The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) will jointly convene three days of online discussion and debate on best practice and policy, underpinned by scientific evidence, to go beyond the headlines and find ways of raising the standard of global reforestation.
The conference will create a global hub of expertise and innovative thinking to ensure that reforestation delivers benefits, not just for carbon capture but also for biodiversity and human wellbeing.
It will focus on finding workable, evidence-based solutions for reforestation to benefit biodiversity, carbon capture and livelihoods – questioning assumptions, showcasing success stories, identifying challenges and encouraging new, integrative approaches.
Register for free. Registration closes Friday 19 February, 12pm UK time or when tickets are fully booked.
The claim that our soils only have a limited number of harvests in them has become the call to arms for the soil health cause – the slogan chosen by campaigners, scientists – even Environment Ministers to distil soil down to a single, simple, memorable and urgent message.
But what is the evidence to support this claim? And is it even the right question? Does it help or hinder our understanding of the state of our soils, and so contribute to unlocking the changes in farming practice needed to guarantee long-term soil health and productivity?
To debate this issue, uksoils have assembled three speakers with very different backgrounds and experiences. They will give brief, 10 minute presentations on the topic, followed by 30mins for comments, questions and suggestions from the audience.
The event will be chaired by Bridget Emmett of uksoils and UKCEH with Anna Krzywoszynska of the Institute for Sustainable Food at the University of Sheffield, Soil Care Network & uksoils as moderator.
The event will be recorded and made available on the uksoils hub for those unable to attend on the day.
Register Now
The aim of this Open University workshop will be to invite senior and informed speakers and participants to debate how we can optimise land use in floodplains to deliver nature based solutions to flood risk and diffuse pollution, the loss of biodiversity and human health crises.
The session is an opportunity to tease out how to improve policies affecting land-use on floodplains, notably the new Environmental Land Management scheme (ELMs), catchment management plans, flooding action plans, Biodiversity Net Gain and the Nature Recovery Network, to ensure they are grounded with supporting research and current good practice. Further details of the agenda and joining instructions will be available soon.
Please email Olivia.nelson@open.ac.uk to confirm your attendance.
The British Society of Soil Science (BSSS) is delighted to announce the latest webinar in the lunchtime series of Zoom into Soil. Zoom into Soil: Soil Functions, hosted by BSSS’ Northern Soil Network (NSN), will take place on Wednesday 3 March from 12.00 to 1.00pm and is free of charge for all delegates.
Zoom into Soil: Soil Functions will feature 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, with their presentations, The Answer Lies In The Soil and Climate – Smart Soils. The two distinct topics will broadly consider the function of soil for ecological and non-ecological purposes.
In her presentation, Professor Lorna Dawson will explain how soils are characterised to assist police in search and in trace evidence comparison. She will outline how the methods used need to be applicable to trace amounts of soil and discriminating at appropriate scales and will present aspects of where soil information can assist criminal investigations. Focusing on the ecological function of soil, Dr Marcelo Galdos will discuss aspects of soil and climate interactions, and describe ongoing research combining experiments, sensor networks and biogeochemical modelling to assess climate-smart soil management practices.
To book a place at the seminar visit Go To Webinar:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6820194073758250763
Join the Midlands Soil Discussion Group for an afternoon of soil discussion; Current Research in Soil Science.
24th March 2021
2:00pm - 4:45pm
Online via Microsoft Teams
Free to BSSS members who are part of the Midlands Soil Discussion Group.
If you would like to present at this virtual event, please contact Andy Tye with a proposed title. MSDG are especially keen to offer the opportunity to Early Career Researchers to present their work.
Details for the event and the Microsoft Teams link will be emailed to MSDG registrants 7 days prior. If you would like to become a member of MSDG, please register for the event and advise the Office Team.
In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Global Symposium on Soil Biodiversity (GSOBI21), ‘Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity’ will be a science-policy meeting, fully virtual that will take place from 19-22 April 2021. Due to its new format and the time difference between the different regions of the world, adjustments have been made to the current agenda.
