1. SUITMA 7 - Toruń 2013

Nicolaus Copernicus University of Toruń organized the 7th International Conference of the Urban Soils Working Group, SUITMA, of the International Union of Soil Sciences.

SUITMAs (Soils in Urban, Industrial, Traffic, Mining and Military Areas) are one of main components of urban ecosystem. They are very diverse and heterogeneous, and fulfill primary functions of utmost importance. However, knowledge related to SUITMAs is still insufficient, which impairs the management of urban areas and limit the role of soil science in the decision making process for urban land.

After successful events in Germany, France, Egypt, China, United States and Morocco, the 2013 conference in Poland was a further step forward in the knowledge of urban soils, focusing on the functions of SUITMAs in global change issues.

Traditionally, SUITMA puts emphasis on local features of urban soils. In this objective, beside a three-day conference (16, 17 & 20 September 2013) held at Faculty of Earth Sciences of Nicolaus Copernicus University, located in UNESCO World Heritage city of Torun, four one-day mid-conference field tours (18 & 19 September 2013) was offered in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Province and a post-conference tour (21 - 25 September 2013) was organized in Poland and Czech Republic to address issues related to urban and industrial soils of Central Europe.

We was very pleased to host in Toruń for SUITMA 7 107 participants from all inhibited continents, from such countries: France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Russia, Slovakia, Czechia, Switzerland, Spain, Croatia, Hungary, Canada, USA, Australia, Mexico, Chile, Libia, Republic of South Africa, Korea, Mongolia, China, Japan & Turkey who presented 43 Orals and 80 posters and shared ideas and experience for the benefit of urban communities and SUITMAs. . Full texts of abstracts can be downloaded HERE.

You are welcomed to visit SUITMA web site to see more than 1200 photographs taken during the conference.

You are still welcomed to join SUITMA 7 group on Facebook.

Jean-Louis MOREL Chairman of SUITMA

Ganlin ZHANG, Vice-Chairman of SUITMA

Przemyslaw CHARZYNSKI, Chairman of SUITMA 7