Editorial ‐ December 2017

Abstract

Seventy years ago in April 1947, the British Society of Soil Science had its inaugural ordinary meeting. The eminent soil physical chemist, R.K. Schofield, gave a presentation entitled ‘A New Approach to Problems of Soil’. However, one chooses to place the emphasis, it is clear that Schofield considered soils provided problems, which required resolution. In the first three issues of the Society's journal, then aptly named ‘Journal of Soil Science’, soil-based problems were identified under crop transpiration (H.L. Penman); fresh groundwater laying over saline water (E.C. Childs); soil aggregation, soil organic matter and the influence of earthworms (R.J. Swaby); and the evaluation of soils and the definition of quality classes from studies of the physical properties of the soil profile in the field (G.R. Clarke). In this issue, we highlight two invited papers that both help celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Society and provide an update on the state of the art of soil science understanding and application in solving practical problems. The first by Hallett et al. focuses on developments in the capability of land information systems (LIS). Combining database and metadata allows modern LIS to offer management options at a variety of scales. In the second paper, McDowell poses and answers the question ‘Does variable rate irrigation decrease nutrient leaching losses…?’. Benefits are reported in terms of N species and reactive and total P downstream of areas under variable rate irrigation compared with flood or uniform rate irrigation. Included in this issue are the last three papers of the series looking at the application electromagnetic techniques to digital soil mapping, with John Triantafilis and Denis Corwin as Guest Editors. The studies described look at the potential for use of these techniques to provide maps of differing scales and report on a web-based geographic information system for producing maps and making them available to interested parties. We will continue to publish new studies in this field of research under the same subheading in future issues, but I would like to thank John and Denis for the wide-ranging scope of the papers they have provided. We currently have a call for papers on ‘Soil information sharing and knowledge building’ (see our website). These papers are intended to provide a single issue dedicated to this subject and be published early in 2019. Lisa Lobry de Bruyn (University of New England, Armadale) and Julie Ingram (University of Gloucester) will be the Guest Editors for this special issue. I would also like to draw attention to the papers and the correspondence that has resulted from the publication of the paper by Huijsmans et al. in the special supplement dedicated to the late Brian Chambers in 2016. I would like to think that Soil Use and Management has provided a forum for a proper scientific evaluation of a storm that has raged in the Netherlands over the past couple of years. I have been delighted with the broad range of topics and the significant developments reported in the journal over this anniversary year. The next five years, culminating in the British Society of Soil Science celebrating 75 years of service by hosting the 2022 International Union of Soil Science (IUSS) meeting in Glasgow is likely to see more major changes in the publication of scientific advances. Soil Use and Management will continue to provide a reliable platform for the peer assessment of reports on the application of soil science to the management of land, and we expect to be publishing many of the papers presented at the meeting in Rio de Janeiro next year as well as those from other contributors across the globe.