Bulletin of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) | December 2011

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IUSS BULLETIN 1192

International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS)The IUSS Bulletin is the official Newsletter of the International Union of Soil Sciences. It is freely distributed through the IUSS website. All contributions are welcome and should be send to the editor.

Editor Alfred HarteminkUniversity of Wisconsin - MadisonDepartment of Soil Science1525 Observatory DriveMadison, WI 53706-1299USAE-mail: hartemink@wisc.edu

Secretary General Alfred Hartemink hartemink@wisc.eduDeputy SG Alex McBratney Alex.McBratney@sydney.edu.auPresident Jae Yang yangjay@kangwon.ac.krVice President Kye-Hoon John Kim johnkim@uos.ac.krTreasurer Jim Gauld j.gauld@macaulay.ac.uk

Division 1 Karl Stahr kstahr@uni-hohenheim.deDivision 2 Martin Gerzabek martin.gerzabek@boku.ac.atDivision 3 Rainer Horn rhorn@soils.uni-kiel.deDivision 4 Charles Rice cwrice@ksu.edu

Budgets Stephen Nortcliff iuss@reading.ac.ukAwards Mary-Beth Kirkham mbk@ksu.eduStatutes Don Sparks dlsparks@udel.eduPresidential elections Roger Swift deannravs@uqg.uq.edu.au

ISSN 0374-0447

Copyright IUSS, Madison, USA

Graphic Design: Daniël Loos, www.bureaucontrapunt.nl

DECEMBER 2011 3

A Brief Report of the IUSS Executive Committee Meeting, October 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

IUSS Intercongress Meeting 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Article150th Anniversary of the birth of Nikolay Sibirtsev

By L.A. Varfolomeev, I.V. Ivanov, P.V. Krasilnikov, S.V. Goryachkin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

IUSS Alerts May– November 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Five questions to a soil scientistLucia Anjos (Brazil) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Jock Churchman (Australia) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

In MemoriamWilford Gardner (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Arieh Singer (Israel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Keith Syers (Thailand) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Report of a meeting Report on the 14th Scientific Conference of the Philippine Society of Soil Science and Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

New publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

IUSS Honorary members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Contents

4 IUSS BULLETIN 119

Present: Jae Yang (President), Alfred Hartemink (SG),Alex McBratney (DSG), Jim Gauld (Treasurer), KarlStahr (Chair Division One), Jon Chorover (represent-ing Martin Gerzabek Chair Division Two), RainerHorn (Chair Division Three), Chuck Rice (Chair Divi-sion Four), Stephen Nortcliff (Chair Budget and Fi-nance - minutes), Don Sparks (Chair Committee onStructure), Roger Swift (Chair of Presidential Elec-tions), Ester Sztein (Observer from the NationalAcademy of Sciences. Apologies were received from: Mary Beth Kirkham(Chair of Awards and Prizes) and Martin Gerzabek(Chair Division 2).

The President welcomed all those present and intro-ductions were made through a ‘tour de table’. ThePresident outlined the importance of the meeting asa critical step in maintaining the activity of IUSS bothin relation to the World Congress in 2014, but alsothe importance of responding to the increasedawareness amongst policy makers and others of theimportance of soils in many of the key processes in-volved in sustainable development at local andglobal scales. He stressed that crucial to many ofthese activities was the financial strength of IUSSand this should be part of the focus of the discus-sions during the day.

Report of the Secretary GeneralAlfred Hartemink outlined some of the matterswhich had been his priority in the first few monthssince he had taken on his new role. He noted how-ever that during July and August he had moved fromWageningen in the Netherlands to Madison, Wiscon-sin. As a consequence there had been an unavoid-able gap in the production of IUSS Alerts. Inresponse the Committee understood why this gaphad occurred, but took this opportunity to thank theSG for his considerable efforts in producing both theAlerts (75 since 2005) and the Bulletins (16 since2002). The Bulletins contained a great deal of infor-mation and were produced at the rate of two peryear. The monthly Alerts were distributed to a highproportion of the membership (approximately 12

000 addresses), enabling regular contact and infor-mation provision. Reports from a number of sourcesindicated these were very much appreciated by themembership.

a. ElectionsIt has previously been recognized by Council thatthe election process in 2007-8 did not work assmoothly as would have been wished. There hadbeen obvious flaws in the voting process and therecording of votes by some National Members. Abrief had been given in Brisbane in 2010 for thenew SG to investigate the possibility of electronicvoting. Following consultation with the staff ofSSSA in Madison, this was now seen to be possi-ble, but the time required to establish the processand an appropriate procedure for checking the va-lidity of voters would mean that the timetable out-lined for the election process in the Bye Laws wasno longer feasible. The Executive Committee resolved to ask Council(via an electronic ballot) ‘to suspend the Bye-Lawsto allow electronic voting for Division and Commis-sion Officers in 2012.’ If these electronic arrangements proved to be suc-cessful, an amendment to the Bye Laws to accom-modate this would be tabled in the Council Meetingin 2014.

b. FinancesIt was noted that our invest income was exceedinglysmall because of the low level of interest rates in theUK and North America. It was considered that IUSSneeded to investigate how these funds could be in-vested with a higher return than at present, but at lowrisk (this was discussed later).

c. Honorary MembersThe call for nominations for Honorary Memberswould be circulated widely by November 1. The elec-tion of Honorary Members would take place in Juneat the InterCongress Meeting. It is planned that theHonorary Membership will be presented at theWCSS in June 2014.

A Brief Report of the IUSS Executive Committee Meeting15 October, 2011, Hotel Palacio del Rio, San Antonio, Texas, USA

5DECEMBER 2011

d. What is IUSS?Together with the previous Chair of Budget and Fi-nance and Stephen Nortcliff, Alfred Hartemink hadproduced short summary documents outlining theactivities of IUSS and the benefits of a NationalMember’s involvement which had been sent atvarious times in the past to National Members atthe time of subscription renewals. This was a firststep but it was considered necessary by the com-mittee to revisit this, possibly producing a seriesof documents or short statements which could beused to inform National Members, Individual SoilScientists, Policy Makers and others wishing toknow about soils.

e. IUSS ConferencesCurrently IUSS runs a WCCS on a four yearly cycle.In addition there are some Commission Meetingsand some meetings to which the IUSS logo isbadged. The SG proposes a series of single themeConferences which would involve all Divisions. Forexample these might be on Soil Carbon in 2013 andSoil Water in 2015. The meeting welcomed thisidea and asked the SG and the Four Division Chairsto produce an outline of how these Conferencesmight be organized with the guiding principle that

all Divisions should be involved in the pro-grammes. Suggestions for locations of the Soil Car-bon were Madison and Kansas. There wasdiscussion of Divisional funds possibly being usedto support graduate and young post-doctoral in-volvement.

f. Co-operating JournalsOver the last 7-8 years little progress had beenmade with our plan of seeking contribution tofunds from the Co-operating Journals. These jour-nals were still available at reduced rates to individ-uals from Countries who were National Members.Whilst the numbers taking up this opportunitywere relatively small it was an important servicefor some. The SG would make an effort to ensurethat the IUSS logo was included on the journalsand on offprints.

g. First and second Generation CommunicationsThe Bulletin and Alerts were successful examplesof first generation communications. First stepswere being taken to develop second generationcommunication such as Twitter, Facebook,LinkedIn, etc. These should enable more memberinvolvement in IUSS.

L to R: Jim Gauld, Alfred Hartemink, Alex McBratney, Stephen Nortcliff, Don Sparks, Jae Yang, Roger Swift, Chuck

Rice, Karl Stahr, Rainer Horn, Jon Chorover.

h. Global Soil PartnershipThe Global Soil Partnership was launched by FAO inRome in September 2011. IUSS were represented bythe President, The Secretary General and the DeputySecretary General. Chuck Rice was also present rep-resenting SSSA. Whilst there was a lack of clarity onhow this would move forward and what might bethe outcomes, it was recognized that IUSS must beinvolved. At the launch in Rome it was possible tomake interventions to draw attention to the poten-tially substantial contribution which IUSS could bemade to this initiative, but these must be followedup if the Partnership is to make real progress. Thereis a Committee being drawn up to progress the ini-tiative with nominations due in mid October. The Ex-ecutive Committee recommended IUSS make thefollowing nominations: Jae Yang, Alfred Hartemink,Alex McBratney, Chuck Rice and Maria de LourdesMendonça Santos (from the IUSS Working Group onDigital Soil Mapping).

Report of the Deputy Secretary GeneralAlex McBratney briefly reported actions taken sinceBrisbane 2010.

a. WebsiteFollowing a decision made at Council in Brisbane theIUSS website had been moved to Australia. This movehad enabled increased functionality, and as a result itwas now possible for members to upload material.These developments were ongoing.

b. Membership payments to IUSSThe DSG had noted that membership paymentsfrom some countries appeared to be less than hewould have anticipated. The DSG had undertaken amodelling exercise to determine, based on GDPand population of each potential National Mem-ber, what might be a fair per member subscription.Whilst this modelled information was interestingthe meeting agreed that the current three tier sys-tem based on GDP was fairer. The meeting notedthe information on potential modelled member-ship numbers, which did raise some interestingquestions about the recorded membership in someMember countries.

c. Strategic PlanThe DSG table an outline Strategic Plan tentativelyentitled ‘Realizing the Mystique of Soil & Valuingthose who study it’.The plan restates the IUSS Mission and Vision and

then addresses a number of ‘Overarching Strategies’including 1. Branding Soil2. Branding Soil Science3. Increasing participation4. Increasing the resource base (mentioned in b.

above), but also investigating other sources offunds, such as philanthropic sources.

5. Improving the Member experience6. Improving Stakeholder engagement7. Facilitating Soil Science8. Promoting Global Soil Instruments

The paper also tentatively suggested 9 Noble Chal-lenges facing Soil Science and Soil Scientists. TheCommittee resolved to make suggestions and elabo-rations on this document by the end of the year be-fore this would be circulated widely to theMembership for comments.

Report of the Treasurer Jim Gauld presented the audited accounts for 2010for approval by the Executive Committee prior toforwarding to Council. The Accounts were ap-proved.

Report of the Chair of Budget and Finance In association with the Treasurer, Stephen Nortcliffpresented a summary of the current financial posi-tion of the Union and future trends.

a. Membership feescurrently this is our major source of income. Somefunds are paid by National Academies, some by Na-tional Members directly. A number of the NationalAcademies are receiving reduced funding so theircontributions to IUSS may decrease (e.g. NAS contri-bution will fall from $55k in 2011 to $46.5k in 2012,Japan $6k in 2011, $5k in 2012). Where NationalMembers contribute from their own funds we haveour three categories based on GDP with a rate permember at present of $6.25 for Group 1 $3.75 forGroup 2 and $1.25 for Group 3. These will increase in2012 following the resolution of Council in Brisbane.The number of members for each National Memberis based on information provided by the NationalMember. The membership information for some Na-tional Members seems not always to reflect the gen-eral knowledge of activity in the country. Wherethere are perceived discrepancies the President willwrite to National Members to ask for more accuratemembership numbers.

