EUROSOIL 2012

S4.1.

Title: Application of proximal soil sensing (pps) in soil science
Convener: Castrignanò Annamaria - CRA - Italy
Co-Conveners: Colombo Claudio - University of Molise - Italy
Viscarra Rossel Raphael - CSIRO - Australia

Proximal Soil Sensing (PSS) has become a multidisciplinary area of study that aims to develop field-based techniques for collecting information on the soil from close by, or within, the soil. PSS involves the use of optical, geophysical, electrochemical, mathematical and statistical methods. PPS have many applications such as precision agriculture, soil fertility, soil contamination, archaeology, peri-urban design and high land-value applications, where there is a particular need for high spatial resolution information. The Symposium will be dedicated to soil sensor sampling, proximal soil sensor development and use, sensor calibrations, prediction methods for large data sets, applications of proximal soil sensing, and high-resolution digital soil mapping. Aim of the Symposium is development of new multi-sensor systems for rapid in-situ (on the go) and ex-situ measurements of soil properties; the use of proximal and remote sensing data in soil mapping and monitoring frameworks; the development of national and global soil diffuse reflectance spectral libraries to characterise soil composition and diversity.

S4.2.

Title: Remote sensing techniques for soil characterization and monitoring
Convener: Simoniello Tiziana - CNR - Italy
Co-Conveners: D’Emilio Mariagrazia - CNISM - Italy
Pignatti Stefano - CNR - Italy

Remote sensing technologies represent a cost-effective support for soil characterization and monitoring over large areas by following the high variability of soil features (e.g. clay, carbonate, water, salt content) and contaminants (e.g. heavy metals) in both space and time domains.During recent years, important sensors’ development has taken place. New sensor systems are already available for satellite (e.g. Hyperion, Aster, WorldView) and airborne systems (HATI, EAGLET), and a new generation of hyperspectral sensors will be soon released (e.g. EnMap, PRISMA), whose data have the potential to provide substantial advances in detecting and monitoring the soil spatial and temporal patterns.At the same time, the attractiveness of large infrastructure for past observations, such as the recently free-downloadable Landsat series, and the reduced costs for portable spectroradiometers have promoted the development of new applications in soil studies towards a full exploitation of available instruments.The objective of this proposed Symposium is to provide a link between remote sensing community and soil scientists to share recent developments and applications of remote sensing products and to identify quality requirements and possible advancements for their implementation in both research and operational framework for soil characterization, monitoring and vulnerability assessment. 

S4.3.

Title: Soil micro-heterogeneity: novel measurement techniques, modelling and macroscopic impacts
Convener: Baveye Philippe C. - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Belgium
Co-Convener: Morales Veronica - Abertay University - United Kingdom

There is increasing evidence that knowledge of the micro-environment of soils holds the key to a more precise prediction of soil ecosystem functioning. Current advances in physical (e.g., X-ray microCT), chemical (e.g., micro-focus XRF or NANO-SIMS) and microbiological (e.g., FISH) techniques have significantly enhanced our ability to quantify soil features and processes at increasingly smaller scales and in 3-dimensions. Significant challenges are however still being faced in bridging the spatial scales at which processes occur and the large scale at which soil functioning is observed and managed. The aim of this symposium is to bring together current leaders in the field to (i) discuss the state of the art of technologies to characterise the soil micro-environment, and (ii) discuss novel experimental and mathematical techniques to study soil processes across spatial scales.There will be keynote presentations by leading scientists on techniques to characterise the soil environment, mathematical modelling of soil processes and recent advances in upscaling. These keynote addresses will be followed by volunteered presentations and posters, selected so as to provide as broad a coverage as possible of this rapidly expanding field of research. 

S4.4.

