CA-COP-L Archives

Global Community of Practice on Conservation Agriculture

CA-Cop-L@LISTSERV.FAO.ORG

Options: Use Forum View

Use Monospaced Font
Show HTML Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Amir Kassam <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Amir Kassam <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 24 Jun 2015 23:05:27 +0100
Content-Type:
multipart/alternative
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (20 kB) , text/html (28 kB)
*CA-CoP* *CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE*

*for sustainable production intensification*


Dear Subscribers,


Please see herebelow the International Union of Soil Sciences - IUSS Alert
120.


Apologies for cross-posting.



*Amir Kassam *

*Moderator*

e-mail: [log in to unmask]

URL: www.fao.org/ag/ca

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: The International Union of Soil Sciences - IUSS <
[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 10:25 PM
Subject: IUSS Alert 120 (June 2015)
To: [log in to unmask]



    If you have problems reading this content - please follow this link to
the IUSS page <http://iuss.boku.ac.at/index.php?article_id=538>IUSS Alert
120 (June 2015)

[image: Facebook Logo]
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/International-Union-of-Soil-Sciences/291392794207721>
[image:
Linked in Logo]
<http://www.linkedin.com/groups/IUSS-International-Union-Soil-Sciences-2871883/about>


IUSS Bulletin 126

The new IUSS Bulletin 126 has been published. It contains reports from the
Secretariat, Divisions, Commissions, Working groups and national soil
science societies. Furthermore chapters dedicated to the International Year
of Soils and 90 years of soil classification are included. Beside
contributions to the serie of five questions to a soil scientist the
collection of the last Alerts, upcoming meetings and recently published
books can be found in the Bulletin.
It can be downloaded from the IUSS website
<http://iuss.boku.ac.at/files/iuss126_def_300dpi.pdf>

________________________________________________________________________________

Digital Soil Morphometrics

The IUSS Working Group on Digital Soil Morphometrics held its inaugural
global workshop 1-4 June 2015 in Madison, USA. The workshop focused on in
situ soil property assessment, soil depth functions, mapping and imaging of
the soil profile and use and application of digital soil morphometrics. The
workshop was attended by 70 soil scientists from over 15 countries.
The Second Global Workshop on Digital Soil Morphometrics will be held 20-23
June 2017 at The James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland UK. For more
information see http://www.digitalsoilmorphometrics.org

________________________________________________________________________________

Watercolors Collection of Soil Profiles of Prof. Kubiëna

On the website of the Institute of Agricultural Sciences (ICA) there is a
presentation which contains photographs of some of the original watercolors
of soil profiles of Prof. Kubiena, as well as the full collection of their
smaller reproductions. This collection has an extraordinary historical
value and demonstrates the efforts made by this scientist to establish the
pillars of soil micromorphology during his stay at the former Institute of
Soil Science and Plant Biology, currently Institute of Agricultural
Sciences. These small plates were used as illustrations in the book of
Prof. Kubiëna, “The Soils of Europe”, published simultaneously in German
(“Bestimmungsbuch und Systematik der Böden Europas”), and Spanish (“Claves
Sistemáticas de Suelos”), a work considered during many years a master
piece for the study and teaching of Pedology. Following the success of
these publications, a new book was prepared, “Atlas of Soil Profiles” (also
published in Spanish, “Atlas de Perfiles de Suelos”), in order the readers
could keep loose the coloured plates of soil profiles.
The original watercolors from this collection were painted by Gertrud
Kallab and Anton Prazak. This work also contributes to the celebrations of (
CSIC) and the Spanish Soil Science Society (SECS) to commemorate “2015
International Year of Soils” (UN Resolution A/RES/68/232). Website:
http://www.ica.csic.es/Kubiena2/index-en.html .
Corresponding article “Art in Science: Kubiena’s Soil Profiles in
Watercolors” posted by John Freeland June 14, 2015:
http://blogs.agu.org/terracentral/2015/06/14/art-in-science-kubienas-soil-profiles-in-watercolors/

________________________________________________________________________________

Soil Atlas of Latin America and the Caribbean (English and and Portuguese
version available)

On 10-11 June 2015, the EU held a high level summit with the Community of
Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) under the title “Shaping our
common future: working for prosperous, cohesive and sustainable societies
for our citizens”. On this occasion, the English and Portuguese versions of
the JRC Soil Atlas of Latin America and the Caribbean were launched. This
publication was offered by the Commission President to the 61 heads of
delegation, including more than 40 heads of state or government from CELAC
and EU Member States taking part in the summit.
The Soil Atlas of Latin American and the Caribbean is an initiative funded
by the EUROCLIMA programme, which aims to promote cooperation between Latin
America and the European Union (EU) in the field of climate change. The aim
of the atlas is to support sustainable soil management, and to help promote
an understanding of the state of and importance of soil in order to
encourage its preservation . Produced by the JRC, this Atlas sets out to
improve communication and raise the awareness of the general public,
politicians and scientists about the importance of the soil in Latin
America. English version is available (Portuguese in draft) from:
http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/library/maps/LatinAmerica_Atlas/

