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6th International Symposium on Soil Organic Matter

Meeting report by Tom Sizmur
University of Reading
t.sizmur@reading.ac.uk
ECG Bulletin February 2018
More than 400 delegates from 44 different nations descended upon Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire, UK, during four days in September 2017 for the 6th International Symposium on Soil Organic Matter, which saw more than 180 talks and 230 poster presentations.

The conference opened with a welcome from Rothamsted Research Director Professor Achim Doberman, who introduced some of the long term experimental findings that make Rothamsted a world famous institute for the study of soil organic matter. Back when the Broadbalk experiment (now the longest continuously running agricultural experiment in the world) was started in 1843, the intention was to compare the standard practice of applying organic manure with the relatively new concept of mineral fertilisers. It is therefore rather ironic that there is greater interest today in the elevated soil organic matter, and its associated benefits, found in the manured plots than in that from plots treated with mineral fertilisers, which is now standard practice.

Several themes emerged throughout the conference: perhaps the strongest of these was the need to develop the next generation of soil organic matter decomposition models and for experimental scientists to work more closely with modellers (and vice versa). This was first raised in a keynote address by Professor Michael Schmidt, whose 2011 paper in Nature [1] revolutionised the field by suggesting that ‘stable’ soil organic matter was not plant matter that had resisted decay over time due to its chemical composition, but in fact largely consists of microbial products that, despite being thermodynamically unstable, are physically and chemically protected from decomposition by soil aggregates and physical sorption on soil surfaces.
 
The challenge of generating the data to represent these processes in soil organic matter decomposition models was taken up by several presenters using stable isotopes to track the movement of carbon through soils, and was introduced in keynote presentations from Professors Francesca Cotrufo and Richard Evershed. Another experimental technique that dominated many talks was the use of physical fractionation methods. These methods use sieving and density separation to isolate fractions of the soil organic matter occluded within aggregates from fractions that are chemically adsorbed to soil surfaces. An interlaboratory comparison of several such protocols was presented by Dr Christopher Poeplau.
 
Towards the end of the conference, Professor Henry Janzen gave an inspiring talk on the topic of soil health, providing a much-needed definition of soil health as being the combination of soil functions, vitality, and time. In agreement with most soil scientists, he identified soil organic matter as the preeminent indicator of soil health. Professor Janzen asserted that a key facet of soil organic matter was as a dynamic repository of solar energy and that this solar energy, when respired by soil organisms, provides many of the ecosystem functions that are associated with healthy soils.
 
The conference ended with a closing ceremony in which Professor David Powlson gave a dedication to the late Professor David Jenkinson, who pioneered many of the techniques presented in the conference, including the creation of soil organic matter models, the measurement of the soil microbial biomass, and the use of stable and radioactive isotopes to study C and N cycling in soils. Powlson closed his talk with this advice to early career scientists: “Listen to advice from experienced scientists. Consider the advice – sometimes act on it. But don’t be constrained by it – be bold and develop fresh ideas!”
 
References
1. Schmidt, M.W.I., et al., Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property. Nature, 2011. 478(7367): p. 49-56.
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  • Home
  • About
    • Committee
    • Annual reports
  • Environmental Briefs
  • Distinguished Guest Lectures
    • 2022 Disposable Attitude: Electronics in the Environment >
      • Steve Cottle
      • Ian Williams
      • Fiona Dear
    • 2019 Radioactive Waste Disposal >
      • Juliet Long
    • 2018 Biopollution: Antimicrobial resistance in the environment >
      • Andrew Singer
      • Celia Manaia
    • 2017 Inside the Engine >
      • Frank Kelly
      • Claire Holman
      • Jacqui Hamilton
      • Simon Birkett
    • 2016 Geoengineering >
      • Alan Robock
      • Joanna Haigh
      • David Santillo
      • Mike Stephenson
    • 2015 Nanomaterials >
      • Eugenia Valsami-Jones
      • Debora F Rodrigues
      • David Spurgeon
    • 2014 Plastic debris in the ocean >
      • Richard Thompson
      • Norman Billingham
    • 2013 Rare earths and other scarce metals >
      • Thomas Graedel
      • David Merriman
      • Michael Pitts
      • Andrea Sella
      • Adrian Chapman
    • 2012 Energy, waste and resources >
      • RAFFAELLA VILLA
      • PAUL WILLIAMS
      • Kris Wadrop
    • 2011 The Nitrogen Cycle – in a fix?
    • 2010 Technology and the use of coal
    • 2009 The future of water >
      • J.A. (Tony) Allen
      • John W. Sawkins
    • 2008 The Science of Carbon Trading >
      • Jon Lovett
      • Matthew Owen
      • Terry barker
      • Nigel Mortimer
    • 2007 Environmental chemistry in the Polar Regions >
      • Eric Wolff
      • Tim JICKELLS
      • Anna Jones
    • 2006 The impact of climate change on air quality >
      • Michael Pilling
      • GUANG ZENG
    • 2005 DGL Metals in the environment: estimation, health impacts and toxicology
    • 2004 Environmental Chemistry from Space
  • Articles, reviews & updates
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