The EPS Land Quality Expert Advisory Group are delighted to announce a new webinar, Soils, Our Planet and the Climate Crisis, is being held on Tuesday, 17th May from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm.
This event will look at the critical role played by healthy soils and emerging soil technologies in tackling climate change and is to be chaired by Professor Lorna Dawson CBE, Head of The Soil Forensics Group at the James Hutton Institute and Scottish Environment Food and Agriculture Research Institutes (SEFARI).
Peatland and grassland soils are a natural home for carbon storage. Healthier soils provide an opportunity for further capture of the gas and to mitigate against global warming. Organic farming techniques as an alternative to the use of chemical fertilisers can help the process of restoration of carbon deep below the ground.
This webinar brings together speakers from the policy and research sectors, and academia, to show how organisations and individuals are working with soils to help tackle the climate emergency.
As Scotland strives towards reductions in its share of Global Greenhouse Gas (GHGs) by 75% in 2030 and to net-zero by 2045, this webinar will be of interest to local authority officers, consultants, elected members, policy officers, soil scientists, academics and undergraduates or climate scientists.
A highly distinguished panel has been brought together for this event.
The webinar will be chaired by Professor Lorna Dawson, Head of The Soils Forensics Group at The James Hutton Institute and the speakers are
There will be an opportunity for a Q&A and further discussion. This event comes with CPD points.
For more information and to register click here.
Welcome to the 22nd ISTRO International Conference, Dublin. ISTRO promotes engagement among scientists working with and researching soil tillage, field traffic and their relationship with soil, environment, land use and crop production. The conference is the opportunity for the community to meet each other, share their research, see its application in practice and to stimulate new ideas.
The theme of the 22nd ISTRO Interaction Conference is ‘Soil and tillage and the transition to digital agriculture.’ Superficially, agriculture is largely the same as it always has been with machines and energy used to till, sow, maintain and harvest crops for food. However, over the last few years there has been a rapid and significant introduction of digital data, computers, networks, connections sensors and models that are beginning to change how agriculture works, the skills needed by the farming industry and research required now and in the future. The conference will examine where we are, and the pathway forward for soil and tillage in the age of digital agriculture.
The conference will be held on the beautiful parkland campus of University College Dublin in Ireland’s capital city, Dublin. Ireland is a small yet vibrant country with a long history of research and education in agriculture. UCD is a global university with faculty and students from almost all countries in the world. This will be a wonderful opportunity to be part of life on campus for a few days, while enjoying the delights of the city.
Abstracts will be accepted under any theme associated with ISTRO. Please select one of the following themes, but if your work is not a good fit, you will still be able to submit and the organisers will assign it to a suitable theme. The themes are:
TRAVEL GRANTS
ISTRO will provide a number of travel grants to attend the conference in Dublin. Applicants must submit an abstract to be eligible for one of these grants. Full details can be found in the Abstract Submission Portal.
Join the Midlands Soil Discussion Group (MSDG) for their annual regional meeting, Agri-Robotics and Novel Technologies in Agriculture, which will be the Society's first face-to-face event in over two years!
Taking place on Monday 23 May from 9.30am to 4.00pm, the MSDG committee would like to welcome you to the University of Lincoln. In the morning, delegates will explore advancements in Agri-Robotics at The University of Lincoln’s Riseholme Campus. The campus is a 200-hectare mixed farm, located just north of Lincoln city centre, and is home to a mixed farm (arable and livestock), alongside a dedicated strawberry crop research site, walled garden with trial plots for teaching and research, as well as a refrigeration research unit and agri-robotics workshop. Here delegates will explore the latest technologies being developed to benefit agriculture, including soils mapping and future directions.
In the afternoon, MDSG members are invited to present their latest research or projects. If you would like to provide a talk, please email MSDG Chair, Iain Gould, with your abstract via IGould@lincoln.ac.uk.
The MSDG regional meeting is open to both members and non-members. Including lunch, the cost for Early Career members is £5, £10 for Full, Fellow, Technical or Associate members and £20 for non-members.
Provisional Schedule for the day
09:30 - Arrival
10:00 - Tour of soils and agri-tech research at Riseholme, including robots, drones, big data test bed
12:00 - Lunch
13:00 - Presentations from MSDG members
16:00 - Meeting close
Don't miss your opportunity to attend this fantastic event and network with your peers!
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the office via admin@soils.org.uk.
The destruction and human suffering following Russia's invasion of Ukraine has included significant environmental components.
This webinar will first provide an overview of findings from a civil-society database of environmental pollution incidents. It will also look at the curation methodology - searches of social media to isolate environmentally relevant incidents, then verifying, documenting, archiving and assessing environmental risk via crowd-sourced open-source intelligence. It will be explained how such independent and verified databases can support further data collection missions from the UN Environment Programme, and remediation and legal activities by the Ukrainian Government. Next will be an exploration of key incidents from the database, including those at industrial and infrastructural facilities, or ecologically sensitive habitats, assessing the environmental and health impacts.
A brief review of how 8 years of fighting has impacted the environment in Donbas will help illustrate possible longer-term impacts. Finally, there will be a consideration of some of the more indirect and reverberating environmental impacts of conflict, both inside and outside Ukraine, and in particular, the climate connotations of this war.
Register Now
For the first time in more than two years, the Southeast England Soil Discussion Group (SEESOIL) are meeting face-to-face! Join SEESOIL for this long-awaited opportunity at their regional meeting, Climate change and land use in the UK, and the growth of Viticulture.
