The fate of soil science - part 1
Posted by Hari Eswaran 15 Dec 2000 14:28:51
RESPONSES FROM INDIVIDUALS A. The PLEA From: palmieri@cnps.embrapa.br@inter2
To: H. Eswaran, F. Beinroth
Date: 11/29/00 10:36AM
Subject: soil survey death-bed Dear Friends,
Dr. Eswaran thank you for your reply. Nowadays in Brazil the soil survey activities are similar to a walking skeleton. The National and International, governmental and private agencies are asking only about projects comprising climatic risks, agricultural precision, clean agriculture, carbon sequestration etc.. They do not want to hear about soils. But, always, what they need it soil information in its environment conditions in order to have the adequate environment management. Therefore, in all my projects there is a soil survey activity for supplying the needed information for any kind of alternative sustainable land use planning. The biggest problem we are going to have in the coming future, it is that students do not want to work in soil survey because there is no available jobs. So, we will not have pedologists to continue our work. I am not thinking in retirement, I am going to work in soils as much as possible, but, unfortunately, some day it will come the final day. I hope this could occur 20 years ahead.
My congratulation for all your activities and we have to do what it is possible.
I hope to meet you guys in any meetings. Palmieri.
--
Francesco Palmieri
PhD. Ciencia do Solo
Pesquisador III - Embrapa Solos
Rua Jardim botanico, 1024. Jardim Botanico.
Rio de Janeiro - RJ . CEP 22460-000
Tel: (+55)(0xx 21) 274 49 99 Fax: (+55)(0xx 21) 274 52 91
e-mail: palmieri@cnps.embrapa.br
B. The Call
Subject: soil survey death-bed Above is an email I received from a friend and a frustrated but dedicated soil scientist. His sentiments are echoed in many countries. The questions that it raises include:
- Are we seeing an end to the traditional soil survey programs?
- If the richer countries are confronted with such an issue, what about the poorer countries where detailed soil survey information does not exist now?
- How can we rectify the situation and convince national decision-makers on the necessity of basic soil information?
- What is the role of IUSS in this?
Ironically (in my view) we are in a period with the global concerns of climate change, desertification, and poverty alleviation, where soil survey information has a crucial role to play. We as soil scientists are perhaps not demonstrating the value of such information and so we are ourselves to blame.
Question to you all:
1. Should this issue be addressed as a keynote paper in the COngress?
2. Or, should we have a "white paper" in the IUSS Bulletin, or both? Hari Eswaran
Hari.eswaran@usda.gov
C. THE RESPONSES Dear Hari:
We should follow both your options. Bob Ahrens, NRCS Lincoln NE
Bob.ahrens@usda.gov
………………………………………………………………………………………………
December 1, 2000 Dear Hari and colleagues! Thanks for the message. As you all know, soil science is not only soil survey and land degradation. Understanding and appreciation of the relevance of non-arable and arable soils to our environment is most important. Thus why not welcome requests for environmentally relevant soil information, provided the question and answer is soundly based on data of soil distribution in relation to the landscape?
We should promote more soil knowledge among scientists in general and decision makers in particular, as in the enclosed essay in NATURE (unload with Acrobat pdf reader). We probably need not address colleagues at the IUSS Congress but we need to formulate a broad soil campaign listing our goals and addressed to decision makers, scientists and students, preferably supported financially by some large foundation. This is where IUSS could help and coordinate. With best wishes for the coming holiday season and New Year,
Dan Yaalon
yaalon@vms.huji.ac.il
……………………………………………………………………………………………..
Dear Hari
In Thailand, I feel that the soil survey activities become less and less recognized by the administrative people and policy maker; decreasing in annual budget, lack of experienced soil surveyor (many retired or retired prematurely), and with very few training facilities for the new generation. People from financial department always ask "We finished detailed reconnaissance soil map of the country, why we have to do more?"
The global programs on climate change, desertification, biodiversity etc., It's concerned the whole world not only on rich or poor countries.
