‘Zoom into Soil: Hidden Processes in Soils’ features Dr Carsten W. Müller, Associate Professor for Soil Science at the University of Copenhagen, and Dr Tinashe Mawodza, a Research Fellow at Nottingham University, with their presentations, ‘Soil processes regulated at the microscale – using microscopy to zoom into soil’ and ‘Demystifying secrets of the hidden half – an exploration of root-soil interactions using X-ray and neutron tomography’.

‘Zoom into Soil: Zero Tillage’ features Hannah Cooper and Russell McKenzie who discuss the current academic literature related to zero-tillage, the extent to which it reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared to more common conventional tillage methods and how these methods compare in practice.

Professor Lorna Dawson, Head of Forensic Soil Science at the James Hutton Institute, and Dr Marcelo Galdos, University Academic Fellow in Modelling Food Security and Climate Impacts at the University of Leeds, present ‘The Answer Lies In The Soil’ and ‘Climate – Smart Soils’.

The webinar featured Dr Tom Sizmur, Associate Professor in Environmental Chemistry at the University of Reading, and Julian Gold, Farm Manager at Hendred Estate, with their presentations, How does Organic Matter become Soil Organic Matter? and Building and Retaining Soil Organic Matter on Hendred Estate: Some Practical Issues and Thoughts.

The speakers at our 2020 webinar, John Chinn and Jane Rickson, discussed erosion from both a practical and academic perspective, setting out the challenges which erosion poses, some proposed solutions and the long-term implications of erosion if left unchecked.

Delegates who attended ‘Nutrient Efficiency’ heard from first generation farmer Richard Reeves and Dr Martin Blackwell, a senior research scientist at Rothamsted Research, who set out their experiences around nutrient efficiency from both a practical and academic viewpoint.