IUSS BULLETIN 1196

It was noted that a number of the officers in Com-missions were members of National Members whohad not paid subscriptions for 2011. To be an officerof the Union the individual must be a member of aNational Member who is in good financial standingwith IUSS. Further National Members who are not ingood financial standing with the Union are not enti-tled to nominate individuals for election, nominateHonorary Members or participate in activities of theUnion (e.g. elections, meetings etc.).

b. OutreachIUSS has had an outreach programme since 2005.This has involved the production of leaflets andbooklets, some linked to the Year of Planet Earth,and the support of occasional projects (e.g. recentsupport for the Western Australia School Project di-rected by Lyn Abbott). The Executive Committeeconsidered that it was important to maintain theoutreach programme, but that there needed to be amore structured plan on what was to be achievedand how support will be directed to achieve the tar-gets of the plan.

c. Future BudgetsStephen Nortcliff was asked to produce a budgetthrough to 2015 in which alternative scenarios couldbe modelled (e.g. funding changes).

d. Investment policyfollowing earlier decisions the capital of the IUSShad been invested safely to earn interest on invest-ment accounts. In the past this had produced asmall but satisfactory return. In the current globalfinancial position the returns had fallen to very lowlevels. Whilst the Union did not wish to take riskswith its capital it should seek ways of achieving ahigher return than at present. Alfred Hartemink sug-gested IUSS might seek advice from SSSA who cur-rently invest over $2m in a balance of equities andbonds. The possibility of IUSS being a subset of theSSSA investment policy should be investigated.

Report of the Chair of Prizes and AwardsIn the absence of Mary-Beth Kirkham this report wastabled. There were two main areas of discussion.

a. Dokuchaev and Liebig AwardsIUSS must dispel the widely held perception thatthese two awards are for work in Pedology andChemistry respectively. They are for contributions toBasic Soil Science and Applied Soil Science. The Com-

mittee recommended that an attempt be made torewrite the information about the prizes to makethis clearer, possibly by removing the words ‘basic’and ‘applied’. The Standing Committee must seek to ensure muchwider range of nominations than have occurred inthe past.

b. Division and Commission PrizesThere had been calls from a number of Commissionsto establish prizes for outstanding achievements intheir subject area (there are already a number ofPrizes associated with Commissions in Division One).Whilst there were some concerns expressed aboutthe proliferation of awards, the Executive broadlywelcomed this move but asked that the Committeeproduce guidelines so that Commission awards arebased on broadly similar procedures and criteriaacross all Divisions. It was stressed that if there wereno candidates who satisfied the award criteria,awards should not be made. Whilst Division Chairsmay make funds available to support these awards,there were no general funds available.

Report of the Presidential Committee Roger Swift presented the documents outlining theposition of President and the procedures for nomi-nations and elections. With a small number of mod-ifications these were accepted. Nominations arerequested for January 17 2012.

Report of Committee on Structure and StatutesDon Sparks briefly reported that there one or twominor typographical errors which needed correction.In the past the Statutes and Bye Laws were producedin a small booklet. The SG suggested setting up thecurrent Statutes and Bye Laws in a pdf format in abooklet style.

Reports from the DivisionsDivision OneKarl Stahr reported on the Division activities, which included:1. The presentation of the Guy Smith Medal to Rudi

Dudal2. His attendance at the National Conference of the

Philippines Soil Science Society in May.3. The involvement of Commissions 1.3 and 1.6 in

the INQUA Conference in Hohenheim4. Commission 1.1 is planning a combined confer-

ence and field tour based on Barcelona organisedby Rosa Poch.

DECEMBER 2011 7

8 IUSS BULLETIN 119

5. The Commissions will be holding a number ofsymposia at the Eurosoil 2012 meeting in Bari inJuly 2012.

6. A general question which needs resolving is whythere is both a WG WRB and a WG Universal SoilClassification

7. A Divisional Conference is planned Ulm, Germany 30 September to 4th October 2014.

b. Division TwoJon Chorover presented the report on the Division.1. The Division co-sponsored a symposium at the

Goldschmidt Conference in 2011.2. There are plans for two further sponsored sym-

posia3. The Commission also included comments on the

procedure for selection of oral presentations atWCSS and the limited number of oral presenta-tions in the area of Division 2 activities in Bris-bane. It was noted that the availability (cost) ofproviding rooms was often the key determinantof the number of slots available. It was alsonoted that Division 2 had a number of non-themed symposia because of the high demand.

4. The Division questioned the efficacy of the reviewprocess and the choice of short (4 page) pares in-stead of short abstracts. In response it was notedthat the short paper has been the norm at succes-sive WCSS.

c. Division ThreeRainer Horn noted markedly differing degrees of ac-tivity amongst the Commissions. Commission 3.5 isparticularly active. Commission 3.2 will have a sym-posium at Eurosoil 2014. The WG-Acid Sulphate Soilsis also particularly active.

d. Division FourChuck Rice noted that Commission 4.2 was in theprocess of producing a position paper on Soils inHuman Health which is possibly targeted for publica-tion in Science.

There was a general discussion on how to ensurethat there was full participation in the activities ofthe Divisions and Commissions. It was noted thatsince there election the communication with somecommission officers had been exceedingly limited. Italmost as if for some the appointment as a Commis-sion Officer was the aim rather than progressing theactivities of the Commission and Division!

World Congress of Soil Science 2014The President presented a brief update on the InterCongress Meeting, June 3-8, 2012 and the CongressJune 8-13, 2014. The provisional estimates suggesta registration fee of $250 for the InterCongressMeeting and $500 for the World Congress. In addi-tion to hotel accommodation there is also condo-minium accommodation available at much cheaperrates.

9DECEMBER 2011

It is our pleasure to invite you to attend the Inter-congress Executive and Council Meetings in Jeju Is-land, Korea from June 3 to 8, 2012, to be held in theJeju International Convention Center (ICC), the samevenue of the 20th World Congress of Soil Science.The meeting agenda will encompass various issuesof what IUSS faces. Welcome to the discussions onwhich to base the future development of IUSS! Alsothe meeting will provide the scientific and culturaltours through which you will experience the volcanicsoils and the rich cultures of Jeju Island. Jeju Islandis not only Korea’s most prestigious resort destina-tion but also has been the venue for various Inter-national meetings. The warm hospitality of theKoreans and the unique cultural folk heritage of Jeju,coupled with the natural beauty of the volcanic is-land, will provide all attendees a wonderful experi-ence. We look forward to seeing you in 2012.

General InformationVisa: All visitors to Jeju may stay up to 30 days with-out visa except for few countriesAbout Jeju ICC and Jeju Island:http://iccjeju.cafe24.com/eng/About Korea Travelhttp://www.visitKorea.or.kr/intro.htmlAccommodation: Many hotels in nearby ICC (insidethe Jungmum Tourist Complex; examples are below)http://www.lottehoteljeju.comhttp://www.shilla.nethttp://www.hyattjeju.com

More information will be provided in detail in thenext circular.

IUSS Inter-Congress Council MeetingJune 3 (Sun)-8 (Fri), 2012 International Convention Center (ICC), Jeju, Korea

The 20th WCSS Organizing CommitteeKorean Society of Soil Science and Fertilizer

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Day Session Jeju, 2012

SundayJune 3

morning Arrival and Free Time

afternoon Executive & Presidential Meetings

evening Dinner for Executive, Presidential and Council Members

MondayJune 4

morning Council meeting

afternoon Council meeting

evening Welcome reception

TuesdayJune 5

morning Scientific and Cultural ToursTour of 20th WCSS Venue (ICC)

afternoon

evening Dinner

WednesdayJune 6

morning Council meeting

afternoon Council meeting

evening Council meeting (Optional)

ThursdayJune 7

morning One day joint symposium with KSSSF(Soil Embraces Life and Culture)

afternoon

evening Dinner with KSSSF members

FridayJune 8

morning Council meeting (Optional)

afternoon Leave Jeju

evening

Tentative Programs

By L.A. Varfolomeev, I.V. Ivanov, P.V. Krasilnikov, S.V. Goryachkin

Nikolay Sibirtsev (1860-1900) was the most talentedfollower of Vasili Dokuchaev, widely acknowledged asa co-founder of the soil science. He published the firsttextbook of Soil Science in the world (1900), intro-duced the concepts of ‘zonal’, ‘intrazonal’ and ‘azonal’soils, developed the first Russian soil taxonomic clas-sification. The name of N.M. Sibirtsev is one of themost respected in the Russian soil science. However,the Sibirtsev’s contribution is much less known in theinternational soil science, as his name due to thebrevity of his life in the beginning of the career hasbeen “in the shadow” of the name of V.V. Dokuchaev,and then of the name of K.D. Glinka.

Nicholay was born in the North of Russia in the cityof Arkhangelsk in the family of a teacher of the localtheological seminary and had four brothers and foursisters. His father, Mikhail Ivanovich (1822-1912),got higher agricultural education and he possessedthe poetic and literary gift that in largely determinedthe interests of children to science.

After graduating from theological seminary NicholaySibirtsev in 1878-1883 got his education at the St.Petersburg University, the Natural Sciences Depart-ment of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematicsfrom renowned professors - chemists D.I. Mendeleevand A.M. Butlerov and geologists A.A. Inostrantsevand V.V. Dokuchaev. V.V. Dokuchaev in those years was creating the basisof genetic soil science and in 1883 defended his doc-toral thesis on the famous book “Russian cher-nozem”. N.M. Sibirtsev became the first and thefavorite, and perhaps the most talented student ina series of such famous pupils of Dokuchaev as V.I.Vernadsky, K.D. Glinka, P.V. Ototsky (soil scientist andhydrogeologist, the founder of the “Pochvovedenie(Pedologie)” journal) and others.

After graduation from the university, N.M. Sibirtsevparticipated in an expedition under the the directionof Dokuchaev to study the geology and soils of the

Nizhny Novgorod region and to develop methods toassess soil fertility. Upon completion of the expedi-tion, in 1885-1892 years N.M. Sibirtsev lived andworked in Nizhny Novgorod – he organized the localmuseum of natural history and headed it. At thesame time he was developing a geological map ofthe some territory of local province and was improv-ing the methods of soil map compilation and soil as-sessment using the data on crop yields andnumerous chemical analysis of soil and plants; healso was teaching science and chemistry in highschools. N.M. Sibirtsev was characterized as a mandevoted to science, a very humble and honest, veryhardworking and self-critical, principled, self-con-scious. He had no family. And he was not an activepublic figure.