Title: Landscape-scale modelling of soil processes in agroecosystems
Convener: Walter Christian - Agrocampus Ouest - INRA - France
Co-Convener: Sommer Michael - Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research - Germany

Landscape-scale modelling approach is being increasingly recognized as a relevant approach for environmental assessment and planning. Many environmental issues involve energy and matter fluxes over space and time, and therefore require impact assessment at integrated spatial scales. Soils scientists are therefore targeting integrated spatial scales rather than local ones, to account for the multi-scale variations of soil properties and the interactions between soil intrinsic properties and human influence on the dynamics of soil processes like C sequestration, erosion fluxes, water budget, nutrients cycling, etc.This session aims to bring together soil scientists, agronomists and landscape modellers to share knowledge and experiences in soil process modelling at landscape scale. Innovative approaches of explicit soil representation into landscape modelling platforms and in simulation modelling for environmental assessment will also be considered. This session is intended as a forum for presentations covering these issues from many viewpoints, including (but not exclusive) the following interrogations:- Can we identify relevant approaches of soil processes spatial modelling at landscape scale ? - How to represent efficiently the soil cover into landscape modelling platforms?- How to combine modelling approaches of soil processes with varying time and space resolutions? 

S4.5.

Title: Modelling coupled and interactive processes in soil systems
Convener: Diederik Jacques - Belgina Nuclear Research Centre - Belgium
Co-Convener: Gérard Frederic - INRA - Montpellier - France

Physical, chemical, biological and mechanical processes interact in soil systems in a complex way. In addition, exchange of water, matter and energy with the atmosphere via the vegetation and the ground water interfere with the soil processes. The objective of this symposium is to discuss the state-of-the art of conceptual and mathematical model approaches and applications dealing with coupled reactive transport and plant-soil interactions. The main focus is on integration of water, heat, solute and colloidal transport subject to biogeochemical equilibrium and kinetic reactions. In the same framework, coupling of plant interactions with soil (water, nutrients and contaminant uptake) using a process-based description is of particular interest. Topics of interest are: (i) conceptual and mathematical models for coupled phenomena  such as the effect of unsaturated flow conditions on geochemical and plant-soil interaction parameters, or change in transport properties or plant parameters in response to change in geochemical state variables, (ii) parameterization and integrated sensitivity analysis to identify relevant processes and parameters, (iii) application and validation of such models in contaminant transport, soil degradation, soil remediation, anthropogenic  effects on soil, pedogenese. 

S4.6.

Title: New approaches in defining the capacity of soils to deliver multiple benefits
Convener: Black Helaina - The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen - United Kingdom
Co-Conveners: Aitkenhead Matt - The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen - United Kingdom
Towers Willie - The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen - United Kingdom

The future holds many challenges for soil science and there is an urgent need to update the information we can provide on the current and potential ability of soils to sustain food production, sequester carbon, maintain habitats, regulate water flows etc.  Increasingly it is the trade-offs between these human demands that are driving decisions on soil management without consideration of the consequences.  Improved understanding of how the complex interactions of soil biological, chemical and physical processes and properties support a range of essential soil functions is considered essential in improving how these decisions are made.  This symposium will seek contributions from researchers who are adapting existing approaches or developing new ways to characterise the functional capacity of soil and the potential to maintain this capacity into the future.  There is a special interest in the development of integrated modelling of soil systems to predict the consequences of management, land use and environmental changes on the economic, social and environmental benefits that we obtain from soils. This is an opportunity for the exchange of knowledge and ideas on the representation of soil systems, the key soil processes and properties which underpin function and the links between functions and ecosystem services. 

S4.7.

Title: Current issues and applications of soil monitoring
Convener: Arrouays Dominique - INRA - France
Co-Convener: Marchant Ben - Rothamsted Research - United Kingdom

The soil resource is essential in the provision of many ecosystem services. However, soils are under constant threat from many varied risks at a broad range of spatial scales. Although rates of soil degradation are often slow and only detectable over broad timescales they are often irreversible. Therefore, monitoring soil quality is essential in order to detect changes early on. 
This symposium will deal with current scientific issues and applications of soil monitoring. The main objective is to bring together soil scientists involved in the implementation of soil monitoring networks and pedometricians working on advanced techniques for sampling design and spatio-temporal analysis of soil monitoring data. 
There are many scientific issues related to soil inventory and monitoring that need to be addressed to ensure that networks will be able to detect change in soil over relevant spatial and temporal scales and that results from different surveys will be comparable. This symposium will address some of these generic issues including design and implementation of sampling in space and time, choice of relevant indicators, development of statistical techniques that are general enough to describe the complicated patterns of spatial and temporal variation of soil properties, and harmonization issues.

