May 19-21, 2024| In-person | Florence, Italy | Source |
The International Union of Soil Science (IUSS) is preparing to celebrate its centennial in collaboration with the Italian Soil Science Society (SISS) in 2024. The event will extend over two days of congress with plenary and parallel scientific sessions, bringing together soil scientists and specialists from various disciplines. The focus will be on acknowledging past achievements and addressing future challenges in agriculture, forestry, environment, urban planning, energy, education, and societal issues.
Two notable sessions are outlined for the celebration:
Advances in Soil Health Monitoring: This session underscores the significance of healthy soils in sustainable and regenerative food systems and ecosystem services. It will showcase advancements in monitoring methodologies, including field surveys, laboratory methods like soil spectroscopy, and innovations in remote sensing. The session emphasizes the critical importance of applying these monitoring methodologies to assess the impact of land management and landscape restoration on soil health. Citizen science inclusion will be highlighted to scale healthy soil practices, and opportunities to bring evidence into decision-making processes will be discussed.
Soil Ambitions: Driving Soil Health into National and International Policy: This session aims to address the lack of policies incentivizing investments in soil health. Opportunities to include soil health in national policies, National Determined Contributions (NDCs), and international efforts, such as the Rio Conventions, will be explored. Stakeholders from research, policy, development, and farmer organizations will convene to discuss integrating soil health into policies at various levels. The session aims to increase awareness, bring together diverse actors, and identify key action points to support governments in filling knowledge gaps and utilizing evidence to inform policy and decision-making.