In January, 1894 V.V. Dokuchaev sought the appoint-ment of N.M. Sibirtsev to the post of Adjunct Profes-sor in the Department of Soil Science in the Instituteof Agriculture and Forestry in Novo-Alexandria (actu-ally Puławy, Poland). Since 1893, N.M. Sibirtsev wasliving in Novo-Alexandria and was heading the de-partment until 1900.

DECEMBER 2011 11

150th Anniversary of the birthof Nikolay Sibirtsev

N.M. Sibirtsev activity in 1893-1898 is as follows:lecturer in soil science and historical geology,scholar of the soils of Poland and the Pskov region,he made the trip along with K.D. Glinka in WesternEurope in 1898 (visited Germany, Switzerland, Italyand Austria-Hungary), published about 50 papers.Sibirtsev was continuously working on the text-book of Soil Science and three days before hisdeath he signed the text of the book for printing(Pochvovedenie, St. Petersburg. 1901. 554 pages).He was awarded by the gold medals for participa-tion in the All-Russia agricultural exhibition (1895,Moscow) and the Paris International one (1900). In1901 there was published “Soil map of EuropeanRussia, drawn up on the initiative of Prof.Dokuchaev” by N.M. Sibirtsev, GI Tanfilyev, ARFerhmin (scale - 1:2 520 000, 6 pages, 1901). Aftertraveling through Western Europe in autumn 1898N.M. Sibirtsev got seriously ill (Glinka took over inthe department). In 1899 Sibirtsev was treatingbut he died on July 20, 1900 from pulmonary tu-berculosis in a sanatorium in the village Vozd-vizhenskoe (Ufa Province near Ural).

The Fate had brought Sibirtsev only 40 years oflife. However, his input to Soil Science is great.The fields of the science to which the contribu-tion of Sibirtsev is especially important are as fol-lows.1. Conceptual systematization of the major theo-

retical positions of “Dokuchaev Soil school andgenetic (theoretical) branch of soil science”. Itis contained in the textbook “Pochvovedenie”.The main idea of this textbook is that soils arespecific natural bodies and soil science is inde-pendent science. Pedology was first presentedas a harmonious concept on soil solid mass, onsoil as a geophysical formation (natural body),on soil cover (this term may be born by Sibirt-sev) and on the soil as a medium of growingplants (considered the question of agronomicsoil evaluation). These and other ideas of Sibirt-sev were significantly ahead of its time. It tooksdecades for their development (the hierarchy ofsoil systems, the theory of the soil cover pat-tern, the principles of assessment of soil andothers). Several times they have been rediscov-ered by scientists in different countries and be-came the foundation of science.

2. Concepts on soil zones, zone types and subtypesof soils.

3. Sibirtsev differently than Dokuchaev, grouped thefactors of soil formation: 1/ Rocks, 2/ Processesin soils related to organisms 3/ “Complex condi-tions” (climate, topography, the history of the ter-ritory). Climate and organisms were recognized byhim as particularly close related factors.

4. Sibirtsev proposed the concept of zonal, intra-zonal and azonal soil. The introduction of theseterms contributed to the analysis of geographicpatterns of distribution of soils, differentiation ofsoils on the degree of development. He proposedthe idea of genetic sequences soils.

5. Sibirtsev gave birth to soil taxonomy, having a rig-orous meaning to the concept of “soil type”. “Sub-types of soil” were based on the manifestation ofthe intensity of various processes (different sub-types of chernozem because of depth of humushorizon, different degree of eluviation in podzolicsoils).

6. N.M. Sibirtsev considered the morphological char-acteristics of soils to be the expression of the soilprocesses that need to be “decrypted”. This con-tributed to the development of A-B-C horizons.

Sibirtsev met the expectations of Dokuchaev. De-partment of Soil Science of Novo-Alexandria has be-come the center of soil science. Its alumni, studentsof Sibirtsev were developing the science, creatingnew departments and institutions of soil science toeducate new students. After the death of Sibirtsevin 1900-1911 the department was headed by K.D.Glinka - his friend and also an outstanding studentof Dokuchaev.

Sibirtsev’s name is very respectful in Russia. In thehomeland of the scientist, in Arkhangelsk, every 5years there conducted Sibirtsev public readingssince 1970. On the basis of these regular readingsthe International memorial scientific conferencewas held on the 14-16th of September, 2010 tochronicle the 150th anniversary of Sibirtsev’s birthand the 110th anniversary of his untimely death.The conference was organized by the DokuchaevSoil Science Society, Institute of Ecological Prob-lems of the North of Russian Academy of Sciences,the Northern (Arctic) Federal University,Arkhangelsk and other sponsors. The plenary ses-sion of the conference was focused on the contri-bution of Nikolay Sibirtsev to the development ofactual soil science in Russia and in the world. Theconference was attended by 65 people from differ-

IUSS BULLETIN 11912

ent parts of Russia and countries of the former So-viet Union. There were discussed five topics: 1. Contribution of N.M. Sibirtsev to the world soilscience and creative development of his heritage; 2.Contemporary problems of the soil genesis and ge-ography; 3. Classification of soils from N.M. Sibirtsev to thepresent day; 4. Evaluation of soil and land resources; 5. Problems of Soil Ecology of the North.

The participants of the memorial conference aplliedto local authorities with a proposal to name one ofthe streets in Arkhangelsk after Nikolay Sibirtsev andhis brother, Iustin Sibirtsev, a well-known historian.

In conclusion, we can state that the research andscientific lives of V.V. Dokuchaev and N.M. Sibirt-sev were intertwined and inseparable. Without su-pervision of Dokuchaev there would be noSibirtsev as soil scientist and without research andgeneralizations of N.M. Sibirtsev the basis ofDokuchaev Soil Science concepts would not havebeen so harmonious as we know them. Soil Sci-ence of the world develops along the way, sched-uled by Dokuchaev and Sibirtsev.

DECEMBER 2011 13

The participants of the Memorial Conference in Arckhangelsk put flowers to the memorial board in remembrance of

the Sibirtsev brothers

IUSS President - Call for NominationsAt its Meeting held in August 2010 in Brisbane, the IUSSCouncil adopted new procedures for the election of thePresident of the Union. The key change that was madeby Council at this meeting was to break the link be-tween the role of the President of the Union and theorganisation of the World Congress of Soil Science. TheIUSS is now calling for nominations to the position ofPresident. The person elected will take up the positionas President-Elect in mid-2012, and will serve as a Sen-ior Officer for a total period of six years. Persons nom-inated should be internationally-recognised, leadingsoil scientists who possess and exhibit first-rate inter-personal and communication skills. Further details ofthe selection criteria to be used and the nominationsprocedure are on the IUSS web site www.iuss.orgNominations should be made by 17th January 2012.

Nomination for IUSS Honorary MembersHonorary Members can be nominated by any FullMember and the nomination material has to be sentto the Secretary General. The material shall not bemore than 2 pages long and should show the back-ground of the individual and his or her service to theIUSS and the impact that this person has had interna-tionally on soil science. Elections shall take place by se-cret ballot among Council members present for themid- congress meeting and the results announced inthe Bulletin after the Mid-Congress meeting. The pres-ident will send a letter and a certificate to the electedHonorary Members informing them of their selection.The new honorary members will be recognized at thenext Congress. Please send your nominations for IUSSHonoray Members to the Secretary General athartemink@wisc.edu before 1st January 2012.

IUSS Inter Congress Meeting June 2012The Inter-Congress Meeting will take place on Jiju Is-land, Korea from June 30 to July 4 2008. Full detailstogether with registration forms will be availableshortly. Please send items for discussion at the Busi-ness Meeting of Council. For more information seewww.20wcss.org or contact the IUSS President ProfJae yang at yangjay@kangwon.ac.kr

No address, no communicationWe like to have up to date information on the Offi-cers of the National Soil Science Societies. Many So-cieties change their officers annually, and in order tokeep Member Societies informed details of currentOffice Holders, their postal addresses and currentemail addresses are needed. Please mail details of your current Soil Science Soci-ety Officers to hartemink@wisc.edu

Micromorphology NewsletterIn this newsletter you will find the report on thecourse in Tübingen 2011, and the announcement offuture courses in Medellín 2011 and in London 2011.Also, there will be meetings, workshops andcongresses very shortly: Pisa 2011, Vienna 2011,Lleida 2012, Eurosoil2012 Bari, Moskow-Smolensko2012. Some of these meetings are very close to eachother, which may be an advantage for people comingfrom overseas. You will also find new publications,announcements, short research notes and newprojects where we need your help. See: http://loess.umcs.lublin.pl/micro.htm

IUSS BULLETIN 11914

IUSS Alerts May - November 2011

Information for and from the global soil science community IUSS Alerts are e-mailed to more than 12, 000 people in over 100 countries. If you have information toshare, please send it to hartemink@wisc.edu Below are the still relevant contributions that appeared inthe IUSS Alerts from May till November 2011.

IUSS Dokuchaev and Liebig Awards

Two awards are presented by the IUSSat each World Congress of Soil Scienceto recognize outstanding contributionsin two specific areas:- IUSS Dokuchaev Award - IUSS Liebig Award

Eligible nominees and nominators are members ofthe IUSS. Each award consists of an engraved medal,a certificate, a US$1000 honorarium, and financialsupport to attend the presentation at the WorldCongress of Soil Science. For nomination procedures,please contact M.B. Kirkham (mbk@ksu.edu). Sub-missions are due by 8 June 2013.

Guy Smith Medal AwardThe IUSS Guy Smith Medal Award Committee, ispleased to invite you to propose nominees for theforthcoming Guys Smith award. The next award willbe handed over at the event of the Soil ClassificationMeeting, to be held from June 11-14, 2012, in Lin-coln, Nebraska, USA (http://clic.cses.vt.edu/IUSS1.4/Conf_Soil_Classification_2012/).The awardee should have the following qualifica-tions: She/he must either have made a significantscientific contribution that has advanced the field ofsoil classification. Be an active member, honorarymember, or formerly active member of a national orinternational soil science professional society; andthe medal is not invested posthumously. Present of-ficers of the Commission and related WorkingGroups of IUSS cannot be nominated. The proposalfor nomination should comprise a short text, includ-ing the main steps of the scientific career of thenominee, her/his most relevant scientific publica-tions and major contribution to the development ofsoil classification. We look forward to receive yourproposals by e-mail to: seppe.deckers@ees.kuleu-ven.be; lanjos@ufrrj.br;etingof@glasnet.ru

Institute of Professional Soil Scientists launch Working with SoilThe Uk Government Department of EnvironmentFarming and Rural Affairs (Defra) Deputy Chief Sci-entific Advisor, Dr Miles Parker, helped launch Work-ing with Soil on the 20th July in London. Devised bythe Institute of Professional Soil Scientists (IPSS), this

new professional competency scheme identifiesminimum qualifications, skills and knowledge forpractising soils scientists carrying out a range of keytasks. IPSS aims to establish the scheme as the defacto standard for identifying competent contractorsin the field of soil science. Miles stated that ‘Defrawelcomes initiatives, such as the IPSS Working withSoils Competency Statements, that aim to improvethe quality of professional soils advice’. What waslaunched is the first phase of IPSS’s Working with Soilinitiative. The Institute plans to expand the schemeand to develop a tailored training programme forthose wishing to achieve the various standards. SaysDr Lascelles, “This is a new venture for us and we arevery keen to hear back from users of the scheme onhow Working with Soil can be developed to betterfit their needs. We are pretty sure the scheme willevolve over time but we are also absolutely certainthat it is needed. We need urgently to attract moreyoung scientists into a career in soil science. It mustbe a more rewarding and worthwhile choice for ourgraduates and postgraduates and we need to iden-tify clear career paths for those wishing to becomeprofessional soil scientists. Success in achieving asustainable professional community and greater so-cietal and industry recognition of the value of soilscience will help deliver a well managed and sustain-able soil resource to support current and future gen-erations. That, ultimately, is what Working with Soilis all about.”

