Abstract
In the last decade many authors have talked about a crisis in soil science, manifested by the disappearance of the term “soil” in many research organizations, cuts in funding and a loss of “visibility” of pedological studies. Nonetheless, the crisis is considered to have started in the 1980s, during the so-called “environmental wave” described by Bouma and Hartemink (2002). The causes of the crisis may include competition from other specialists for soil-related studies, superspecialization and a decline in field studies. Proposed solutions to the crisis include a return to the holistic study of soil systems, collaborative research with specialists from other fields and the consideration of studies within wider contexts such as those defined by the “critical zone” proposed by Lin (2005). Finally, the need for soil studies to appear in the media is emphasized, along with the possibility that in some countries soil research teams and structures may even disappear.
Highlights
In the last decade many authors have talked about a crisis in soil science, manifested by the disappearance of the term “soil”in many research organizations, cuts in funding and a loss of “visibility” of pedological studies
Never has a crisis in pedology been talked about as much as it is at present
In the last decade many authors have considered that the changes brought about by this crisis are having a negative effect on the future of soil science and have presented a series of objective indicators that support this pessimistic view of the future of edaphological studies
Summary
Never has a crisis in pedology been talked about as much as it is at present. In the last decade many authors have considered that the changes brought about by this crisis are having a negative effect on the future of soil science and have presented a series of objective indicators that support this pessimistic view of the future of edaphological studies. On the other hand, reduced funding available for studying soils and a general loss of visibility and of strategic interest in the activities of soil scientists are often cited ( on a less reliable basis) With his “pedobarometric index”, Hartemink et al (2008) dates the decline in the impact of soil science on society from the end of the 1980s until the present, recognising a substantial degree of recovery in recent years. Research policies in which the objectives were controlled by the state or community began to be implemented through periodically announced programmes All of these changes had repercussions on the study of soils, starting with the gradual replacement of agrarian research topics by environmental research topics. Soil science was affected by all of these changes, the multifunctionality of soil became evident as its functions were no longer seen as being restricted merely to environmental and productive applications
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