________________________________________________________________________________

Cover Management (C-factor) for soil erosion modelling

The C-factor (USLE/RUSLE erosion modelling) accounts for how land cover,
crops and crop man-agement cause soil loss to vary from those losses
occurring in bare fallow areas. The C-factor is perhaps the most important
factor with regard to policy and land use decisions, as it represents
conditions that can be most easily managed to reduce erosion. The Cover
Management high res-olution dataset (100 m) is based on the hybrid C-factor
Land Use and Management (LANDUM) model. The LANDUM model for C-factor
estimation is differentiated between a) arable lands and b) all other land
uses (non-arable). In arable lands, the C-factor is estimated using crop
statistics (% of arable land per crop type) and data on management
practices such as reduced tillage (no till), plant residues and winter
cover crops. The C-facto r in non-arable lands is modelled by weighting the
range of values found in literature according to fractional vegetation
cover, which was estimated based on the COPERNICUS Remote Sensing dataset
Fcover.
Data for C-factor and management practices are available from:
http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/library/themes/erosion/CoverManagement/

________________________________________________________________________________

Landform classification (Data available)

The landform classification following Meybeck et al. (2001) presents relief
classes, which are cal-culated based on the relief roughness. Roughness and
elevation are classified based on a DEM according to static thresholds,
with a given window size. The landform classification following Iwahashi
and Pike (2007) present relief classes which are classified using an
unsupervised nested-means algorithm and a three part geometric signature.
Slope gradient, surface texture and local convexity are calculated based on
the SRTM30 DEM, within a given window size.
Data are available for download:
http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/projects/landform/

________________________________________________________________________________

Dairy Grazing Management Can Restore Soils, Reduce Carbon Footprint

Well-maintained pastures prevent erosion, protect water and, as it turns
out, can restore the soil’s organic matter much more quickly than
previously thought, according to a team of researchers from the University
of Georgia and the University of Florida. Source:
http://www.cornucopia.org/2015/05/dairy-grazing-management-can-restore-soils-reduce-carbon-footprint/

________________________________________________________________________________

An animated introduction to soils functions and threats – © FAO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZNanlXMXk4#t=14 , by the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

________________________________________________________________________________

Soils and Biodiversity

Soils host a quarter of our planet’s biodiversity. Soil is one of nature’s
most complex ecosystems: it contains a myriad of organisms which interact
and contribute to the global cycles that make all life possible.

Related links: http://www.fao.org/soils-2015/en/ ; a pdf can be downloaded
from
http://www.fao.org/resources/infographics/infographics-details/en/c/285727/

________________________________________________________________________________

Soil stories blog - call for submissions

It doesn’t matter if you’re a farmer, landholder, soil scientist,
policymaker or gardener… Tell your soil story by contributing to the blog!
One of the primary aims of this international year is to raise awareness
about the multiple roles that soils play in all of our lives. By carrying
out multiple functions, healthy soils ensure a productive food system,
improved rural livelihoods and a healthy environment. You too can raise
awareness and safeguard our planet’s soils by posting on the official IYS
(International Year of Soils) blog.

As FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said at the launch of the IYS
on 5 December 2014, “The multiple roles of soils often go unnoticed. Soils
don’t have a voice, and few people speak out for them but they are our
silent ally in food production.” Speak out for soils! So far the blog has
been a success with a wide range of stories from an ecosystem ecologist’s
search for soil microorganisms in the Arctic, to a project on waste/soils
carried out by a teacher and his students in Spain and an Austrian
microbiologist’s experiment and time-lapse video on building humus.

Submissions can focus on:

   - The multiple roles that soils play in the lives of people from diverse
   regions of the world
   - The wide variety of ecosystem services that soils provide
   - The challenges we face including soil degradation, deforestation,
   desertification, drought and other environmental issues
   - Successful soil conservation practices

Join the soil stories blog and help communicate the profound importance of
soils for human life.
http://www.fao.org/soils-2015/news/news-detail/en/c/287757/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social+media&utm_campaign=fao+facebook

________________________________________________________________________________

Innsbruck Nature Film Festival: Movie category soils - a non-renewable
livelihood!