Who is the one creating the programs? The United Nation or all countries?
This issue has to pass through all the concerned committees. How the UN solves this problems. If let poor countries do by themselves-traditional way!. I can't imagine for how long. We need technology for faster in soil surveying.
I agree to put this issue as a keynote address during the World Congress as well as in the bulletin.
The role of IUSS in the Global Issue has to be strengthened and wides opening to public, not only organize the congress or conferences (as I understood).
The role of soil scientists must be also wide-open, not among the soil scientists, especially to any kind of media. Lek Moncharoen (THAILAND)
Lek@moncharoen.com
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Dear Hari, You are touching upon one of my favorite themes. There is obviously a huge gap between the type of information that soil scientist produce, and the type of soil information policy maker's need. The main task of my office is to bridge this gap, at least for the area of my competence, which is Europe, and more specifically the European Union. I definitely would support the idea of an ad hoc session on this theme at the next IUSS conference.
First step is to clearly identify the current needs for soil information in society. This step clearly can not be done by soil scientists, but by the actual stakeholders. What soil scientists should do at this stage is to listen (something they seem to have a difficulty to do). This means that if you want to really organize something on this theme at the IUSS, you should absolutely avoid having soil scientists as speakers. Invite the stakeholders (policy makers, farmers, urban planners, environmentalists, civil engineers, etc..). They will tell you what they need. Best regards,
Luca Montanarella
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE GENERAL JRC JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE
Environment Institute
Soil and Waste Unit
European Soil Bureau
TP 280
I-21020 Ispra (VA), Italy
Telephone: direct line (+39-0332) 785349, exchange 789111
Telefax: (+39-0332) 78-6394
E-mail Internet: luca.montanarella@jrc.it
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Dear Hari, Thanks for forwarding the message. The appearance is that soil survey in it's traditional roles is indeed passe. No one is much interested to fund inventory anymore. I don't think that either a keynote on this at the Congress nor a IUSS white paper will do much good. This is preaching to the choir.
This being said, the need for soil information (not to be confused with producing an inventory) is more important now than ever. This is driven by concerns on issues of sustainability, and environmental issues, local, national, and global. It's also driven by concerns on soil pollution and human health. The traditional links of soil survey to agriculture has not helped, because agriculture is still viewed an enemy of the environment, and not as a potential solution. This is an earned reputation, and not much is being done to change this perception that I can see.
I share the concern on the loss of knowledge (corporate memory) in soil science, as we older ones retire and younger ones not moving in to fill the void. This is not due to lack of interest in young people, but as you rightly point out, lack of job opportunities.
Soil science needs strategic partners if it is to survive and remain vibrant. I don't think this will happen by sticking with the agricultural communities. I think the partnerships need to be with the large NGOs, particularly those with a focus on the international conventions. The recent work of UNESCO to include a chapter on soils in their soon to be published encyclopedia of life support systems is a good start. More needs to be done along these lines, and it needs to be better focused.
Soils are indeed part of the global life support systems. They are the foundation for food production and food security throughout the world, biotechnology not withstanding, and they provide main stream environmental services, such as maintenance of the hydrologic cycle, maintenance of the global nutrient cycle, and mitigation of climate change. Every molecule of carbon, phosphorus, sulfur, etc. that is necessary to maintain terrestrial life on this planet must at some point pass through the soil. If soil health is not maintained, then ecosystem health will suffer. The failure will not be dramatic, but insidious, like a creeping cancer.
The IUSS indeed has a role. I've always maintained this to be so. But it's role should be in building a strong international support net work and forging strategic alliances. White papers also have a role, but only in the context of a focused work program.
I hope this helps, although I have doubts.
Best regards,
Julian Dumanski
jdumanski@home.com
……………………………………………………………………………………………..
Hallo All, (Response to Dumanski's thoughts) A keynote paper at the congress? Yes! Why? Because of the principle of the "convincing tree". The majority of the IUSS members are not "pedologists" and are often not convinced of the need for soil resource inventories. Convincing must start "at home". If we cannot get them on board, there is not much hope of
getting non-soil scientists on board.
