About the Union
The International Union of Soil Sciences is the global union of soil scientists and has been is a scientific union member of the International Council for Science (ICSU) since 1993. Originally founded as the International Society of Soil Science (ISSS) in 1924, the IUSS promotes all branches of soil science and supports all soil scientists across the world in the pursuit of their endeavors.
IUSS Divisions and Commissions
Are you interested in learning more about what IUSS does? Get involved in the scientific commissions.
The scientific activities of IUSS are undertaken through 4 Divisions; each Division has 4 to 6 Commissions. Visit the IUSS homepage for descriptions of IUSS divisions and commissions. View a list of current officers.
The U.S. National Committee for Soil Science (USNC/SS) represents the interests of the U.S. soil science community in the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) and provides leadership in the advancement of soil science nationally and internationally. The committee advises The National Academies in all matters pertaining to the IUSS and supports U.S. participation in the international arena. To identify relevant issues for the committee to address, the USNC communicates with professional societies and organizations.
The USNC/SS:
- Interacts with the broader scientific community to identify emerging needs and opportunities for soil science;
- Identifies innovative solutions to solve environmental and societal problems;
- Advocates soil science education to provide a sustainable pool of expertise in the discipline;
- Promotes the public understanding of the critical role soils play in society and the environment; and
- Leads U.S. participation in the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) and international collaboration in soil science research.
Committee Members
In addition to members appointed by The National Academies for three year terms, the committee includes ex officio members representing the international union, as well as the Soil Science Society of America. Other professional societies are represented on the committee by liaisons. Societies interested in appointing a liaison to the national committee should contact NRC staff.
Symposium Held at 2010 AAAS
Jointly organized by the four U.S. national committees for the Earth Sciences, and spearheaded by the USNCs for Soils and Quaternary Research, the symposium "Dust in the Earth System" was held February 19, 2010 at AAAS Meeting in San Diego, California.
Press from "Dust in the Earth System":
The Seattle Times (AP): 'Scientists vacuum up the data on dust'
COSMOS Magazine: 'Retreating glaciers may boost dust storms'
The Irish Times: 'Flurry of research on impact of dust on climate change'
Oneindia: 'Dust storms from Artic may affect climate and health...'
Telegraph.co.uk: 'Increasing dust down to Icelandic glaciers'
Spiegel Online: 'The riddle of dust' (in German)
FOCUS Online: 'Melting glaciers free dust' (in German)
Hamburger Abendblatt: 'Dust from melting Arctic glaciers' (in German)
AFP (Agence France Presse): 'Desert dust affects climate and would be useful against warming' (in Spanish)
Read symposium synopsis and view list of confirmed speakers (17KB PDF).
2009 National Wetlands Award Recipients Honored
USNC/SS member Carol Johnston (South Dakota State University) was among the seven 2009 National Wetlands Award recipients in recognition for her outstanding contribution to wetlands stewardship.
Read the press release (34KB PDF).
View images from the award ceremony on the Environmental Law Institute homepage.
Soil: Sustaining Life on Planet Earth
The USNC/SS, the Soil Science Society of America, and the IUSS co-sponsored a July 18, 2008, symposium at the National Academy of Sciences in celebration of the opening of the Smithsonian Institution’s “Dig It! The Secrets of Soil” exhibit the following day. Read more about the outcomes of this symposium.
Dig It! The Secrets of Soil
The Soil Science Society of America collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution to develop "Dig It! The Secrets of Soil," a soils exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History that opened July 19, 2008. Learn more about the project.
Podcast: The Dirt on Soil
"The Dirt on Soils" (July 18, 2008), part of The National Academies podcast series Sounds of Science highlights the science of soil. Listen to "The Dirt on Soils" MP3 (9.4 MB).
Learn more about other podcasts at The National Academies.
Bring a Child to Work Day 2008: Ready, Set, SCIENCE!
Hosted by The National Academies, Bring a Child to Work Day is an annual event that serves to inspire children about their future career goals, especially in the fields of science, engineering, and medicine. BISO led a workshop that introduced the students to soil science.
Read more about the interactive soil science workshop.
Joint Earth Sciences U.S. National Committees Activities
The USNC/SS and the U.S. National Committees for geological sciences (IUGS), geodesy and geophysics (IUGG), and Quaternary research (INQUA) actively collaborate throughout the year on various activities, including:
“Global Sea Level Rise: Observation, Causes, and Prediction,” a symposium held on February 16, 2009 at the 2009 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois.
