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Academic Papers

​​​How can we work on soils in a participatory manner? A paper covering on-farm research in a Living Lab with, of course, farmers as co-authors. It is not only a plea for bottom-up approaches in environmental research that we hear a lot about but it also presents a real example

 

Another paper details a transdisciplinary collaboration for soil fertility, involving natural scientists, social scientists and artists, and a local community in Milan 

 

Similarly, this participatory project on using mulching to limit lead exposure achieved a significant positive impact in the community while fostering a sense of ownership of the research process

 

As soil carbon markets are growing, so are concerns about the methodologies underpinning the carbon credit certification. This important paper shows the methodological discrepancies of various protocols underpinning carbon credits. Findings include “that existing protocols vary greatly in their scientific rigour” (such as not using in situ soil analyses), that “protocols relying on models require different farming practices and different levels of information for each practice to estimate SOC stock changes”, and that “protocols relying, at least partly, on soil sampling also displayed different requirements for the sampling design, sampling tools, SOC analysis methods and SOC stock calculation methods”

 

Soil pollution is hard to govern; this study on the impact of China's “Action Plan on Soil Pollution Prevention and Control” (APSPPC) policy on mining firms’ soil pollution behaviour offers a positive example

 

The new Oxford Handbook of Agricultural History has a number of chapters on soil and land

 

How did soil feature in the thought of the noted decolonial theorist Amílcar Cabral? Explore it here

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This paper highlights the obscured role of women activists working to embed soil protection in Australia in the early 20th century

 

Creating urban soils through composting is much advocated; how can we make urban composting actually happen? This paper from Australia on “the composting ethic” offers some important insights

 

Human relations with soils are often linked with morality and ‘proper’ human conduct, and these discourses are in turned use to justify specific politics. This was true of the 12th century too, as this paper on soil in George of Wales’ “Topographia Hibernica” explores. “ By portraying the Irish as deficient in their exploitation of Ireland’s sacred and fertile soil, Gerald constructs a rhetorical justification for conquest that links spiritual reform to agricultural reform.”

 

Relatedely, this paper analyses the discourses of different community sectors’ in Israel, including liberal and religious ones, and their approach to the role of soil in environmental restoration

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Soil News

A 100-year old soil archive was discovered, accidentally, in the US

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Soil Policy

Is the Soil Framework Directive a good instrument for soil protection? This article offers a review and some critiques

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Call for Papers

Do you work on soil carbon? This special issue call for papers is led by the 4 per 1000 initiative and looking for entries; it would be especially great to include social science and humanities voices on the matter! 

 

Call for abstracts! The American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America jointly host the premier gathering of ideas at the ASA, CSSA, SSSA Annual Meeting. Abstracts due October 2, 4:00 PM CDT. Final virtual abstract deadline. You can submit here: https://www.acsmeetings.org/submit 

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Soil Arts

Exploring the Artistic Dimensions of Soils in the Vadose Zone in this fascinating paper that delves into over 20 years of research on soil portrayal in various art genres. The authors explore the potential of creative thinking about, and with, the vadose zone, offering a unique perspective on soil studies

 

Are We Repairing Soils and Each Other Here? Exploring Design Cosmotechnics in the Waste Age. This thought-provoking research turns to non-Western perspectives on repair to combat the Waste Age and climate crisis. Drawing on Yuk Hui's cosmotechnic vision, the study explores how agriculturists in Hong Kong repair soil ecologies by recovering resources 

 

Experience the healing power of art through the transformative works of Luba Shapiro Grenader. Her piece "Heart Relic," featuring conté, charcoal, paper, fabric, thread, found wood, and soil, is showcased in The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS

 

Hampi Art Labs: A Terracotta-Coloured Masterpiece, the architectural beauty of Hampi Art Labs, an arts centre in Karnataka by Sameep Padora & Associates. The centre features a striking terracotta-coloured render made from local soil, covering its curving, concrete structure 

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