It is jointly organized by the UN FAO and its Global Soil Partnership (GSP), the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS), together with the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative (GSBI) and the Science-Policy Interface of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (SPI UNCCD).
The main objective will be to fill some critical knowledge gaps and promote discussion among policy makers, food producers, scientists, practitioners and other stakeholders on solutions to live in harmony with nature, and ultimately, achieve the SDGs through the conservation and sustainable use of soil biodiversity.
Full details are available here.
This conference will focus on the key scientific issues of sodic soil reclamation, face the theoretical innovation of soil sodificaton and improvement of sodicsoil management. It will build a communication platform for scholars, enterprises and decision-makers, exchange the latest scientific frontiers through a variety of ways such as academic reports, posters and seminars. It provides useful references for the improvement and utilization of sodic land in different regions of the world.
The conference will be jointly organized by the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the People’s Government of Jilin Province, China. It will be hosted by the Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Salt-affected Commission of the Soil Science Society of China. It will be held in Changchun, Jilin Province, China, for a period of three days (one day field trip).
Further details can be found here.
Soil is a key element for sustainability, mitigation of the effects of climate change and food production. In addition, it is the support of human activities, both cultural and productive. The symposium focuses on aspects associated with soil degradation, with an emphasis on Mediterranean environments, and proposes solutions to reverse these situations.
Groundswell’s mission is to lead a global movement towards farming systems that use the principles of Regenerative Agriculture.
Groundswell believe that the the 5 principles of Regenerative Agriculture are:
The aim of the Groundswell Event is to disseminate information on soil health by providing a platform for dialogue between decision makers at all levels in the agricultural sector, promoting discussion towards finding practical solutions to producing nutritious food whilst increasing soil organic matter and biodiversity.
For full details and to register your interest see https://groundswellag.com/.
Registration is now open to all persons interested in the Soil Science Australia (SSA) and the New Zealand Society of Soil Science (NZSSS) Joint Conference, in association with ASPAC.
Should you require any assistance please contact the Conference Managers at Conf2020@soilscienceaustralia.org.au or by phone on AUS +613 8080 8087 / NZ +643 928 0620.
More information to follow in 2021!
Event website can be accessed here.
The objective of Eurosoil 2021 is to bring together leading research scientists working on soil related topics and stakeholders dealing with issues of public concern, such as soil degradation and consequences of climatic changes. The important bridging role of soil practitioners to translate scientific knowledge into practice will be emphasised during Eurosoil 2021.
The registration deadlines are as follows:
Full details of the event are available here.
The Theme:
Soil Physics in Agricultural Production, Water Resources and Waste Management.
With Agriculture, Ecology and now Mining heavily dependent on advances in soil physics, these topics will be included in a broad theme, suited to the region.
The Location:
The Skukuza Rest Camp of the Kruger National Park, in the north-eastern part of South Africa is the location for the meeting. The Skukuza camp, situated on the banks of the Sabie river offers an ideal game viewing location and a wide variety of game can be observed during short road excursions from the camp. Delegates will be safely housed in the modern camp and will be offered a mid-week excursion to hydrological and soil research sites in this pristine savannah.
Further event details can be found here.
The ESSC (European Society for Soil Conservation), the EURECYS (European Ecocycles Society) and the Organising Committee invite you to attend the 1st International Joint Congress on Sustainable Management of Cultural Landscapes in the contest of the European Green Deal.
The objective of the congress is to shed new light on critical issues concerning the exploitation of ecosystem services, conservation of cultural heritage and to assess new perspectives to the future development of the cultural landscapes in the context of the European Green Deal.
The Congress is open to scientists, students, educators, managers, policy and decision-makers. It will consist of invited lectures, scientific sessions with oral and poster presentations, and a scientific and cultural excursion.
Further information on the Congress can be found here.