Symposia at the IUSS Division 1 Conference

“Soils in Space in Time”, Ulm/Germany, 30 September – 5 October 2013

Local Organising Committee:

Karl Stahr, Marian Kazda, Reinhold Jahn, Thilo Streck, Ellen Kandeler, Daniela Sauer,

Peter Schad, Holger Fischer, Ludger Herrmann, Martin Werth

There will be two paleopedological symposia:

Symposium #16: Qualitative and quantitative indicators of environmental changes in paleosols and polygenetic soils

Convener: Elizabeth Solleiro Rebolledo (Mexico)

This session focuses on mineralogical, chemical, isotopic and biological proxies of paleosols, which may be used as indicators for certain palaeo-environmental conditions. Contributions presenting such indicators for various types of environmental conditions are welcome. In addition, examples of palaeo-environmental reconstructions of particular regions based on such indicators may be presented.

Symposium #17: Soil forming processes - rates, thresholds and changes in rates over time

Conveners: Daniela Sauer (Germany), Simone Priori (Italy)

Knowledge about rates of soil-forming processes is essential for interpreting paleosols in terms of duration of periods of geomorphologically stable land surfaces during which soil formation could take place. Soil formation proceeds however not at uniform rates. Rates may change in different phases of soil formation and, in addition, different processes proceed at different rates and in different phases of soil formation (e.g. increase in humus in young soils and podzolization in older soils). Moreover, thresholds in soil formation (e.g. leaching of Ca or mobilization of Al in acid environments) may activate or cease a certain process (such as lessivage). The session focuses on rates of soil formation and on the identification of thresholds and changes in rates over time.

In addition, there will be one joint symposium of the IUSS Commissions 1.6 Paleopedology and 1.1 Soil Morphology and Micromorphology:

Symposium #26: Soil morphological indicators of past environments

Convener: P. Kühn (Germany)

Soil morphology at any scale gives a first clue for the formulation of hypothesis of soil formation processes, either present or past. Their recognition is a very powerful tool for understanding paleoenvironments, that can be useful to assess future changes in soils. The objectives of this symposium are to show current research on morphological and micromorphological evidences of relationships between past soil formation processes and environmental factors that lead to them.