Soil is the foundation of our lives and of all ecosystem services, although
it is so far little present in public consciousness. But it is a very
important part of our nature: it enables food production, serves as an
important water storage and water filter, converts and dissipates organic
residues and makes pollutants harmless. Remarkably there are more organisms
living in soils than on its surface! Today we take soil for granted,
resulting in numerous negative consequences such as soil loss and soil
destruction. 350-400 km² of arable soils are lost every day worldwide. Now
it is necessary to protect soils sustainably as a resource and therefore
for our existence. For that reason the United Nations proclaimed 2015 as
the International Year of Soils. The World Soil Day (5th of December) also
offers an annually opportunity to point the way for the impor tance of soil
as a resource and to campaign for soil protection. This year the Innsbruck
Nature Film Festival calls to send in films about soils. For the first time
there is a separate category for films concerning soils which also has its
own film award. The best film on the topic of soil will be awarded a prize
worth 2.000 €.

Each film is an important contribution to raise awareness for soil. For
more information see: http://www.inff.eu/competition/prizes/

________________________________________________________________________________

Conferences, Meetings and Workshops
IUSS Commission on Paleopedology and INQUA Project RAISIN IYS 2015 Activity
– Workshop “Soils and Paleosols of Brazil” Campinas, São Paulo State,
Brazil, August 23-29, 2015

Organized by the IUSS Commission on Paleopedology and INQUA Project RAISIN,
local organizers: Alessandro Batezelli and Francisco S. B. Ladeira. 23/8:
Welcome reception/dinner, 24-25/8: Field trips to Poços de Caldas (MG),
Piracicaba, and Itirapina (SP): Tropical Soils (Ferralsols, Acrisols,
Plinthosols, Bauxite profiles etc.), 26/8: Workshop at University of
Campinas, 27-28/8: Field Trip to Cananéia (SP) and Ilha Comprida (SP):
Tropical Podzols, including a Quaternary Podzol Chronosequence, 29/8:
Return to Campinas via São Paulo Airport. Registration and abstract
submission open until 15 July 2015. Website:
https://ppsg2011.uni-hohenheim.de/94442
Catchment Science 2015 conference, Wexford, Ireland, September 28-30, 2015.

This international conference will explore the latest developments in
catchment science and their application to the environmental and economic
challenges facing farmers, policy makers and regulators. Conference
sessions: Detecting change and lag times – patience and policy
implementation; Integrated approaches to solving catchment policy
questions; Soil analysis and nutrient management – achieving environmental
and agronomic goals; Farmer engagement, behavioural change and knowledge
exchange; Adaptive management approaches to reducing nutrient loss risk;
Disentangling the impact of multiple stressors on aquatic ecology; Soil
erosion – measurement and mitigation; Economic analysis of
environmentally-based regulations. For more information and full details on
conference abstract submission and registration visit:
http://www.teagasc.ie/agcatchments/catchmentscience2015.asp
9th International Symposium on Plant‐Soil Interactions at Low pH (PSILPH),
Dubrovnik, Croatia October 18-23, 2015

Deadline for registration and submission of papers extended till June 30.
More details about the symposium can be found at
http://www.agroekologija.eu/9thpsilph
4th Meeting of ENSA (European Network on Soil Awareness), Milan, October
21-22, 2015.

The meeting will take place directly at the EXPO October 21, 2015. The
second part of the conference will be at the JRC of the EU in Ispra close
to Milan, October 22, 2015. The conference is open to both soil specialists
with interest in raising awareness of soils as well as other interest
groups whose role involves an understanding of specific aspects of soil,
for example, planners, teachers, and local authorities. The conference
offers the opportunity for exchanging ideas and experiences in raising soil
awareness. Event website: http://www.bodenbuendnis.org/ensa/
VI International Conference on Environmental, Industrial and Applied
Microbiology – BioMicroWorld2015, Barcelona, Spain, October 28-30, 2015.

Deadlines for abstract submission: 21 July for oral presentations and 4
August for poster/virtual presentations. Registration will be open until 10
September 2015. This new edition will provide an excellent opportunity to
learn and discuss about the latest research results in the fields of
industrial microbiology, biotechnology, environmental sciences, food and
medical microbiology and other related fields. The proceedings of the
meeting will be formally released as a book that will be titled ‘Microbes
in the spotlight: recent progress in the understanding of beneficial and
harmful microorganisms’. The book will be published by BrownWalker Press,
which will ensure an adequate international distribution and availability.

