IUFRO Spotlights

2018-10-16

IUFRO Spotlight #61 - Digging into soil and what it means to earth’s survival

Most people think of soil simply as something that grass, trees and other plants grow in and on. But nothing could be further from the truth, according to the Humusica concept!


Humusica is a concept that looks at soil and soil research from a somewhat different perspective and seeks to provide an international and consistent soil classification system.

"It is a new concept of soil; more biological and connected to the process of natural evolution. It's soil seen as the place of the endless recycling of structures that grow old and die. Life cannot exist without death. Soil is the conjunction that links the two," says Dr. Augusto Zanella of the University of Padua, Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, and Deputy Coordinator of IUFRO Working Party 8.02.03 – Humus and soil biodiversity.

The Humusica papers are presented in the form of a field manual that is "a fundamental tool for assessing everything from land use to climate change."

The Humusica articles are collected in the Applied Soil Ecology Special Issues Vol. 122 a, 122 b and 123: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/applied-soil-ecology/special-issues

Information about the Humusica project and publications can also be found on the webpages of IUFRO Unit 8.02.03 - Humus and soil biodiversity: https://www.iufro.org/science/divisions/division-8/80000/80200/80203/publications/



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