First published in 2011, WRAP’s Good Practice Guide: Using PAS 100 compost in Landscape and Regeneration Projects has been revised and is available at www.wrap.org.uk/landscapegpg.

The House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology has published its report on HE STEM subjects

A report exploring the effects of covering the land with artificial surfaces has just been published online by Science for Environment Policy.

Yesterday’s meeting of the Cross Party House of Common’s Agroecology Group discussed the potential for soil management practices to influence the future of farming in the UK. The session was chaired by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer and co hosted by the Food Ethics Council.

 Professor Mark Kibblewhite, Chair of Soil Science at Cranfield University, kicked off the session by scene setting the romantic attachment we have with soils - the smell of light rain on dry earth on a warm summers evening...

The British Society of Soil Science today co-hosted Earth Under Pressure: Maximising the value of soils at The Planet Under Pressure conference with the James Hutton Institute, Rothamsted Research and UNEP. Society President, Dr Helaina Black, introduced the session saying "there is an obvious but neglected opportunity to tackle many of the world's pressing environmental issues by improving soil quality globally".

Highlights

• Poverty is the biggest cause of soil degradation in the Himalayan region of India. This is driven by small-holdings, less technical know-how and poor take up of new approaches. (Dr Vikas Sharma).
• Most soil data is over 20 years old and not joined up. Dr Neil McKenzie, CSIRO Land and Water said "Scratching around at our current evidence base (on soils) is frankly embarrassing." Soil data is needed to address food and water security, carbon storage and other challenges faces mankind. There is a need to regularly monitor global soil conditions and the indications from most regions show that the warning signs are serious. This requires regular assessments: mapping, monitoring and forecasting. We need to rebuild the technical capability for surveying soil so that we can make regular reviews of soil quality, just as the IPCC does with the greenhouse gas inventory.
• Prof Diana Wall, Colorado State University "What matters is food webs, not just biodiversity." The function of organisms is much more important than just assessing numbers. Plant roots offer considerable untapped potential to harness more soil to address yield gaps. Prof Peter Gregory said "This is an exciting time to be a soil scientist" as they now have new opportunities in genetics and analytical sciences to understand how plants function and interact with their environment.

A report published today by the Technician Council indicates an alarming skills gap between the current number of technicians in the UK and the 450,000 that will be needed by 2020 to underpin a growing innovation economy and the report calls on government, public sector employers, industry leaders and professional bodies.
 
The Science Council has answered the call by establishing a new professional register for science technicians, finally embracing technicians within the professional science community.  Workforce research published in September showed that 20% of the UK workforce - some 5.8million people - are now employed in science based roles in the UK economy and that this is expected to increase to 7.1m in 2030: of this work force, about one-third are non-graduates working with science skills in a variety of ways and many of these will be highly skilled technicians.

The British Society of Soil Science will co-host the soils session at The Planet Under Pressure conference on Tuesday 27th March, where world renowned scientists will debate the opportunities to maximise the benefits from soils for society now and in 100 years. The Society's President, Helaina Black, says "there is an obvious but neglected opportunity to tackle many of the world's pressing environmental issues by improving soil quality globally. We hope that the RIO20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development will grasp this opportunity".

This report published by the JRC and the European Environment Agency provides a comprehensive overview of soil resources and degradation processes.

A new survey commisioned by the CPRE finds well over four out of five British adults (84 per cent) believe that farmers have a responsibility to look after the landscape and wildlife for future generations.

Defra Natural Capital Committee - Opportunity for Chair & 5 Board Members

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are seeking a Chair and five committee members for the new Natural Capital Committee. To join the Committee, you will need to be an acknowledged expert with a global reputation in your field - be it economics, economic policy, public policy, natural science, biodiversity or sustainable development.

The closing date for the Chair competition is noon, 9 December 2011.
The closing date for Members will be, noon, 13 January 2012.

For further details please see http://publicappts.defra.gov.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83&Itemid=13

Prof. Jane Rickson, Cranfield Uviversity, discusses the role of soil in UK food production on Radio 4s Farming Today.

