How the visit of pedologist Hans Jenny to Colombia (1946–1947) contributed to the theory of soil-forming factors

Abstract

When the Swiss pedologist Hans Jenny wrote his 1941 treatise Factors of Soil Formation: A System of Quantitative Pedology, knowledge of tropical soils was very limited. This treatise, which explains the theory of soil genesis in detail and provides a basis for taxonomic classification, hardly used case studies from the tropics for generalization of the theory. Yet, a careful reading of the five articles published using the fieldwork data from Colombia (1946–1947), revealed how Jenny was able to test his theories in a tropical environment. Meanwhile, under the influence of Jenny, new knowledge and awareness of natural processes involved in the formation and evolution of soils was introduced in Colombia. Jenny’s visit had an important impact not only on soil research but also on human resource training and soil management in the country. In this article we review the context of his visit, the importance of Jenny’s research on soils of Equatorial Colombia (published in five articles, three of them are translations also published in Spanish), and its impact at a global level. Hans Jenny’s visit to Colombia was rewarding for both parties. On one hand, close contact with Jenny strengthened research in soil science applied to agriculture in Colombia (mainly coffee and sugarcane crops), and reinforced institutions such as Laboratorio Químico Nacional, Federación Nacional de Cafeteros and Facultad Nacional de Agronomía. Colombia; on the other hand, it provided a unique opportunity to compare and contextualize preconceived ideas from his theoretical models in the humid tropics. Hans Jenny is known by soil science experts especially for his theory of soil formation. However, the circumstances of his visit to Colombia and its effects on soil science have not received sufficient recognition. Research and field work in the tropics went beyond being important complements to his pedological theories. They improved the understanding of the increasing complexity of climate influence on soil formation at low latitudes.