The three-hour session focused on the scientific understanding of sea level rise as a result of anthropogenic climate change. Leading scientists conveyed the latest findings, highlighted and increased public awareness of the consequences of sea level rise, and its potential social and economic impacts. The speakers included Richard Alley (Penn State), Anny Cazenave (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, France), Georg Kaser (Universität Innsbruck, Austria), Sydney Levitus (NOAA), Stefan Rahmstorf (Universität Potsdam, Germany), and C.K. Shum (The Ohio State University). Discussants included John Church (CSIRO, Australia) and Robert Muir-Wood (Risk Management Solutions, Inc., United Kingdom). The session was moderated by Bill Boicourt (University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science). This jointly co-sponsored event was co-organized by USNC/GG members C.K. Shum, William C. Boicourt, and Robin Muench. View speaker presentations.
“Global Connections among Earth Sciences, Health, and Policy,” BISO's September 2008 symposium representing the geosciences, biological sciences, chemistry, and the multidisciplinary areas of biodiversity and global change. The three-person advisory committee that helped plan the symposium included a past member of the USNC/Soil Science and the co-chair for medical science of the International Medical Geology Association, an IUGS-affiliated society. View the symposium program and list of speakers (72KB PDF). The event was supported by the National Science Foundation, the American Geological Institute, and the Geological Society of America.
"Planet Earth: Lessons Ignored, Lessons Learned,” an International Year of Planet Earth-themed symposium at the February 2008 AAAS meeting held in Boston, Massachusetts. The 90-minute symposium included the following presentations:
• I-Earth: Introduction to Planet Earth— Rosemary Knight, Stanford University;
• Soil: Sustaining Food, Energy, and Human Health—Charles W. Rice, Kansas State University and
Ian Pepper, Arizona State University (USNC/Soils current and past members, respectively);
• When the Sahara Was Green—Farouk El-Baz, Boston University (USNC/GS chair).
View symposium announcement (17KB PDF).
Support of the International Year of Planet Earth
The International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE) is a multidisciplinary, international project initiated by the IUGS in cooperation with UNESCO and partnership of the other international geoscience unions, as well as about 100 signatory countries, 74 active IYPE national committees, and many other related organizations throughout the world. Declared by the United Nations in December 2006, the year is being celebrated 2007-2009 by the international geoscience unions, including IUSS. IYPE’s principal goal is to demonstrate the enormous potential of the Earth sciences as foundations for a safer, healthier and wealthier society. Learn more about IYPE activities in the United States...
The U.S. National Committee for IYPE received grant support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for an IYPE partnership with the National Public Radio (NPR) program EarthSky to produce ten 90-second IYPE-themed radio podcasts. Discover EarthSky science podcasts for the Web community.
- Paul M. Bertsch, Chair
University of Kentucky - Pierre Bordenave
InterMountain Resources - Sally L. Brown
University of Washington - Oliver Chadwick
University of California, Santa Barbara - Charles Driscoll, Jr. (NAE)
Syracuse University - Scott Fendorf
Stanford University - Ty P.A. Ferré
University of Arizona
| - Daniel Giménez
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Robin L. Graham
Oak Ridge National Laboratory - Peter M. Groffman
Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies - Carol A. Johnston
South Dakota State University - Cindy H. Nakatsu
Purdue University - Pedro A. Sánchez
Columbia University - Peter Vitousek, (NAS)
Stanford University
|
EX-OFFICIO - Gary W. Petersen, The Pennsylvania State University
Past Vice President, International Union of Soil Sciences - Rattan Lal, Ohio State University
Soil Science Society of America Executive Committee Representative - Donald L. Sparks, University of Delaware
Past President, International Union of Soil Sciences - Michael Clegg (NAS), University of California, Irvine
Foreign Secretary, National Academy of Sciences
NRC STAFF Ester Sztein, Assistant Director, BISO
Avihai Ostchega, Senior Program Assistant
| SOCIETY LIAISONS - Ty P. A. Ferré, University of Arizona
American Geophysical Union - Pat Megonigal, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Ecological Society of America - Ronald Checkai, U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) - Brian J. Carter, Oklahoma State University
Geological Society of America - Roman Kuperman, U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center
Soil Ecology Society - To be determined
Soil and Water Conservation Society
|
RESOURCE LINKS
The USNC/IUSS is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. GEO-0701397.
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Updated 17 February 2010.
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Released August 26, 2009 in response to a 2005 USNC/SS Frontiers in Soil Science Research Workshop, the report centers on seven key questions addressing research fields for soil science disciplines, as well as the need for integration across soil science with other disciplines. 
