SSS – Soil System Sciences

Programme Group Chairs: Heike Knicker, Dan Evans

Proposals are marked in red.

Session short summary:
This session explores how soil knowledge is produced, shared and applied across science, policy and practice. It will examine co-production, knowledge exchange and stakeholder engagement, with a focus on improving the use of soil evidence in sustainable land management and policy across Europe.
Keywords: European policy, Participatory science, Science communication - policy, Science policy, Sustainable land management (SLM)
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SSS1 –  History, Education and Society of Soil Science

Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Feliciana Licciardello, Anna Wawra

SSS2 –  Soil Erosion and Conservation

Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Milica Kasanin-Grubin, Gema Guzmán, Belén Cárceles

SSS3 –  Soil as Records in Time and Space

Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Lilit Pogosyan, Guido Stefano Mariani, Daisy Valera Fernandez

SSS4 –  Soil Biology, Microbiology and Biodiversity

Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Lucia Fuchslueger, Nataliya Bilyera, Kyle Mason-Jones

Proposals are marked in red.

Session short summary:
The QBS-ar index, based on soil microarthropods, reliably indicates soil health and offers a rapid, cost-effective way to assess how management and emerging land-use technologies affect soil quality. This session welcomes contributions using QBS-ar across management systems, novel technologies, and methods, including automated identification tools and integrative soil quality frameworks.
Keywords: Plant-soil systems (plant-soil interactions), Renewable energy, Soil management in agriculture, Soil microbes
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Session short summary:
This session integrates progress in experiments and modelling to understand how soil microbial metabolism, growth and death drive the flows of energy and matter in soil; their dependency on environmental conditions; and the implications for element cycling and soil functioning.
Keywords: Ecophysiology, Nutrient cycling, Soil microbes, Soil organic carbon, Soil organic matter
Co-organization suggestions:
BG3 | Terrestrial Biogeosciences
Title suggestion: Soil microbes as drivers of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling
Description suggestion: This session fo[…]
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Session short summary:
This session welcomes contributions on soil health assessment methods, with a focus on biological soil fertility and the ecosystem services provided by soils. We particularly encourage abstracts that explore soil health across temporal and spatial scales, from micro-level to global perspectives.
Keywords: Soil degradation, Soil microbes
Co-organization suggestions:
BG3 | Terrestrial Biogeosciences
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Session short summary:
This session explores soil biodiversity as a basis for integrative soil health indicators, linking microorganisms, soil fauna and multitrophic interactions with key soil processes. We welcome studies on biodiversity-based indicators and their application to soil monitoring, restoration, nature-based solutions and policy
Keywords: Biodiversity, Ecosystem health, Soil fertility
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Session short summary:
Soil biodiversity, spanning microorganisms, protists, nematodes, microarthropods and other soil fauna, underpins key ecosystem functions. This session welcomes contributions on the drivers and threats to soil biodiversity, its role in sustainable and smart agricultural management, and novel methodological/technological approaches to characterise soil organisms and their functions across scales.
Keywords: Agriculture, Biodiversity, Contaminated soil, Microbiology, Soil degradation
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SSS5 –  Soil Chemistry and Organic Matter Dynamics

Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Anna Gunina, Francisco Jesús Moreno Racero, Layla Márquez San Emeterio

Proposals are marked in red.

Session short summary:
This session connects the molecular composition of SOM with biogeochemical processes to advance understanding of why it behaves differently across soils and land uses and to identify the chemical traits and processes that ultimately govern SOM's role in terrestrial ecosystem functioning.
Keywords: Carbon isotope , Land use, Soil microbes, Soil organic matter, Soil structure
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SSS6 –  Soil Physics

Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Frederic Leuther, Vincent Felde, Lizeth Cardoza

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Session short summary:
Soil structure regulates key soil physical, chemical, and biological functions. Biotic and abiotic processes change the soil structure, thereby modifying soil properties and functions over time. Understanding these dynamics is essential for developing sustainable soil management strategies. We invite contributions on soil structure dynamics and functions across spatial and temporal scales.
Keywords: Feedback processes, Land management, Soil hydrology, Soil structure
Co-organization suggestions:
HS8.3 | Subsurface hydrology – Vadose zone hydrology
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SSS7 –  Soil Pollution and Reclamation

Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Erika Santos, Tamara Apostolović, Diego Arán

Proposals are marked in red.

Session short summary:
This session will bring together scientists from diverse disciplines to address critical knowledge gaps regarding the quantification, distribution, and fate of plastic in soil and its ecological effects. We welcome studies regarding plastic additives and economic and policy perspectives. This session aims to advance an integrated understanding of soil plastic pollution and its societal relevance.
Keywords: Biogeochemical processes - terrestrial, Contaminated soil, Microplastic, Soil pollution, Terrestrial environments
Co-organization suggestions:
BG3 | Terrestrial Biogeosciences
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SSS8 –  Soil, Environment and Ecosystem Interactions

Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Mariano Moreno de las Heras, Emilio Rodriguez-Caballero

Proposals are marked in red.

Session short summary:
This session investigates how climatic extremes—such as droughts, floods, heatwaves, and fires—disrupt soil biogeochemistry and plant resilience. Bringing together observational, experimental, and modeling studies across all climate zones, it aims to clarify how short-term environmental shocks drive long-term changes in carbon cycling, nutrient dynamics, and overall soil system functioning.
Keywords: Biogeochemical processes - terrestrial, Chemistry-climate interactions, Nutrient cycling, Plant-soil systems (plant-soil interactions)
Co-organization suggestions:
BG3 | Terrestrial Biogeosciences
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SSS9 –  Soil, Forestry and Agriculture

Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Rossano Ciampalini, Álvaro F. García-Rodríguez, Marcus Schiedung

Proposals are marked in red.

Session short summary:
This session examines the processes and impacts of climate- and human-driven soil degradation using long-term observations and remote sensing. It highlights innovative, sustainable management practices, policy frameworks, and participatory approaches to rebuild soil resilience, functionality, and long-term agricultural productivity.
Keywords: Anthropogenic effects, Climate change - adaptation, Soil conservation practices, Soil degradation, Soil fertility
Co-organization suggestions:
CL3.1 | Future Climate – Climate Change: From Regional to Global
HS7 | Precipitation and climate
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Session short summary:
This session welcomes contributions focused on the novel application of geophysical methods for investigating soil-water-plant interactions and supporting the development of sustainable agricultural practices.
Keywords: Digital mapping, Hydrogeophysics, Plant-soil systems (plant-soil interactions), Soil management in agriculture
Co-organization suggestions:
HS | Hydrological Sciences
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SSS10 –  Digital Soils

Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Sara Cucchiaro, Eugenio Straffelini, Marijn van der Meij

SSS11 –  Material and Methods in Soil Sciences

Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Yang Yu, Iria Benavente-Ferraces

SSS12 –  Soil Policy and Legislation

Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Laura Quijano, Laura Gismero Rodríguez

SSS13 –  Short course

SSS14 –  Sessions related to ITS