S4.8.

Title: Synchrotron radiation in soil science: applications and method development
Convener: Terzano Roberto - University of Bari - Italy
Co-Conveners: Behrends Thilo - Utrecht University - Netherlands
Denecke Melissa Anne - Karlsruhe Institute of Technology - Germany

The unique properties of synchrotron radiation (extending from the infrared to the hard X-ray region) allow a variety of analytical techniques to investigate soil samples. The high flux, coherence and brightness of synchrotron light allow scientists to work at environmentally relevant concentrations, which are hardly detectable with normal laboratory instruments. The application of these techniques can provide crucial information, including structure, chemical composition, chemical speciation, surface and interface properties, thereby leading to a molecular-scale understanding of a large number of processes in soil. The development of more and more brilliant synchrotron sources together with the use of new focusing devices have opened the way to studying increasingly smaller objects (minerals, organic matter, pollutants, nutrients, microbes, roots, living organisms, etc.) in soil at the micrometer and nanometer scale, both in 2D and 3D. This session aims at presenting the most up-to-date research achievements in soil science and providing a platform to discuss new methods for soil analysis with synchrotron radiation. 

S4.9.

Title: (Nano) colloidal forms of phosphorus and trace metals in soil waters: exploring the unknown
Convener: Koopmans Gerwin F - Wageningen University - Netherlands
Co-Conveners: Smolders Erik - K.U. Leuven - Belgium
Van Riemsdijk Willem H. - Wageningen University - Netherlands

The biogeochemical behavior of phosphorus (P) and trace metals in soil is related to their total concentration and speciation in soil waters. Most P studies use ortho-P or molybdate-reactive P in 0.45 µm-filtered soil water samples as a proxy of the bioavailable P species. However, nanoparticles can pass the filter and their concentration, composition, and effect is largely unknown. The Donnan Membrane Technique excludes nanoparticles and has been used to measure free trace metal ion concentration. In combination with advanced models like the NICA-Donnan model, concentrations of trace metals bound by inorganic ligands and dissolved organic matter can be predicted. Still little information exists on the nature and bioavailability of the inorganic colloidal trace metal forms. For both P and trace metals, such knowledge is crucial to understand their bioavailability in soil and risk for transfer to surface waters. To elucidate the nature of both colloidal P and trace metals in environmental solution samples, Field Flow Fractionation is one technique that has potential to analyse the nano colloidal fraction. The goal of this symposium is to present case studies in which state-of-the-art techniques are applied to quantify the concentration and composition of nano colloidal P and trace metal forms in solution samples originating from soils. 

W4.1.

Title: European developments and perspectives in digital soil data mining
Convener: Tetzlaff Björn - Research Centre Jülich - Germany

The demand for digital soil data of high spatial resolution is growing from year to year. Two tendencies can be observed: (I) increasing temporal and, especially, spatial resolution, and (II) the need for more specific soil parameters than contained in existing soil maps. Examples for such specific soil data are multi-layer soil moisture distributions (I) or tillage direction of parcels or pipe drainage of agricultural land (II). Among other reasons, these developments are enforced by increased modelling activities. This growing demand for detailed soil data cannot be satisfied by "classical" soil data mapping in the field, as such activities are being reduced in several European countries due to budget restrictions. For specialised modelling at high spatial resolution, e.g. matter fluxes, available soil data in larger parts of Europe are inappropriate due to their spatial resolution and their existing parameter sets. This opens up the door for digital tools to mine soil information and model input parameters from existing data, not only soil information but also relief data, geology etc. In recent years numerous approaches have been developed to disaggregate existing soil data, e.g. by GIS-technology, remote sensing, digital relief analysis etc. Special emphasis will be paid to wide spatial and technical applicability of methods as wells as validity checks of the techniques.