Soil and spatial planning (Suoli e pianificazione)The working group Soil and spatial planning (Suoli epianificazione) of the Emilia- Romagna Region (Italy)is dealing with an integrated analysis of the man’s ac-tivities which have an impact on soil. We are particu-larly interested to share our activities and, briefly, wewould like: to inform on the earth beneath our feet,‘the soil’: what it is, why it is important, essential tolife as the air we breathe or the water we drink; tooffer news, photos, update, research, studies andeverything that happens about the soil; to create op-portunities for discussion, exchange of knowledge, in-creasing our awareness of the soil on which we walk.For this purpose we set up three work and discussionspaces, ready for any contribution:the web pages“Suoli e pianificazione”, (for the moment only in Ital-ian) hosted in the web site of the Geological, seismicand soil survey of the Regione Emilia Romagna at thefollowing address: http://www.regione.emilia-ro-

DECEMBER 2011 15

magna.it/wcm/geologia/canali/suoli_pianificazione.htm. The web site contains basic information aboutsoil, researches and case studies. You could con-tribute (English language is encouraged) sending thematerial to suoliepianificazione@regione.emilia-ro-magna.it. Facebook fan page ‘RER – Che terra pesti’at the address: http://www.facebook.com/cheter-rapesti. the page contain news and discussion and itis open to the fans. Comments, posts, news, videos,photos or any contributions oriented to improve theknowledge and the awareness of the soil are wel-come. To interact with the page you have just to clickthe ‘I like’ button from your Facebook profile. TheTwitter profile ‘Che terra pesti’ at the address:http://twitter.com/cheterrapesti. The profile is a dy-namic place of information exchange. We would liketo use it also to have a real time feedback of publicevents linked to the soil and the land planning. Itshould be nice to have your contribution in terms ofinfo discussion or real time reporting of public eventssuch as meeting or congress. To interact with “cheter-rapesti” you must have a twitter account and follow@cheterrapesti

IFA fertilizer glossaryThe glossary is now available on-linein five languages: English, French,German, Spanish and Chinese. Revi-sions have been made since 1980 bygroups of experts brought together

in IFA’s Agricultural Committee. There are more than150 terms and expressions related to fertilizer use,soil science, fertilizer manufacture and analysis, andapplication machinery and methods. The glossary isorganized in five sections, one for each language.Terms are listed in alphabetical order with brief def-initions. In some cases there is no equivalent termin other languages, which explains the unequal num-ber of entries in different sections. In some cases thenearest equivalent terms may differ from one lan-guage to another. The glossary is a key tool re-quested by a large majority of members. Moreinformation at the IFA website.

Newsletter Commission 1.4The IUSS Commission 1.4 Soil Classification decidedto start publishing a Newsletter. It will be issued twotimes a year and is supposed to report the most im-portant events related to classification of soils.Though relevant IUSS Working Groups “World Refer-

ence Base” and “Universal Soil Classification” publishtheir own Newsletters, the Commission will also re-port shortly the most important activities of thesegroups. The first issue is already available and coversthe following topics: 1) Greetings From the NewChair, 2) New Officers of The Commission and SoilClassification-Related Working Groups, 3) UniversalSoil Classification, 4) Guy Smith Medal: Rudi DudalPresented First Guy Smith Medal, 5) Reports on TheMeetings, 6) Forthcoming Meetings, 7) New Books,and 9) Historical Paper. The latter section is supposedto be regular in the Newsletter, presenting the mostimportant old papers related to soil classification. Inthis issue a chapter from a book by Roy Simonson onthe history of soil classification is presented. TheNewsletter is available on www.iuss.org

Spanish e-learning resource on soil scienceEdafos is a e-learning resource that provides a com-prehensive review of the fundamental concepts andprocesses of soil science in Spanish. It is a multime-dia- interactive program with different modules thatafter outlining the study of soil components goes onto examine the main factors and processes of soilgenesis explaining the mechanisms of soil processes.A better understanding of all these new ideas is fa-cilitated by the use of animations, which can illus-trate the processes in a more effective manner thanstatic print media. The program ends with the possi-bility of self-assessment questions obtaining an au-tomatic punctuation. It can be useful fromSecondary Education on Natural Sciences to degreeson Agricultural or Environmental Engineering see:www.cienciadelsuelo.es

New IUSS Cooperating Journal“Soil Science and Plant Nutrition is the officialEnglish journal of the Japanese Society of Soil Sci-ence and Plant Nutrition (JSSSPN, Webpage:http://jssspn.jp/index.html), and publishes origi-nal research and reviews in soil physics, chemistryand mineralogy; soil biology; plant nutrition; soilgenesis, classification and survey; soil fertility; fer-tilizers and soil amendments; environment; sociocultural soil science. 6 issues per year. Publisher:Taylor & Francis Group, Abingdon, UK. Webpage:http://www.informaworld.com/tssp Personal sub-scription rate for IUSS members for 2011: US$146.00”.

IUSS BULLETIN 11916

Caveat Emptor:Soil Science Books(?) from Alphascript and Betascript

One can find a book on sale onEbay with the title “Soil InferenceSystem”. The book is 108 pageswith an ISBN. But, if you take aclear look at the cover, you’ll see“High Quality Content byWIKIPEDIA articles!” There seemsto be a Print-on-Demand company

under imprints such as Alphascript and Betascriptwhich has harvested Wikipedia articles, and madethem into a series of books, many of them with soiltitles. Yes, the books have derived all their contentsfrom Wikipedia. This appears to beg scam whichseems to have started last year. So, this is just awarning to people not to get tricked. Alphascript andBetascript are imprints of VDM Publishing (Verlag Dr.Muller) which apparently will publish any book in-cluding undergraduate and postgraduate theses.Amazon.com and various online book shops are sell-ing these books. There are about 80 soil-related ti-tles available from Amazon, with titles from“Serpentine Soils” to “Soil Classification”, “SoilPhysics”, “Biochar”, “Soil Function” , “World Refer-ence Base for Soil Resources” etc. These some 80‘soil’ titles were all published in 2010, by 3 very pro-ductive editors: LAMBERT M. TIMPLEDON, MIRIAMT. MARSEKEN, SUSAN F. SURHONE. All together theyhave edited more 260,921 books, all available fromAmazon. That must beat any academic record onecan imagine. One wonders what their h indices are?Could be very high if they refer to all the other onesin each book. Further investigation has revealed thatthis approach is not even original, Philip M. Parkerhas ‘patented a method to automatically produce aset of similar books from a template which is filledwith data from database and internet searches’ seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_M._Parker Allsad really, but probably inevitable. An automaticreading machine requires to be patented so humansdon’t have to bother with this.

DECEMBER 2011 17

5 questions to Lucia Cunha dos AnjosPosition: Associate Professor (since 1983)Age: 54Address: UFRRJ – Soils Department, Seropédica, RJ.

BrazilE-mail: lanjos@ufrrj.br

1. When did you decide to study soil science?During my undergraduate course, in Agronomy, inthe last two years before graduation, I started to par-ticipate of research projects and as a teaching assis-tant at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro(UFRRJ), Soils Department.

2. Who has been your most influential teacher?I can not name one influential teacher only. The firstcontact was in the Fundamentals of Soil Sciencecourse at UFRRJ, through Professor Renato Nasci-mento. He taught me that rocks, landscapes andsoils are related and that they are decisive to agri-culture. Later, I became a teaching assistant at theSoil Physics Laboratory, having as advisor ProfessorJoelito de O. Rezende, the best undergraduate pro-fessor ever. During my Master program, ProfessorDoracy P. Ramos aimed my life at Soil Genesis andClassification, and his field knowledge became myreference guide. Then, during my Ph.D. at PurdueUniversity, Don Franzmeier, with his wise and sereneguidance became my role model as advisor.

3. What do you find most exciting about soil science?That it is the base of everything in the ecosystems,

and to learn about soil it is required interaction withso many other fields of science, ecology, biology, ge-ology, geography, physics, math, sociology, and so on.

4. How would you stimulate teenagers and younggraduates to study soil science? By showing soil in the field and relating it’s proper-ties and importance to the web of life.

A perfect example is the Smithsonian and SSSAproject – Dig it! The secrets of soil. Another goodexperience is the Soil Judging Contest, which in-volves many college and undergraduate studentsin US.

5. How do you see the future of soil science?The future of soil science is to be integrated withother sciences. The interdisciplinary studies will berequired for the advance of any science, includingsoil science. The efforts of IUSS to produce a Uni-versal Soil Classification System (USC) follow in this

direction. The soil scientists will be required tochange, to break pre-concepts, but this should al-ways happen for any science to expand.

IUSS BULLETIN 11918

5 questions to a soil scientist

5 questions to Jock Churchman

Position: Adjunct Senior Lecturer (since 2009)Age: 67Address: The University of Adelaide, School of

Agriculture, Food & Wine, AustraliaE-mail: jock.churchman@adelaide.edu.au

1. When did you decide to study soil science?I have never formally studied soil science. My ini-tial degree, in New Zealand, was in chemistry.However, none of the PhD topics offering in purechemistry in the year I finished attracted me much,and I spent the year beginning a BA in humanities(completed in 2005, 40 years later, with a thesis onthe philosophical status of soil science). An enjoy-able year nonetheless decided my preference forthe quantitative over the qualitative and I took upa scholarship offered by the local ceramics industryfor basic research into the clay mineral, halloysite.I enjoyed this very much, and also became awareof the important role of clays in soils. I went intosoil science via a post-doc at the University of Wis-consin-Madison in 1971.

