronomic, plant and ecological scientists. The book is available from amazon.com
Carbon Sequestration in Agricultural Soils. A Multidisciplinary Approach to Innovative Methods. Piccolo, Alessandro (Ed.). 2012, 2012, XIII. Springer. ISBN: 978-3-642-23384-5. Hardcover, 307 pages. Price $129.00. This compilation of techniques, methodologies and scientific data arises from a four-year Italian research project, which took place at university research stations in Turin, Piacenza, Naples and Potenza. Soil Organic Matter (SOM) represents an active and essential pool of the total organic carbon on the planet. Consequently, even small changes in this SOM carbon pool may have a significant impact on the concentration of atmospheric CO2. Recent new understanding of the chemical nature of SOM indicates that innovative and sustainable technologies may be applied to sequester carbon in agricultural soils. Overall results of the project have been applied to develop an innovative model for the prediction and description, both quantitatively and qualitatively, of carbon sequestration in agricultural soils. This book provides experts in different areas of soil science with a complete picture of the effects of new soil management methods and their potentials for practical application in farm management.
Developments in Palygorskite-Sepiolite Research. A New Outlook on these Nanomaterials. Edited by Arieh Singer, Seagram Center for Soil & Water Research, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel, and Emilio Galan, Department of Crystallography, Mineralogy and Agriculture Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Seville, Seville, Spain. July, 2011. Elsevier. ISBN: 978-0-444-53607-5. Hardcover, 520 pages. Price $165.00. The aim of this comprehensive book is to present the most important results achieved in the research of the clay minerals palygorskite and sepiolite. Palygorskite and sepiolite have found to be useful in a huge variety of industrial and medical applications. As a result, research on these clays has been intensified during the last two decades, and important advances in their characterization have been made. The book contains contributions from distinguished scientists in the field.
The State of the World's Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture. Managing Systems at Risk. by FAO, 2011. Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group. ISBN: 978-1-84971-326-9. Hardcover, 294 pages. Price $160.00. ISBN: 978-1-84971-327-6. The State of Land and Water Resources (SOLAW) is FAO's first flagship publication on the global status of land and water resources. It is an 'advocacy' report, to be published every three to five years, and targeted at senior level decision makers in agriculture as well as in other sectors. SOLAW is aimed at sensitizing its target audience on the status of land resources at global and regional levels and FAO's viewpoint on appropriate recommendations for policy formulation. SOLAW focuses on these key dimensions of analysis: (i) quantity, quality of land and water resources, (ii) the rate of use and sustainable management of these resources in the context of relevant socio-economic driving factors and concerns, including food security and poverty, and climate change. This is the first time that a global, baseline status report on land and water resources has been made. It is based on several global spatial databases (e.g. land suitability for agriculture, land use and management, land and water degradation and depletion) for which FAO is the world-recognized data source. Topical and emerging issues on land and water are dealt with in an integrated rather than sectoral manner. The implications of the status and trends are used to advocate remedial interventions which are tailored to major farming systems within different geographic regions.