The organisers of The World Congress of Soil Science 2022 (WCSS), the British Society of Soil Science (BSSS) on behalf of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), are keen to receive abstract submissions from international colleagues whose research or practice links to soil. The WCSS is inviting abstract submissions for the Interdivisional sessions, the Divisional scientific sessions, and the Working Group sessions and a full list of sessions, chosen to reflect the Congress theme, Crossing Boundaries, Changing Society, can be found on the WCSS website. The abstract submission deadline is 24:00 GMT on 31 October 2021, and acceptance notifications can be expected in January 2022. For further information and to apply, visit www.22wcss.org/conference/abstracts or email us at wcss2022@speak.co.uk.
The IUSS invite you to support the WASWAC-IUSS Position Paper on the Interlinkages of Soil and Climate Change in relation to the COP26. Soils in good health are an essential part of our life support system, along with the health and quality of our biodiversity, and the interface to the atmosphere and groundwater. Soil is an engine of the economy, but also a source of many ecosystem services, including mitigation of climate change. The loss of soil not only implies the loss of areas for sufficient food production, filter and buffer capacities for clean water, but also of vegetation that photosynthetically captures carbon dioxide and soil organisms responsible for its storage and recycling. Therefore, loss of soil implies losing two of the largest compartments with a natural capacity to capture CO2 and mitigate climate change. Considering that the FAO’s report on the state of the world’s soil resources estimates that 33% of our soils are degraded due to rapid population growth, imminent rising demand for food, and ongoing competition for land uses (FAO, 2015), the International Union of Soil Sciences, following the Call of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26) “Uniting the world to tackle climate change”, invites the soil science community and scientists of all branches to support the WASWAC-IUSS Position Paper on the Interlinkages of Soil and Climate Change: Protecting the Soil is Protecting the Climate. Download and co-sign the Position Paper no later than October 31. Please click here!
The OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early Career Women Scientists reward and encourage women working and living in developing countries who are in the early stages of their scientific careers, having often overcome great challenges to achieve research excellence. Awardees must have made a demonstrable impact on the research environment, both at a regional and international level, and must have received their PhD in the last ten years. Deadline: 28 October 2021. Read more: https://owsd.net/awards/awards.
The Land and Soil Management Award 2021/22 call for good agriculture and environmental conditions is now open! The prize rewards land use and soil management practices mitigating soil threats i.e. soil degradation, erosion, reduction of organic matter content, diffuse contamination, and compaction as well as the reduction of soil biodiversity, salinization, sealing, flooding and landslides. In doing so, the award sheds light on outstanding achievements, encouraging new concepts of land and soil protection and their implementation in land management, as well as enhancing awareness about the importance of land and soil functions. Farmers, landowners, land managers, groups of farmers, on their own or in collaboration with research institutes, universities and/or private companies can apply. €5,000 is awarded to the winning project every year. The Jury can also award a Diploma of Recognition. Deadline: 15 January 2022.
In the framework of World Soil Day (WSD) 2021, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) and the Global Soil Partnership (GSP) have launched a scientific children’s booklet contest and a poster contest on salt-affected soils with the motto “Halt soil salinization, boost soil productivity”. Find out more about the submission criteria and deadline dates here.
The latest update is available in full via the IUSS website.
