We are looking forward to welcoming around 200 delegates for our 2025 Annual Conference which is taking place in Manchester from 3-5 December. The overall conference theme is Resilient Soils for a Sustainable Future. The packed multi-disciplinary event spanning the built, natural environment and agricultural sectors, set at King’s House Conference Centre in Manchester, will provide delegates with a fantastic opportunity to see the latest research and developments within soil science. This will follow our bi-ennial Early Careers Conference which will feature presentations and workshops for 100 Early Career members. Thank you to everyone who is attending the Annual Conference as you are directly supporting the Society and our Early Career members at this event.
With the UK consultation on a new approach to land use highlighting the need to protect our most productive agricultural land and enhance food security, the role of soil health is more critical than ever. Across the world, there is growing recognition—from bodies such as the UK EFRA Committee—that soil health should be treated with the same priority as water and air. This conference will provide a platform to discuss these pressing issues, with a focus on:
- The role of soil in climate adaptation, flood mitigation, land remediation and biodiversity
- The policy landscape surrounding soil protection and land use
- The latest research and innovations supporting long-term soil resilience
Programme
The exciting and diverse programme will feature keynote speakers and experts across the 2 days. Our programme features opening remarks from Tony Juniper (Chair of Natural England), the BSSS invited lecture from Pete Smith (Professor of Soils & Global Change at the University of Aberdeen), an impact session with William Blake (University of Plymouth), Diana Mangalagiu (University of Oxford) and Bruce Lascelles (IUSS President-Elect), a flood and water session from David Robinson (UKCEH) and David Tompkins (Associate Director at WSP), and also a regenerative agriculture session with Pippa Chapman (University of Leeds), Ruth Wade (University of Leeds), Hannah Cooper (University of Nottingham), and Philip Wright (Wright Resolutions Ltd). This is in addition to other sessions on the EU Mission Soil, Land Remediation, and the role of arts and culture. You can find all the details in our conference programme.
Abstracts and Presentations
The scientific committee accepted oral and poster abstracts across five topics, linked to the conference theme, which includes:
- Soils for People [Covering all aspects of Soil Health, Soil Functions, Indicators, Metrics, Ecosystem Service Delivery, Soil Biodiversity, and Sustainable Soils in Different Land Uses.]
- Soils for Climate [Covering aspects such as Net Zero, Carbon Sequestration, Peatlands, Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fluxes]
- Soils for Water [Covering aspects such as Nutrient and Water management, Soil Erosion, and Nutrient and Water Use Efficiency.]
- Advances for Soils [Covering aspects such as Sensors and Instrumentation, New techniques, AI and data, Modelling, and Decision support tools.]
- Soils for Life [Soil, social sciences and culture, Interdisciplinary work, Stakeholder engagement, Participatory research and citizen science, and Art and culture.]
We look forward to hearing innovative research developments in soil science from BSSS members and partners from across the UK and the world.
Outreach
We will be bringing an art and culture room to the conference again where delegates can interact with artists and researchers showcasing their work, and engage with soil science in a different way. The room will feature work from Jo Pearl, Daro Montag, Paul Granjon, Emma McKenna and Karolina Trdlicova. We will also be hosting a talking soil bench at the venue which features an inbuilt speaker system that can play a sequence of audio tracks to convey information about the local area and soils in general. In this case, users will be able to go on an intriguing journey to listen and learn about the fascinating soils beneath their feet. As part of the conference, we will also be looking to deliver an outreach session at a local school to highlight the importance of soil and engaging the children in several activities from our loan box.
Gala Dinner
There will be a Gala Dinner on the first day of the Annual Conference on Wednesday 3 December from 7:30pm – 12am which will be held at Manchester Hall. This will consist of a 3 course meal and a drinks reception, plus entertainment and awards in one of the most uniquely historic venues in Manchester, providing an authentic experience for the conference.
This is set to be a fabulous event and a great opportunity to sit down and network with other delegates. It will also be the perfect way to celebrate the work of the Society with a selection of awards and speeches over the course of the night. Tickets are still available so even if you aren’t able to join us for the conference, you can still boom your place at this exclusive event.
Sponsors
We are delighted to be working with several sponsors who are supporting us on the conference.
Headline Sponsors
Our headline sponsors are Soil Use and Management (one of the Society’s journals), Elementar, and Leco.
Session Sponsors
Our session sponsors are: Cranfield University and LandIS, Van Walt, AMAST Network, and Royal Eijkelkamp. Look out for their presentations in the parallel room at the conference.
Exhibitors
All of our headline and session sponsors will be exhibiting along with: The Dutch Scientist, Umwelt-Geräte-Technik GmbH (UGT), Burleigh Dodds and CABI.
Supporters and Partners
We are delighted to be working partnership with Manchester Accommodation BID in the delivery of the event, and would like to thank them for their continued support and expertise. Land Drainage Consultancy Ltd (LDC) is our lanyard sponsors for both the Annual Conference and Early Careers Conference.
Tickets
Tickets are still available to purchase with 1 or 2 days options, and exclusive discounts for BSSS members. We look forward to seeing a record attendance in Manchester.