Deadline for full paper submission: 12 November 2015. More information:
http://www.biomicroworld2015.org
Celebration of International Year of Soils 2015 – Achievements and Future
Challenges, IAEA/Vienna International Centre, Austria, December 7, 2015

The IUSS together with the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in
Food and Agriculture is organizing this conference in Vienna to celebrate
the International Year of Soils (IYS) together with the World Soil Day (WSD).
Speakers from regional soil science societies (Africa, East and Southeast
Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America), the IUSS Council, the
chairs and vice-chairs of the IUSS Divisions, Commissions and Working
Groups as well as several high level representatives from FAO, IAEA and
partners (e.g. European Commission, European Environment Agency, European
Geosciences Union, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies) will be
invited to discuss the achievements of the IYS and the future challenges in
soil science as well as opportunities for international cooperation.
7th Global Workshop on Digital Soil Mapping, Århus, Denmark, June 27 – July
1, 2016

Topics include: Data collection, acquiring new input information and
auxiliary data (especially remote sensing, proximal soil sensing, digital
terrain model data, citizen science etc.); data combination, Soil and
environmental sampling optimization for DSM purposes, Scorpan model
functions (classification and regression trees, random forests, artificial
neural networks, etc.) Introducing new methods and models and modification
of the older ones, Exploitation and processing of legacy data, Mapping
scale issues, upscaling and downscaling, maps disaggregation; harmonization
of maps of different origin, Map uncertainty assessment, Visualization of
the DSM products, Applications of DSM (e.g. soil organic carbon mapping,
soil degradation maps), GlobalSoilMap project.
Please visit the webpage for further info:
http://digitalsoil.auinstallation35.cs.au.dk/digital-soil-mapping-workshop-2016/
Second Global Workshop on Digital Soil Morphometrics, The James Hutton
Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland UK, 20-23 June 2017.

For more information see http://www.digitalsoilmorphometrics.org

________________________________________________________________________________

New publications
Soil Chemistry, 4th Edition

by Daniel G. Strawn, Hinrich L. Bohn, George A. O’Connor, June 2015, by
Wiley-Blackwell. 392 pages, ISBN: 978-1-118-62923-9. Paperback €56.30,
Hardcover €125.00. Soil Chemistry 4e provides comprehensive coverage of the
chemical interactions among organic and inorganic solids, air, water,
microorganisms, and the plant roots in soil. The fourth edition of Soil
Chemistry has been revised and updated throughout and provides a basic
description of important research and fundamental knowledge in the field.
The text covers chemical processes that occur in soils, including:
distribution and species of nutrients and contaminants in soils; aqueous
chemistry of soil solutions and mineral dissolution; oxidation and
reduction reactions in soils; soil mineral formation processes and
properties; the formation and reactivity of soil organic matter; surface
chemistry and cation, anion, and organic compound adsorption reactions;
modelling soil chemical reactions; and reactions in acid and salt affected
soils. Although extensively revised with updated figures and tables, the
fourth edition maintains the focus on introductory soil chemistry that has
distinguished earlier editions. New chapters on properties of elements
relevant to soil chemistry, and a chapter with special focus on soil
surface characteristics have been added. Special Topics boxes are also
included in the Fourth Edition that includes examples, noteworthy topics,
and case studies. End of chapter questions are included as a resource for
teaching.
Determination of Metals in Natural Waters, Sediments and Soils

by T. R. Crompton, June 2015, Elsevier. 318 pages, ISBN: 978-0-12-802654-0.
Hardcover €79,01. The book provides analytic labs with a comprehensive
overview of the various methods available for analysis of metals and serves
as a manual to determine metal concentrations in different media such as
natural waters, waste waters, sediments and soils. The book begins with a
discussion of sampling techniques and preservation and then covers metals
in rivers, surface ground and mineral waters and metals in aqueous
precipitation. It concludes with detailed information on analysis of metals
in sediments. Determination of Metals in Natural Waters, Sediments and
Soils provides a foundation for informed action by environmental interest
groups and regulators and a starting point for further study by graduate
students, professionals, and researchers

________________________________________________________________________________

IUSS Alerts are e-mailed to nearly 10,000 people in over 100 countries.
Please forward the IUSS Alerts to your friends and colleagues. Send
information for IUSS Alerts to [log in to unmask]

The IUSS is on LinkedIn
<http://www.linkedin.com/groups/IUSS-International-Union-Soil-Sciences-2871883/about>
and Facebook
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/International-Union-of-Soil-Sciences/291392794207721>

########################################################################

To unsubscribe from the CA-Cop-L list, click the following link:
https://listserv.fao.org/scripts/wa-fao.exe?SUBED1=CA-COP-L


ATOM RSS1 RSS2