2. Who has been your most influential teacher?My PhD oral examiner in New Zealand, Dr MoriceFieldes, was an early mentor on clays in soils. He rec-ommended me to Professor ML Jackson at Wiscon-sin, who especially taught me the value of boldhypotheses. I have learnt much from such colleaguesas Benny Theng, Kevin Tate, David Lowe and RogerParfitt in New Zealand, from Keith Norrish, PhilSlade, Ralph Foster, Bill Emerson, Pichu Rengasamyand Will Gates in South Australia and, through studyleave, from Donald Payne in Reading, England andBob Gilkes in Western Australia. To do research is tocontinue to learn, including from students and evenjournal reviewers!

3. What do you find most exciting about soil science?My journey in soil science has been from the strictlyquantitative and relatively static area of clay mineralcrystal structures, where the laws of chemistry andphysics rule, into the much more dynamic realms ofsoil structure, where biology dominates and systemschange with time, often over quite short time scales.Furthermore, as more new, often expensive, instru-ments are applied to study them, the more evidentit becomes that even the inorganic components ofsoils are almost infinitely variable and also that theylargely occur in an infinite variety of associationswith other soil components.

4. How would you stimulate teenagers and younggraduates to study soil science? To study soils is to study materials and systems thatare surely among the most fascinating phenomenain nature. Soil science demands many skills, thanksto its contributing scientific disciplines, including ge-ology, crystallography, mineralogy, computer map-ping, chemistry, biochemistry, physics, hydrology,mechanics, plant physiology, ecology, microbiology,and computer modeling. There are big scientificchallenges involved in integrating information fromall of these to distill out the essence of soils. Thereare also great challenges facing humanity, especiallythose of feeding the growing human populationwhile sustaining the planet. The idea of tacklingthese can appeal to the idealism of many young peo-ple and meeting these challenges will necessarily in-volve soils as the basis of all terrestrial life.

5. How do you see the future of soil science?Soils are so complex that they present major scien-tific opportunities, especially for interdisciplinary re-search. Even so, soils ultimately grow most of ourfood and much of the material for our shelter, whilefiltering and recycling much of our waste. The needfor solutions to the problems involved in under-standing soils will only become greater as popula-tion increases, as affluence grows and as attendantenvironmental problems and shortages becomemore pressing. These scientific and humanistic chal-lenges need more of both the brightest and the bestto study soils so as to ensure the optimal use of thisvaluable resource for future generations. It only (!)remains to convince politicians, educationalists andfinanciers of their importance.

DECEMBER 2011 19

Dr. Wilford Robert Gardner, 85, passed away at hishome in Mapleton, Utah on May 20, 2011.Wilfordwas born October 19, 1925 to Robert and NellieBarker Gardner in Logan, Utah. He is a veteran ofWorld War ll and served with the Army Corps of En-gineers in the European and Pacific Theatres of Op-eration. He married Marjorie Louise Cole on June 9,1949 in the Logan Temple. Wilford earned his Bach-elor of Science from Utah State University in 1949,during which time he also performed as a flutist inseveral musical ensembles including a woodwindquintet. He went on to complete a Master of Sciencedegree in soils physics and a Ph.D. in soil physics andmathematics at Iowa State University, where heworked under Professor Don Kirkham. After comple-tion of his doctorate he accepted a research positionat the U.S. Salinity Laboratory in Riverside, Califor-nia where he worked closely with L.A. Richards. Sub-sequently he received a professorship at theUniversity of Wisconsin where he taught from 1966through 1980. During this time he served as a SeniorFulbright Fellow and in 1972 was awarded the Medal

of Honor by the University of Ghent, Belgium. In1980 he accepted a position at the University of Ari-zona as head of the department of Soil and WaterScience. From 1987 and 1994, he served as Dean ofthe College of Natural Resources at the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley. During his tenure at Berkeley healso served as Bishop of the Richmond 1st Ward.Over the course of his career, he published over 140books, chapters, and scholarly articles. He served asan active member of many associations devoted tosoil science, including the American Association forthe Advancement of Science, the American Societyof Agronomy, the International Soil Science Society,the Soil Science Society of America, the Water Sci-ence and Technology Board of the NRC. He was thefirst USU graduate to be elected to membership inthe National Academy of Sciences. He was the pres-ident of the physics committee for the InternationalSoil Science Society, head of the delegation to Inter-national Union of Soil Science, chair of the UnitedStates National Committee for Soil Science, andserved as president of the Soil Science Society ofAmerica.

IUSS BULLETIN 11920

In Memoriam

Wilford Robert Gardner1925-2011

From my memory of Arieh Singer, an eminent Soil Scientist On 26 of March in 2010 after short severe illnessArieh Singer passed away. Arieh Singer was bornon 14 of May 1934. At the Hebrew University ofJerusalem he did M. Sc. agriculture. He obtainedthere his PhD in soil science and he was teaching inthe Rehovot-Campus throughout his career, start-ing as a lecturer and ending in 2002 as a Professorfor soil science. As visiting scientist, guest profes-sor or consultant he spent long times in Australia,Canada, South Africa, China, central America andin Heidelberg and Stuttgart-Hohenheim (Ger-many).With Arieh Singer we lost an eminent soil scientist,who contributed many frames and poles to thebuilding of soil science in the 20th Century. Withhis great wisdom, his friendship and his very po-lite, sometimes shy manners, he opened manyyoung soil scientists from all over the world thedoor into soil science. He was a worldwide ac-cepted specialist in soil development and soil min-eralogy. On the rare minerals of Sepiolite andPalygorskite, he was the top scientist in the world.During his long career, he touched many soil-sci-entific and geo-scientific topics. Even in thoseareas, where he seemed not to be a specialist, hecontributed significant new ideas and findings.Through his independent thinking, his acknowledg-ment of findings of other scientists, he alwayscame through into the centre of the problem, andhe did advice the right steps. It is impact in soil sci-ence will continue. My group lost a friend. Arieh spent three timessabbatical at Hohenheim. He worked with us in thelaboratory, together we published papers and wespent some time in our houses with the family. Wewent to the field and met at many conferences. Es-pecially Arieh was a good adviser and supervisorof several of my students and co-workers. Whenhe passed away, we still had plans, what we can dotogether. Without him we will hardly be possible

to carry it out. He is survived by his wife twodaughters and four grandchildren.We will keep him in a good memory forever.

Karl StahrProfessor of Soil Science and Petrography Hohenheim UniversityChair Division I, International Union of Soil Science

DECEMBER 2011 21

In Memoriam

Arieh Singer1934-2010

At a time of great need agricultural research has lostof one of its greatest and most respected advocates.Professor J. Keith Syersdied suddenly at his home inThailand on July 16thaged 72. Keith Syers was an in-ternationally recognised soil chemist who in his longand highly productive career produced almost 350scientific publications and five books on soils andsoil-plant interactions. He did much to inform the sci-entific debate around sustainable agriculture andfood security and wrote widely on the need for inte-grated nutrient management; including the criticalneed for inorganic fertilisers in sustaining food pro-duction. In 1989 he served as Specialist Advisor tothe Sub-Committee of the House of Lords (UK) Euro-pean Communities Committee on ‘Nitrates in Water’and more recently (2011), led the UNEP WorkingGroup on ‘Phosphorus and Food Production’.

Keith was born on May 4th 1939 in Colne, Lan-cashire to Hervey and Elsie Syers and is survived byhis younger sister Rosemary and by his childrenRichard, Josie and Amanda. He attended SkiptonGrammar School before going to Durham University(later to become part of Newcastle University) fromwhere he graduated with Honours in Soil Science in1960 and a PhD in 1964. Keith had a life-long inter-est in popular music and whilst studying wouldoften supplement his income playing piano in thebars around Newcastle. One of Keith’s core beliefswas to ‘work hard but to have fun doing it’,anymoney he made from playing piano was usuallyreinvested behind the bar.

Keith Syers started his Professional career in 1964when he was appointed as a Postdoctoral Fellow inthe Department of Soil Science at Lincoln College inNew Zealand where he worked on soil fertility inpastures. He moved to the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1967 to work under Professor M.L. Jack-son, a pioneer of fundamental studies on soil andfertiliser potassium and phosphorus. His time withJackson in Wisconsin (1967-1972) was regarded byKeith as one of the most rewarding and stimulatingresearch environments of his career and the experi-ence helped shape Keith’s approach and thinking insoil science. In 1972, aged only 33, he returned toNew Zealand to the foundation Chair in Soil Scienceat Massey University where he built one of theworld’s leading soils teaching and research depart-ments. During this time (1981) he was elected asFellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and itwas whilst at Massey that he built his reputation asa research leader in the use of fertiliser P and S inagriculture. He was one the first to show using au-toradiography that phosphate ions can gradually dif-fuse into soil crumbs, thus explaining the decreaseover time in the plant availability of phosphate fer-tilisers added to soils. His thinking about phospho-rus and its behaviour in soils over many years ledhim recently to question and challenge whetheragriculture was in fact facing a period of ‘peak phos-phorus’.

IUSS BULLETIN 11922

In Memoriam

J. Keith Syers 1919-2011

He returned to Newcastle University in 1986 as Pro-fessor of Soil Science and became Dean of the Fac-ulty of Agriculture and Biological Sciences in 1989.During his time at Newcastle he was responsible forreorganising teaching and research in the agricul-tural and environmental sciences and served onmany key national and international committees in-cluding the Scientific Advisory Committee of SCOPEPhosphorus Cycling Project, the Royal Society Inter-disciplinary Science Committee and the GoverningBoard of CAB International. In 1995 he was ap-pointed Chair of the Advisory Committee of theWorld Phosphate Institute.

Keith Syers spent much of his professional careerworking on problem soils and worked tireless-lythrough his role on international committees andadvisory groups to increase sustainable food andfibre production in the developing world. He be-lieved that the answer to future food security lay ingood science and education combined with localknowledge and technology sharing. In 1992 hemoved to Thailand on secondment to join the Inter-national Board for Soils Research and Management(IBSRAM) as Director of Research before returningto Newcastle in 1995. On his retirement from New-castle in 2000, he returned to Thailand as Vice Pres-ident for International Relations at NaresuanUniversity in Phitsanulok.

His outstanding contributions to soils researchhave been recognised internationally and he wasan elected Fellow of the Soil Science Society ofAmerica, of the New Zealand Society of Soil Sci-ence, and presented the prestigious Russell Lec-ture for the British Society of Soil Science in 2007.Sadly, his untimely death has meant that his latesthonour, awarded in recognition of hislife-time con-tribution to soil science, the Soil Science Societyof America’s Distinguished Service Award, has tobe awarded posthumously in San Antonio, USAlater this year.

Keith will be remembered by those who knew himwell as a larger than life figure. As someone whoreally knew what it meant to ‘work hard but tohave fun doing it’. He will be remembered fondlyby the many postgraduate students and early ca-reer researchers he supported and mentoredthroughout their careers. Many owe their subse-quent successes to the timely intervention and ex-ample shown by Keith Syers. He had a generosity

of spirit and could always make time to help otherswhen they needed it most. Soil science and soilchemistry has lost one of its great figures. He willbe deeply missed.