Listen again at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017vbbh#synopsis

Further Information:

http://www.hgca.com/content.output/737/737/Funding%20and%20Awards/Funding%20and%20Awards/Calls%20for%20expressions%20of%20interest.mspx

After more than 60 years of publishing, we thought that it is timely to re-visit some of the more influential papers published in The European Journal of Soil Science and its former alter ego the Journal of Soil Science. These LANDMARK papers will be those which we consider have challenged our understanding of soils.

The first of these (Tisdall, J.M. & Oades, J.M. 1982. Organic-matter and water-stable aggregates in soils: Journal of Soil Science, 33, 141-163), continues to influence the way in which we appreciate soil function and is, very importantly, of huge relevance to many of today's issues relating to soil science. As well as the paper itself, we will also include some reflections from the two authors as well as a commentary by three of the Journal's current Associate Editors who are much involved with, and have much expertise in, this particular topic. We will also publish a virtual issue of the Journal online on Wiley Online Library, containing papers that have, in some way, used the concepts and thoughts expounded by Tisdall and Oades. Both the LANDMARK paper and the virtual issue should appear early in 2012: we will repeat this exercise from time to time with other influential papers in other areas of soil science published in the Journal.

David Willets, Minister for Universities and Science will launch the Science Council's new register for professional technicians in a lecture today at the Royal Society of Medicine, a launch event for the first London Science Festival.

Britain and Poland have called for radical reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), ahead of the European Commission’s publication of proposals for change. The two countries share ambitious plans for reform, centred on a more competitive agriculture sector and better incentives to improve the environment.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2011/09/20/britainpolandcapreform/

Publication of the CAP reform legislative proposals from the EU Commission is expected on 12 October.

Professor Maathai became the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace. She fought to promote ecologically viable social, economic and cultural development in Kenya and in Africa. Her holistic approach to sustainable development embraced democracy, human rights and women's rights. In 1976 she introduced the idea of community-based tree planting which later developed into the Green Belt Movement, an organisation whose main focus is poverty reduction and environmental conservation. Wangari Maathai was a person who thought globally and acted locally, her movement is credited with the planting of 30 million trees in Africa. The Green Belt Movement said in a statement:
"Professor Maathai's departure is untimely and a very great loss to all who knew her - as a mother, relative, co-worker, colleague, role model, and heroine; or who admired her determination to make the world a more peaceful, healthier, and better place."

Representatives of the British Society of Soil Science attended the launch of the Global Soil Partnership (GSP) at the FAO headquarters, Rome on 7 - 9^th September 2011. 

Dr Helaina Black, President of the British Society of Soil Science offered support to the GSP in engaging with our national soil science researchers, practioners and policy-makers who work in areas relevant to the GSP pillars of action.

This year's EJSS Photographic competition 1st prize was split equally between Dr O Knox and Dr Mataix-Solera for their collections entitled "Vertisols of the slopes and plains" and "The colours of the age" respectivly.  2nd prize went to Dr Louhelainen for his collection archeological inspired pictures.Thank you to all who entered this years competition - don't forget to get snapping for next years entries!  

Dr Bruce Lascelles, IPSS Chairman, was interviewed this morning on Radio 4's Farming today program about the need to increase interest and career paths in soil science following the launch of "Working with Soil" (www.soilscientist.org/workingwithsoil).  To listen to the interview please go to the Radio 4 website http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qj8q  

Defra Deputy Chief Scientific Advisor, Dr Miles Parker, helped launch Working with Soil. Devised by the Institute of Professional Soil Scientists (IPSS), this new professional competency scheme identifies minimum qualifications, skills and knowledge for practising soils scientists carrying out a range of key tasks.   Miles stated that 'Defra welcomes initiatives, such as the IPSS Working with Soils Competency Statements, that aim to improve the quality of professional soils advice'.

Thank you to all of you that attended our 2011 meeting this week in London and made it such a success.  More pictures will follow shortly on the Society Facebook pages.

The 4th International congress of the European Confederation of Soil Science Societies (ECSSS), 2-6 July 2012 Bari, Italy. Call for Abstracts