Taking place on Monday 6 June from 10am to 3.30pm, the SEESOIL committee would like to welcome you to Gusbourne, a beautiful vineyard estate in Ashford, Kent.
Gusbourne lets nature be their guide – working with the land and encouraging biodiversity through complementary planting and sustainable practices. This down-to-earth philosophy, combined with constant innovation, means their vineyards are alive with superior grapes, native flora and fauna and plenty of birdsong.
The SEESOIL regional meeting is open to both members and non-members. Including lunch, wine tasting and a tour, the cost for members is £20 and £30 for non-members.
Schedule for the day
10:00 - Arrival
10:30 - Welcome and Introduction by Dr Bruce Lascelles, President of BSSS
11:00 - Prof John Boardman, University of Oxford: Repeated flooding of Breaky Bottom vineyard: the role of land use and climate change
11:30 - Dr Flora O’Brien, NIAB-EMR: Examples of soil management in the NIAB EMR experimental vineyard
12:00 - Ben Brown, Agrii: Vineyard soils - an Agronomists perspective
12:30 - Round Table
13:00 - Lunch
14:00 - Wine Tasting and Tour
15:30 - Meeting close
The 8th International Symposium on Soil Organic Matter (SOM) will be held in Seoul, South Korea. The theme of the meeting – “Soil Organic Matter in the Anthropocene” - is a reflection of the challenges that the planet faces today. That if SOM is well understood in its in most nature would unleash the hidden strong potentials that could contribute in different ways including of being a core solution to numerous environmental and agricultural problems.
As we all know, SOM in soil is the most important carbon sink and the key factor to mitigate global warming. At the meeting, delegates from all over the world are expected to share unique experiences, knowledge and facts in many aspects of this sensible topic that could bring us together into new perspectives, shift of paradigm as well as elaboration of our existing knowledge on the biological, chemical and physical processes that govern and interact with SOM, including their practical application in an increasingly stressed environment.
Find out more via the event website - https://www.som2022.org/
Located on campus at Stirling University ahead of the World Congress of Soil Science 2022, this two-day training programme comprises classroom and field-based training offering plenty of opportunity to grow your knowledge base, skills, and professional network.
The training is comprised of morning lectures in a classroom environment followed by afternoon field trips designed to illustrate themes and topics explored in the lectures.
For both days, there will be lunch provided, breaks with complimentary refreshments, and transport to and from field locations. Prices do not include overnight accommodation.
28 July 2022 – 9am to 5pm
Guest Speaker – Farming in Scotland: National Farmers Union of Scotland
Lecture One – Brown Earths in Scotland: Formation, description, identification, and functionality
Lecture Two – Peat Bogs in Scotland: Formation, description, identification, and functionality
Lecture Three - Podzols in Scotland: Formation, description, identification, and functionality
Field Trip – Flanders Moss and Valley bottom Gleysol
29 July 2022 – 9am to 5pm
Guest Speaker – Climate Change and Carbon Offsetting: Use and misuse of the carbon offsetting concepts
Lecture One – WRB Soil Classification Concepts: Structure, diagnostics, and descriptors
Lecture Two – USDA Soil Classification Concepts: Structure, diagnostics, and descriptors
Lecture Three - Soil Functionality Concepts: Linking soil characteristics to multiple ecosystem functions and services
Field Trip – Forest Podzols and soil formation factors at Dumyat
Please register online to book your place and receive an invoice for the registration fee.
We are delighted to advise that on receipt of payment, all non-member registrants will be provided with complimentary Associate membership of the British Society of Soil Science for the remainder of 2022, expiring on 14 January 2023.
If you have any questions, please contact us via wcss22@soils.org.uk.
Cancellation Policy
Please view the cancellation policy for this event here.
The World Congress of Soil Science 2022 (WCSS 22) is a leading international soil science conference, held every four years in different countries and attended by over 3,000 soil scientists from around the globe. The next Congress is being organised by the British Society of Soil Science on behalf of the International Union of Soil Sciences.
The Congress theme, ‘Soil Science – crossing boundaries, changing society’ will focus on the link between soil and society, with sessions covering soil systems, soil processes, soil management and how we interact with and use soils around the world. There will be opportunities for specialist workshops and discussion sessions across a wide range of soil disciplines. The core programme is supported by tours and a cultural and arts programme for delegates and the wider public to explore our diverse environment and culture.
Further information can be found here.
The UK's leading event for contaminated land, air & water
The Contamination & Geotech Expo reaches every corner of the industry to bring the contamination and the geotechnical sectors together in this unique 2-day event.
The expo boasts a unique educational programme consisting of expert-led seminars, panel debates and demonstrations of the latest in soil health and contaminated land, as well as featuring market-leading companies equipped with the industry's finest solution-led products and services.
The Contamination & Geotech Expo team look forward to bringing you a bigger, better, and revitalised event for the industry. To register for your free ticket or for more information please visit www.contaminationexpo.com. Date: 14-15 September 2022 Halls: 17-20 Opening Times: 9.30 - 5pm Link to website: https://hubs.la/Q014h0df0 Link to register interest in attending: https://hubs.la/Q014h0ly0
This event will bring together member organisations to consider how the UK can best meet its targets for achieving net-zero and the important role the UK science community has in achieving this. The event will feature a keynote address from Government Chief Science Adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, and breakout sessions organised by several member bodies. The Society will be presenting a session on food/ farming.