Technical Yearbook 2024

AUGUST

Centennial celebration and congress of the International Union of Soil Science By Johan de Jager The theme of the congress, which was held in Florence, Italy, was “100 Years of Soil Science – Past Achievements and Future Challenges”.

Are we in an era of “carbon mania”? If you look up the word “mania”, the following description can be found: a mental disorder marked by periods of great excitement or euphoria, delusions and overactivity. In the last 10 years the word “carbon” has enjoyed preferential attention in terms of soil health among researchers and the media. However, the question is: is this just a trend, and what will be the outcome(s) of this trend? The attention carbon is receiving is backed up by the fact that organic material is the key to healthy soil functioning, but the measurement methods which are commonly used, are still not calibrated with each other. Furthermore, the carbon goals and norms required to assess soil health, still have not been determined. In terms of knowledge transfer, the simplified term “soil-organic carbon” is often used, although it is a much more complex system as organic matter in soil comprises much more than carbon alone. This year’s International Union of Soil Science (IUSS) centennial celebration and congress were attended by 1 436 guests from 73 countries. Additionally, 1 531 abstracts were accepted and 1 411 presentations were delivered during 82 parallel sessions over three days.

Johan de Jager at the IUSS, Florence, Italy.

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TECHNICAL YEARBOOK 2024