DECEMBER 2011 23

The 14th Annual Scientific Conference of the Philip-pine Society of Soil Science and Technology (PSSST)was held at the Visayas State University (VSU) in Bay-bay City, Leyte last 25-27 May 2011. About 140 soilscientists, soil practitioners, and agriculturists work-ing in universities, government agencies, non-gov-ernment organizations, and private companiesthroughout the Philippines attended the conference. Prof. Dr. Karl Stahr, the Chairman of Division I of theInternational Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) from theUniversity of Hohenheim, Germany, gave thekeynote lecture about the limestone soils in South-east Asia particularly Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos.In addition, Dr. Gamini Keerthisinghe of the Aus-tralian Centre for International Agricultural Research(ACIAR) gave a plenary paper on the challenges tosustainable crop production.

A total of 26 papers were presented dealing withvarious soil topics ranging from fertilization to soilcharacterization and geospatial modeling. Moreover,

about 30 poster papers were presented. The presen-ters of the best oral and poster papers were awardedwith certificates and cash prizes.A post-conference tour was organized to Lake Danaolocated at 730 m ASL in the central highlands ofLeyte island. On the way to the lake, the participantswere able to observe the following: 1) the City ofOrmoc, one of the cleanest and most progressivecities in the Philippines; 2) the mouth and headwa-ter of Anilao River which caused the tragic floodingof Ormoc City that killed 8,000 people in 1991; 3)the volcanic landscape which is used for large-scalesugarcane and vegetable production; 4) the beauti-ful 1,912 ha Lake Danao along the Philippine FaultLine in the middle of the rainforest; 5) the Andisolsoil (Typic Hapludand) which is typical of the vol-canic landscape; and 6) the Tongonan GeothermalPlant, one of the largest in Asia.The current PSSST officers who come from differentuniversities and government agencies are: Constan-cia G. Mangao, President; Nenita de la Cruz, Vice

IUSS BULLETIN 11924

Report on the 14th ScientificConference of the PhilippineSociety of Soil Science andTechnology

President; Angelita C. Marcia, Secretary; Purisima P.Juico, Treasurer; Anabella B. Tulin, Auditor; RowenaL. Castillo, Press Relations Officer; Fe B. Perlas- Busi-ness Manager; Virginia M. Padilla, Trustee; Redia N.Atienza, Trustee; Constancio A. Asis, Jr, Trustee;Danilo Mendoza, Trustee; and Alexander W. Fagyan,Ex Officio Member; Cezar P. Mamaril, Adviser; andEduardo P. Paningbatan, Adviser.The conference was hosted by the Department ofAgronomy and Soil Science of Visayas State Univer-sity, one of the leading soil science departments inthe Philippines today. It was the first PSSST confer-ence that was attended by an IUSS officer (Prof.Stahr).

Prof. Victor B. AsioHead, Dept of Agronomy and Soil Science, VSU, Chair, Local Organizing Committee

DECEMBER 2011 25

Peatlands of the Western Guayana High-lands. Properties and paleogeographicsignificance of peats. Edited by J.A. Zinckand O. Huber. 2011. Springer, EcologicalStudies Vol. 217. ISBN 978-3-642-20137-0.

The Guayana Highlands in northeastern tropical Ame-rica, rising from lowland rain forests and savannas upto 3000 m elevation, are characterized by ancient ta-blelands called tepuis. The peatlands that developedon the tepuis constitute unique and fascinating ecos-ystems and are the focus of this volume, which startswith an overview of tropical and subtropical peats, fo-llowed by an introduction to the geo-ecological fea-tures of the Guayana region as a whole, with specialemphasis on the diversity of the vegetation coverfrom lowlands to uplands to highlands. The core sub-ject centers on the properties and dating of the peatdeposits and the interpretation of the chronologicalrecord in terms of past environmental changes. Thewell illustrated book will appeal to a broad range ofscientists interested in tropical highland peats, inclu-ding quaternarists, soil scientists, geomorphologists,geographers, geologists, ecologists, botanists, hydro-logists, conservationists, and land use planners.

Soil Chemical Methods – Australasia.Australian Soil and Land Survey Hand-books Series. George E Rayment (QLDDepartment of Environment and Re-source Management), David J Lyons(QLD Department of Environment and

Resource Management). Illustrations, 520 pages,245 x 170 mm, Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING, Octo-ber 2010, Hardback, ISBN: 9780643067684. Price AU$140.00. Soil Chemical Methods – Australasia describes over200 laboratory and field chemical tests relevant toAustralasia and beyond. The information andmethodology provided across 20 chapters is compre-hensive, systematic, uniquely coded, up-to-date anddesigned to promote chemical measurement qual-ity. There is guidance on the choice and applicationof analytical methods from soil sampling through tothe reporting of results. In many cases, optional an-alytical ‘finishes’ are provided, such as flow-injectionanalysis, electro-chemistry, multiple flame technolo-

gies, and alternatives to chemical testing offered bynear-range and mid-range infrared diffuse re-flectance spectroscopy. The book supersedes andupdates the soil chemical testing section of the 1992Australian Laboratory Handbook of Soil and WaterChemical Methods of Rayment and Higginson, whileretaining method codes and other strengths of thatHandbook. Chapters cover soil sampling, samplepreparation and moisture content; electrical conduc-tivity and redox potential; soil pH; chloride; carbon;nitrogen; phosphorus; sulphur; gypsum; micronutri-ents; extractable iron, aluminium and silicon; satura-tion extracts; ion-exchange properties; limerequirements; total miscellaneous elements; miscel-laneous extractable elements; alkaline earth carbon-ates and acid sulfate soils. In addition, there areinformative Appendices, including information onthe accuracy and precision of selected methods. Thisbook targets practising analysts, laboratory man-agers, students, academics, researchers, consultantsand advisors involved in the analysis, use and man-agement of soils for fertility assessments, land usesurveys, environmental studies and for natural re-source management.

Biocommunication in Soil Micro-organisms. Series: Soil Biology,Vol. 23, Witzany, Günther (Ed.), 1stEdition., 2011, XX, 474 p., Hard-cover. ISBN: 978-3-642-14511-7. Price 149,95 €. Communication is defined as an in-teraction between at least two liv-

ing agents which share a repertoire of signs. Theseare combined according to syntactic, semantic andcontext-dependent, pragmatic rules in order to co-ordinate behavior. This volume deals with the im-portant roles of soil bacteria in parasitic andsymbiotic interactions with viruses, plants, animalsand fungi. Starting with a general overview of thekey levels of communication between bacteria,further reviews examine the various aspects of in-tracellular as well as intercellular biocommunica-tion between soil microorganisms. This includesthe various levels of biocommunication betweenphages and bacteria, between soil algae and bacte-

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New Publications

ria, and between bacteria, fungi and plants in therhizosphere, the role of plasmids and transposons,horizontal gene transfer, quorum sensing and quo-rum quenching, bacterial-host cohabitation,phage-mediated genetic exchange and soil viralecology.

Introducción a la Edafología. Uso y pro-tección de suelos. Porta J, López-Ace-vedo M, Poch RM. 2010. Mundi-Prensa,Madrid. ISBN 9788484764052. This book attempts to provide a basis

for the teaching by lecturers, who have their ownstyle and academic origin, convictions and interpre-tations of soil science. It is a book that can be usefulfor teaching in the framework of the European Spaceof Higher Education. It consists of fourteen basicunits: soil, soil functions and organizations, trainingand environmental factors of soil formationprocesses, soil field surveys, physical properties andsoil behavior, inorganic components, organic matter,chemical properties and soil behavior, soil ecologyand cycling of elements, soil water, soil classificationaccording to Soil Taxonomy and World ReferenceBase, soil information, georeferenced databases, soilinformation systems, access paths to soil informa-tion and how it can be used, soil quality degradationand basis for control, and soil study in the labora-tory. The objectives are outlined at the beginning ofeach unit, together with the recommended readings.The units begin with an exercise called “learning con-nection” in order to relate what is explained in theunit with what has been previously studied, andeach unit ends with “knowledge and understanding”,in order to work with its theoretical contents. Thebook is completed with “Keys to self evaluation“ toguide the student through the resolution of the pro-posed activities. An extensive alphabetical index fa-cilitates consultation of the work. This book hasalready reached a second edition in spanish and isalso offered in catalan.

Soil Management: Building a StableBase for AgricultureEdited by Jerry L. Hatfield and ThomasJ. Sauer, both of USDA-ARS NationalLaboratory for Agriculture and the En-vironment, Ames, IA.

Unique because of its treatment of soil managementbased on principles—the physical, chemical, and bi-ological processes and how together they form thefoundation for soil management—this book pulls it

all together. Whether new to soil science or needinga concise reference, readers will learn to integratethe science of soils with management issues andlong-term conservation. Degradation of soils collid-ing with increasing climate variation will eventuallycreate a local, regional, or even global crisis, but it’snot too late if we implement our ever-expanding sci-entific understanding of soils. Hardcover, 430 pages.2011. ASA and SSSA. ISBN: 978-0-89118-853-7.

Groundwater Hydrology: Engineering,Planning, and Management. Mohammad Karamouz, PolytechnicInstitute of New York University,Brooklyn, USA; Azadeh Ahmadi;Masih Akhbari, Price: $119.95, ISBN: 9781439837566.

Written by an internationally respected professorand consultant, this textbook provides a balancedtreatment of theory and practice. It examines the in-terface between groundwater engineering and man-agement with tools such as data collection,simulation modeling, and economic analysis. Thechapters contain the latest developments in ground-water engineering and planning. The author pres-ents relevant modeling software applications fornumerous topics including hydrology, hydraulics,planning and management, conjunctive use, and cli-mate change implications. The book includes figures,tables, and equations as well as examples, end ofchapter questions, and case studies.

Environmental Microbiology for Engi-neers. Volodymyr Ivanov, NanyangTechnological University, Singapore,Price: $99.95, ISBN: 9781420092349.Publication Date: November 17, 2010,Number of Pages: 438.

This book enables engineering students to under-stand how microbiology can be applied to environ-mental research and practical applications. Writtenspecifically for senior undergraduate to graduatelevel civil and environmental engineering students,the textbook encompasses both fundamental and ap-plied principles and covers topics such as the micro-biology of water, wastewater, soil, and airbiotreatment systems used in environmental engi-neering. It also covers civil engineering topics such asbiocementation, biocorrosion, biofouling and biode-terioration of materials. Suitable for environmentalengineers with little to no biology training, this bookprovides a thoroughly up-to-date introduction to cur-

DECEMBER 2011 27

rent trends in environmental microbiology and engi-neering. Microbial classification is represented as aperiodic table with theoretical connections betweenall prokaryotic groups and highlighting their environ-mental applications. The textbook includes quizzesfor each chapter, tutorials and exam questions. A sep-arate solutions manual is available with qualifyingcourse adoption. As an instructor and an active par-ticipant in the environmental and civil engineeringcommunity, the author has recognized the need forfield-specific microbiology instructional material, andhas constructed a concise, relevant text for both stu-dents and professionals.