An IUSS white paper? Yes! Why? Because it is now IUSS and no longer ISSS. I.e. we are no longer in isolation, but through ICSU have interaction with others, especially in environmental fields.
I agree that we should no longer confine ourselves mainly to agriculture, but I believe we have left that enclosure long ago. At our University I have been teaching a special soils course for the post-graduate students in wildlife management for the past 14 years now, with the emphasis on soil surveying for game reserve planning. Game reserves are, from a soil erosion point, far less environmentally friendly than a well-managed cattle farm!!
Upon request from their side, we have also introduced a special course for the degrees in the "building environment". The interesting point is that they insisted that these courses MUST be taught by soil scientists and not by physical geographers or other quasi-soil scientists.
BUT, in developing countries attempts to do AGRICULTURAL development planning without proper soil surveys lead to agricultural, ecological and SOCIO-ECONOMIC disasters. It would be a big mistake to under-estimate the agricultural angle to soil science in these countries. Mike Laker
……………………………………………………………………………………………..
Hallo Hari, You may be surprised to find that I am not yet dead, probably just "brain dead"!!
Regarding the issue of soil surveys/compilation of soil resource inventories:
It is quite probable that highly developed countries like the USA and most of Western Europe may by now how have good quality detailed soil resource inventories for the whole countries. In such cases redoing the surveys would probably in most cases be unnecessary - only re-interpretations would be required for new land uses.
As you know, the situation is very different in developing countries, where usually only very broad scale soil surveys, if any have been done. Detailed or intensive surveys have in some cases been done for small selected areas. So, if developing countries do not invest in proper soil resource inventories, they will end up with ecological, agricultural and socio-economic disasters. In the former "homelands" of South Africa we have numerous examples of such failures in, ironically, so-called "betterment schemes" or "rehabilitated areas" because the planning of these were done without soil surveys and without involving soil scientists. In the paper by Joris D'Huyvetter and myself in the proceedings of the 5th ISCO conference there is a photograph of such area 10 years after it was abandoned. In a recent publication I included a photograph taken 20 years after it
was abandoned, still showing no recovery.
One of the reasons for decision-makers being anti-soil surveying is because we do not confront them aggressively enough with the facts, and especially with pictures. Unfortunately another reason is that soil surveys have bad names, because they were either conducted badly or the reports are too difficult to use. The latter was the whole reason for the research we did at Cornell in 1977. The SMSS Monograph No. 1 and the publications by Van Wambeke, Rossiter and Forbes should perhaps be dusted off again. Badly conducted surveys are often because countries have too few soil scientists and surveys are done by what Charles Kellogg called "the ill-trained and the quacks who call themselves soil scientists", ie people with little or no soils training doing soil science work.
I would like to go on and on and on and on, but a few M students are waiting urgently for responses by me on chapters which they have submitted! Mike Laker ………………………………………………………………………………………………
Dear Hari:
I think it is a good thing that all of are feeling a little frustrated about a possible demise of soil survey. We have made it an important part of our careers and we don't want to give up easily. I don't think we have to give up. That is not our style. We have a strength that is unmatched by few other disciplines. There are some rather simple things we can start doing once again. I am suggesting that we build "thunder books" to make soils come alive for individuals that each of us touch and deal with. We know how, we have been there. But we forgot that we the job is never done, it is never complete. When you think you have done it all then there comes a whole new generation that hasn't the foggiest idea what in h--- soils are or who cares. there is so much lightning we may be forgetting that we can control and manage the thunder. Maybe IUSS should help us get together a framework for thunder books -- or FAO, or UNEP. or UNESCO, or ISRIC or anybody else that cares.
Dick Arnold
9311 Coronado Terrace
Fairfax, VA 22031-3835
tel. (703) 385-2134
ct9311@aol.com
|