75 years The International Society of Soil Science

This paper describes the history of the International Society of Soil Science (ISSS), including a regional analysis of memberships and an overview of the ISSS main activities. The ISSS was founded in 1924 by, mainly, European agro-pedologists who were interested in establishing standardised methods of soil analysis and soil classification. In total, 16 international congresses were organized by the ISSS in the past 75 years and eight of these congresses were held in Europe. Commissions, Subcommissions, Working Groups and Standing Committees have been established, which deal with virtually all aspects of soil research and management. Number of members increased from around 550 after WWII to over 7000 in 1998. Almost 60% of the members are from North America and Western Europe. Large differences were found in the number of soil scientists and ISSS/International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) members in relation to the total population and agricultural land area. One of the important contributions of the ISSS has been the Soil Map of the World, which was prepared in the 1960s and 1970s. The ISSS has also been active in dissemination and publication of scientific results through periodicals and cooperating journals. In 1998, the ISSS was restructured into the IUSS following upon its admission as a Union member of the International Council for Science (ICSU) in 199

Human-induced Soil Degradation Activities

Soil degradation is occurring over vast areas. The GLASOD and ASSOD projects reflect the present status of human-induced soil degradation and its impact on food productivity related to productivity changes observed in the recent past. However, there is a great need for well-documented, reliable soil information and other related data at national and regional levels to better understand and qualify the impact of changing soil conditions or biomass production

Human-induced soil degradation activities

Soil degradation is occurring over vast areas. The GLASOD and ASSOD projects reflect the present status of human-induced soil degradation and its impact on food productivity related to productivity changes observed in the recent past. However, there is a great need for well-documented, reliable soil information and other related data at national and regional levels to better understand and qualify the impact of changing soil conditions or biomass production

Surveillance des sols dans l'environnement par télédétection et systèmes d'information géographiques = Monitoring soils in the environment with remote sensing and GIS

A case is presented for the use of a soils database which is capable of storing and handling information at different scales of operation. Such a system, a World Soils and Terrain digital database (SOTER), has been developed at the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC) for use at a global scale as well as for individual continents or countries. Trials of this system has been carried out in several parts of the world and it is now ready for wider application. Compilation of databases and the development of database handling systems for soil information currently are an important area of development in soil science and will help in the attempts being made to identify soils for use on a sustainable basis, especially in the developing countries. With an increasing population demanding greater agricultural production, the pressure on soils will become more intense and there is, therefore, an urgent need to recognize which soils are sufficiently resilient to stand up to the demands made upon them. Planners responsible for development need to have soil information easily available so that land use decisions can be made in the light of the best information available. (Résumé d'auteur

Human-induced Soil Degradation Activities

Soil degradation is occurring over vast areas. The GLASOD and ASSOD projects reflect the present status of human-induced soil degradation and its impact on food productivity related to productivity changes observed in the recent past. However, there is a great need for well-documented, reliable soil information and other related data at national and regional levels to better understand and qualify the impact of changing soil conditions or biomass production

75 years The International Society of Soil Science

This paper describes the history of the International Society of Soil Science (ISSS), including a regional analysis of memberships and an overview of the ISSS main activities. The ISSS was founded in 1924 by, mainly, European agro-pedologists who were interested in establishing standardised methods of soil analysis and soil classification. In total, 16 international congresses were organized by the ISSS in the past 75 years and eight of these congresses were held in Europe. Commissions, Subcommissions, Working Groups and Standing Committees have been established, which deal with virtually all aspects of soil research and management. Number of members increased from around 550 after WWII to over 7000 in 1998. Almost 60% of the members are from North America and Western Europe. Large differences were found in the number of soil scientists and ISSS/International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) members in relation to the total population and agricultural land area. One of the important contributions of the ISSS has been the Soil Map of the World, which was prepared in the 1960s and 1970s. The ISSS has also been active in dissemination and publication of scientific results through periodicals and cooperating journals. In 1998, the ISSS was restructured into the IUSS following upon its admission as a Union member of the International Council for Science (ICSU) in 199