European Journal of Soil Science, PEDOMETRICSSpecial Issue, June 2011. Commissioned in honourof Richard Webster, a former Editor in Chief of EJSSand a leading figure in the development of Pedomet-rics and the formation of the Pedometrics Commis-sion. There are thirteen papers on a wide range oftopics including soil geostatistics, Bayesian methods,sampling, sensors, digital soil mapping and wavelets.Website: wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ejss

Soil Use and Management. Topics covered includeSoil and nutrient management, gaseous emissionsform soils, significance and management of soil or-ganic matter, impact of land management on soils,soil assessment and degradation, soil physical prop-erties. Special Issue on Soil Quality, September 2010.Virtual Issues: Key Papers in Soil Use and Manage-ment, March 2011; Soils and Nitrous Oxide Re-search, May 2010. Website: wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/sum

Digital Terrain Analysis in Soil Sci-ence and Geology. By I.V. Florinsky(Institute of Mathematical Prob-lems of Biology, Russian Academyof Sciences). ISBN: 978-0-12-385036-2. Hardcover, 430 pages,October 2011, 2011, Elsevier - Aca-

demic Press. Price $149.95. This book provides an integrated view of the theory,principles, and methods of digital terrain modelingin the context of multi-scale problems of soil scienceand geology. Digital Terrain Analysis in Soil Scienceand Geology, based on the author’s original interdis-ciplinary research, is divided into three parts. Thefirst part represents the state-of-the-art in the fieldoutlining mathematical methods used in digital ter-rain modeling. The second part looks at methods for

analysis, modeling, and mapping of spatial distribu-tion of soil properties using digital terrain analysis.The third part considers techniques for recognition,analysis, and interpretation of topographically ex-pressed geological features. The book is addressedto GIS scientists, soil scientists, geologists, geoscien-tists, geomorphologists, and geographers (at scholar,lecturer, and postgraduate student levels, withmathematical skills), as well as GIS professionals inindustry and research laboratories focusing on geo-scientific and soil research.

Unsaturated Soils: A fundamentalinterpretation of soil behaviour. E.J. Murray, V. Sivakumar, ISBN:978-1-4443-3212-4. Paperback,304 pages, August 2010, Wiley-Blackwell. Price ¬ 84.00. An understanding of the mechani-

cal properties of unsaturated soils is crucial for geot-echnical engineers worldwide, as well as to thoseconcerned with the interaction of structures withthe ground. This book deals principally with fine-grained clays and silts, or soils containing coarsersand and gravel particles but with a significant per-centage of fines. The study of unsaturated soil is apractical subject, linking fundamental science to na-ture. Soils in general are inherently variable andtheir behaviour is not easy to analyze or predict, andunsaturated soils raise the complexity to a higherlevel. Even amongst practicing engineers, there isoften lack of awareness of the intricacies of the sub-ject. This book offers a perspective of unsaturatedsoils based on recent research and demonstrateshow this dovetails with the general discipline of soilmechanics. Following an introduction to the basicsoil variables, the phases, the phase interactions andthe relevance of soil structure, an up-to-date reviewof laboratory testing techniques is presented. Thisincludes suction measurement and control tech-niques in triaxial cell testing. This is followed by anintroduction to stress state variables, critical stateand theoretical models in unsaturated soils. A de-tailed description of the thermodynamic principlesas applied to multi-phase materials under equilib-rium conditions follows. These principles are thenused to explore and develop a fundamental theoret-ical basis for analyzing unsaturated soils. Soil struc-ture is broken down into its component parts todevelop equations describing the dual stress regime.The critical state strength and compression charac-teristics of unsaturated soils are examined and it is

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shown how the behaviour may be viewed as a three-dimensional model in dimensionless stress-volumespace. The analysis is then extended to the workinput into unsaturated soils and the development ofconjugate stress, volumetric and strain-incrementvariables. These are used to examine the microme-chanical behaviour of kaolin specimens subjected totriaxial shear strength tests and lead to observationsnot detectable by other means.

Soil Mechanics. NOVA, ISBN: 978-1-84821-102-5,Hardcover, 416 pages, June 2010, Wiley-ISTE. Price€152.40. Knowledge of the behavior of soil mechan-ics is essential for forecasting the internal displace-ments and actions of any construction. This book,although theoretical at first glance, also offers amore practical scope, giving readers adequate toolsto plan geotechnical projects correctly.

Soil Evaluation - Materials for Lec-tures and Seminars. By Starodubt-sev V.M., Petrenko L.R., and StrukV.S. – Kyiv: AGRARMEDIA Group,2011. – 98 p. ISBN 978-966-2424-37-9. Soft cover. The manual provides its readers

with a know-how pertaining to different ways andaspects of soil and land evaluation in Ukraine andsome other countries. Soil areas (mapping units) aswell as land plots can be evaluated in grade points,from 0 to 100, regardless of their multiform peculi-arities and ways of practical utilization. Generalgrades allow competing the soils and lands regard-less of the crops grown on them. Such grades per-tain to potential productivity of evaluated objects.They also allow comparative economic analyses offarms and other enterprises, using lands as a meansof production. Partial soil and land evaluation makespossible to estimate the potential productivity ofsoils and land areas with regard of the crop grownon them or any other form of their employment inagriculture, horticulture, and cultivation of vegeta-bles and fruits. The book deciphers the applicationof the so-called “desirability functions”, proposed byT.O. Grinchenko for both general and partial soil, cli-mate, and land area evaluation. It also directs thereaders’ attention to the weak points of differentmethods of soil and land evaluation in Ukraine, suchas Kuzmichov, Siry, Novakovsky et al., andMedvedyev et al methods. The solution of the prob-lem of soil and land evaluation in Ukraine is still not“waiting sound the corner”. At the same time, such

solution is must in the employment of such an eval-uation in various decision-making activities of landusers, economists, traders, ecologists, and, espe-cially so, of land surveyors and proper use managers.The book will be useful to the graduate universitystudents of agrobiology, soil science, ecology, landmanagement, and agricultural economics.

Elevated Carbon Dioxide: Impacts onSoil and Plant Water Relations. By M.B. Kirkham. 2011. CRC Press,Taylor and Francis Group, Boca Raton,Florida. 399 pages. ISBN: 978-1-4398-5504-1.

Between 1958 and 2008, the CO2 concentration inthe atmosphere increased from 316 to 385 ppm.Continued increases in CO2 concentration will signif-icantly affect long-term climate change, includingvariations in agricultural yields. Focusing on this crit-ical issue, Elevated Carbon Dioxide: Impacts on Soiland Plant Water Relations presents research con-ducted on field-grown sorghum, winter wheat, andrangeland plants under elevated CO2. It describesspecific results from pioneering experiments per-formed over a seven-year period in the Evapotran-spiration Laboratory at Kansas State University,along with experiments appearing in peer-reviewedjournal articles.

Recent Trends in Soil Science andAgronomy Research in the North-ern Great Plains of North America.By Malhi, S.S., Gan, Y.T., Schoenau,J.J., Lemke, R.L. and Liebig, M.A.(eds.), 2010. Research Signpost,Trivandrum, Kerala, India.

ISBN: 978-81-308-0422-4, 427 pp. The book “Recent Trends in Soil Science and Agron-omy Research in the Northern Great Plains of NorthAmerica” summarizes published research in soil sci-ence and agronomy from various field experimentsconducted in the soil-climatic/agro-ecological re-gions of the Northern Great Plains of North Amer-ica. Collectively, the book represents an up-to-datecompilation of scientific information related to thesustainable management of dryland cropping sys-tems in this important agricultural area. Fifteenchapters, written by Canadian and U.S. scientists, re-view a myriad of topics focused on developing a bet-ter understanding of dryland cropping systems andtheir management. Specific topics reviewed in thebook include the impact of soil, crop and

DECEMBER 2011 29

fertilizer/nutrient management practices, land use,landscape, organic amendments, and other parame-ters in dryland cropping systems on crop production,economics, plant diseases, grain and forage quality,nutrient accumulation and distribution in soil, soilproperties, microbial diversity, greenhouse gas emis-sions, and water-, nutrient- and energy-use effi-ciency. Information in the book may be most usefulto researchers and practitioners in the PrairieProvinces of Canada, adjoining northern U.S. states,and other parts of the world possessing similar soil-climatic attributes as the Northern Great Plains.

Bodenkundliches Praktikum Exer-cises in Pedology - An Introductioninto Soil Analysis and Interpretationfor Soil Scientists, Geologists andEcologists, especially Agriculturistsand Forester (in German). Blume,Hans-Peter, Stahr, Karl; Leinweber,

Peter. 3rd Edition, 2011, XIII, 255 p., Hardcover. ISBN: 978-3-8274-1553-0. Price 39,95 €. Students are instructed, how to describe, to classifyand to map soils as well as to measure their water,air and nutrient dynamics in the field. They also findseveral methods (mainly ISO Standards), to studytheir physical, chemical, mineralogical and biologi-cal conditions. The interpretation of soil data isshown: How to reconstruct the direction, the inten-sity and the duration of different soil formingprocesses? Advice for site property assessment isgiven. How to classify the rooting capability, thewater, air and nutrient conditions of soils, as well astheir microbial activity, their erosion risk, and therisk of groundwater poisoning. At the end conclu-sions are drawn for an improved land use and thenecessity of meliorations.

Phosphorus in Action. BiologicalProcesses in Soil Phosphorus Cy-cling. Series: Soil Biology, Vol. 26.Bünemann, Else K.; Oberson,Astrid; Frossard, Emmanuel (Eds.)1st Edition., 2011, XV, 483 p., Hard-cover. ISBN: 978-3-642-15270-2.Price 149,95 €.

Phosphorus (P) is a finite resource which is essentialfor life. It is a limiting nutrient in many ecosystemsbut also a pollutant which can affect biodiversity interrestrial ecosystems and change the ecology ofwater bodies. This book collects the existing, up-to-date information on biological processes in soil P cy-

cling, which to date have remained much less under-stood than physico-chemical processes. The meth-ods section presents spectroscopic techniques,characterization of microbial P forms, as well as theuse of tracers, molecular approaches and modelingof soil-plant systems. The section on processes dealswith mycorrhizal symbioses, microbial P solubiliza-tion, soil macrofauna, phosphatase enzymes and rhi-zosphere processes. On the system level, P cycling isexamined for grasslands, arctic and alpine soils, for-est plantations, tropical forests, and dryland regions,while aspects of P management with respect to an-imal production and cropping are also presented.The final chapter examines the interactions betweenglobal change and P cycling.

Understanding Soils in Urban Envi-ronments. Pam Hazelton (Universityof Technology, Sydney), Brian Mur-phy (NSW Department of Environ-ment and Climate Change), 160pages, Publisher: CSIRO Publishing,

February 2011, Paperback, ISBN: 9780643091740.Price AU $ 59.95. Soil properties such as water retention, salinityand acidity are not just issues for agriculture andforestry. They are equally as significant in creatingenvironmental and structural problems for build-ings and other engineering works. As an increas-ing proportion of the world’s population is livingin cities, and building and related infrastructuredevelopment continues, these problems assumeever-greater importance. In addition, existingworks contribute to urban soil erosion and pollu-tion as well as increased levels of urban runoff.Understanding Soils in Urban Environments ex-plains how urban soils develop, change anderode. It describes their physical and chemicalproperties and focuses on specific soil problems,such as acid sulfate soils, that can cause environ-mental concern and also affect engineeringworks. It also addresses contemporary issues suchas green roofs, urban green space and the man-made urban soils that plants may need to thrivein. It provides a concise introduction to all as-pects of soils in urban environments and will beextremely useful to students in a wide range ofdisciplines, from soil science and urban forestryand horticulture, to planning, engineering, con-struction and land remediation, as well as to en-gineers, builders, landscape architects, ecologists,planners and developers.

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Fundamentals of Soil Science. Second edition, 2009.Indian Society of Soil Science, New Delhi, India. xvi +728 p. ISBN 81-903797-4-7. Hardcover. During my re-cent trip to India, I had the opportunity of visitingDr. R.K. Rattan at the Division of Soil Science andAgricultural Chemistry, Indian Agricultural ResearchInstitute, New Delhi. On his desk I saw a copy of thesecond edition of the book Fundamentals of Soil Sci-ence. I was interested in it particularly because I hadreviewed the first edition published in 2002 (IUSSBulletin 102, p. 79-80). I offered to review the sec-ond edition. This second edition of the highly suc-cessful textbook contains revised and updatedinformation. The authoritative text begins with anintroductory chapter by Dr. J.S. Kanwar, Past Presi-dent of the Indian Society of Soil Science and the In-ternational Society of Soil Science, and includeschapters on weathering and soil formation, soil clas-sification, soil survey and mapping, physical proper-ties of soils, soil water, soil air and soil temperature,tillage, water management, soil erosion and soil con-servation, chemical composition of soils, soil colloidsand ion exchange in soil, soil acidity, soil salinity andalkalinity, mineral nutrition of plants, nitrogen, phos-phorus, potassium, secondary nutrients, micronutri-ents, analysis of soil, plant, and fertilizer for plantnutrients, soil fertility evaluation, soil biology andbiochemistry, soil organic matter, fertilizers, ma-nures and biofertilizers, soil fertility management,soil and water quality, soil pollution and its control,and soil management for sustainable farming. Thetext is supported by many tables, figures, and refer-ences. The book has a comprehensive Subject Indexand concludes with the following appendices: SIunits, conversion factors for SI and non-SI units, andcolor plates of soil profiles, soil and water conserva-tion measures, and nutrient deficiency symptoms.The type and layout of the book have been well cho-sen for easy reading. The primary objective of theauthors is to provide students and teachers with acomprehensive textbook on soil science. Althoughthe information focuses on Indian soils, the bookdeals with basic principles. The Fundamentals of SoilScience is, therefore, equally well suited to a broaderaudience in agronomy, environment, and sustainabledevelopment. The Editorial Committee includes Drs.N.N. Goswami (Chairman), R.K. Rattan, G. Dev, G.Narayanasamy, D.K. Das, S.K. Sanyal, D.K. Pal, andD.N.L. Rao. The 29 chapters have been written by 69eminent Indian soil scientists. I have met many ofthem at scientific meetings in Canada, India, USA,and other countries. The Indian Society of Soil Sci-

ence is to be complimented for this excellent publi-cation. Price: US $100 (including airmail charges andhandling). Order to: Dr. R.K. Rattan, Secretary, IndianSociety of Soil Science, First Floor, National SocietiesBlock, National Agricultural Science Centre Complex,Dev Prakash Sastri Marg, Pusa, New Delhi - 110 012.India. Phone 91-11-25841991; Fax 91-11-25841529.E-mail: isss1934@yahoo.comisss.secretary@gmail.comWeb page www.isss-India.orgReviewed by Yash P. Kalra, retired Soil Chemist, Ed-monton, Alberta, Canada

Dictionnaire encyclopédique de science du Sol, Clé-ment Mathieu et Jean Lozet. Editions TEC & DOC,Lavoisier, Londres-Paris-New York. 2011, 733 p. ISBN978-2-7430-1319-6.Price: 149,00 EUR. EditionsLavoisier. 14, rue de Provigny. 94236 Cachan cedex.A dictionary is a record of generally accepted mean-ings, which words have acquired at the time of pub-lication. It can also be a book of alphabetically listedwords in a language with their equivalent in anotherlanguage. This edition ’ meets both purposes in thefield of soil science and related disciplines includingsoil classification, soil formation, land use, soil fer-tility, soil conservation, mineralogy and geomorphol-ogy. It lists words in alphabetical order withdefinitions in French, the equivalent word in Englishand the etymology of terms derived from roots inclassical languages. An English-French index consti-tutes a real Dictionary in Both languages. With refer-ence to ‘Accepted meanings which words haveacquired at the time of publication’ it is obvious thatupdating is regularly required, especially in the do-main of soil science, which evolved at a fast ratesince the 1950’s. In 1954 Lozet published his ‘Dictio-nnaire de Pédologie’ of 800 words. In 1986 Lozet andMathieu prepared their first edition of their ‘Dictio-nnaire de Science du Sol’ covering 2400 words. Thesuccess of this publication led to a second edition in1990, a 3rd edition in 1997, a 4th edition in 2002 andthe present encyclopedic dictionary spanning morethan 5000 words, reflecting the evolution of soil sci-ence, the diversification of specializations, the de-velopment of different soil classification systems andthe generation of new terminologies. This dictionaryclearly has an added encyclopedic character. The ex-planation of words reaches often beyond a meredefinition: concepts are elaborated upon, cross-ref-erences are made to related topics, bibliography forfurther reading is given, illustrations with figures andphotographs are inserted. Also the most important

DECEMBER 2011 31

methods and instruments (e.g. calcimeter, tensiome-ter, polarizing microscope) are explained and oftenillustrated with a scheme or a picture. Most usefulare the many tables in the text comparing differentsystems of units, such as seven systems of grain sizedistribution used in soil science, seven types of ‘stan-dards’ of sieves, the international units and the oldunits and their conversion factors. A biography of120 late soil scientists of international renown is pro-vided in a special chapter. Annexes are devoted totabular overviews of French, German, Russian, USA,FAO and WRB (World Reference Base) soil classifica-tion systems, including tables with different horizondesignations and a literature list. It is to be notedthat the 2nd edition has been translated in Englishand in Russian. This dictionary should enhance in-ternational relations and hopefully contribute toovercome the language barrier, which still constrainsthe universal impact of soil science. The publishershave produced a highly finished book. Its attractivelayout and clarity makes it easy to read and to use. Itreally matches the aim of a quick reference diction-ary with a more in-depth approach to terms, all inone book. As all previous editions of the ‘Diction-naire de science du Sol’ have been sold out, it is ob-vious that publication of this ‘EncyclopedicDictionary’ answers a real need not only by theworld’s community of soil scientists but also by anaudience far beyond. This masterpiece of a handyreference book should be kept within reach of allthose who are directly or indirectly dealing with soilsin their job. The agronomist , the forester or the bi-ologist will find useful background to better under-stand the less visible underground part of thesubjects they are dealing with. For scholars but alsofor their teachers this encyclopedic dictionary willbe a highly valued ready reference which will pro-vide in-depth background to the lectures. Last butnot least researchers will be inspired by the deep re-flection on a myriad of topics to fuel the discussionin their publications. The authors should be congrat-ulated for this great piece of scientific achievementwhich certainly will remain a major milestone in soilscience for long.

Jozef (Seppe) DeckersDepartment of Earth and Environmental ScienceK.U.Leuven University, Belgium

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DECEMBER 2011 33

IUSS Honorary members

Year Member Country Year Member Country

1924 L. Cayeux † France K. Glinka † USSR Jos. Kopecky † Czechoslovakia E. Ramann † Germany Sir John Russell † UK S. Winogradski † USSR

1927 P. Treitz † Hungary 1935 E.A. Mitscherlich † Germany

A. d’Sigmond † Hungary J. Stoklasa † Czechoslovakia G. Wiegner † Switzerland

1950 A. Demolon † France D.J. Hissink † Netherlands W.P. Kelley † USA

1954 S. Mattson † Sweden E. Truog † USA

1956 G. Bertrand † France E.C.J. Mohr † Netherlands

1960 F.A. Bear † USA 1964 J.A. Prescott † Australia 1968 F. Hardy † UK

W.L. Kubiena † Germany L.A. Richards † USA A.A. Rode † USSR

1974 R. Bradfield † USA G.V. Jacks † UK Ch.E. Kellogg † USA M.K. Kononova † USSR A. Oudin † France F. Scheffer † Germany

1978 G. Barbier † France V. Ignatieff † Canada Y. Ishizuka † Japan L. Krolikowski † Poland L. Vettori † Brazil

1982 Ph. Duchaufour † France W. Flaig † Germany V. Kovda † USSR E. Mueckenhausen † Germany E.W. Russell † UK

1986 H. Jenny † USA D. Kirkham † USA S.K. Mukherjee † India R. Tavernier † Belgium

1990 G. Aubert † France E.G. Hallsworth † Australia J.S. Kanwar India P. Schachtschabel † Germany R.W. Simonson † USA I. Szabolcs † Hungary

1998 G.H. Bolt Netherlands R. Dudal Belgium K.H. Hartge † Germany M. Kutilek Czech Rep. J. Quirk Australia W.G. Sombroek † Netherlands K. Wada Japan D.H. Yaalon Israel S.V. Zonn † Russia

2002 R.W. Arnold USA G.V. Dobrovolsky Russia W. Gardner † USA H.M. Hamdi † Egypt L.A.L. Sarmiento Colombia F. Mancini Italy B.S. Nosko Ukraine R. Rosell Argentina A. Ruellan France A. Tanaka Japan P.B.H Tinker UK

2006 W.E.H. Blum AustriaH-P. Blume GermanyJ. Bouma NetherlandsS-J. Cho South KoreaJ. Glinski PolandM.G.H. Jamagne FranceD.R. Nielsen USAJ.H.V. van Baren † NetherlandsL.P. Wilding USA

2010 C. Feller FranceK. Kumazawa JapanK. Kyuma JapanJ. Ryan SyriaB.A. Stewart USAV. Targulian RussiaG. Varallyay HungaryJ.S.P. Yadav † India