Philadelphia, 2006
The 2006 congress in Philadelphia highlighted a turning point in soil science driven by technological advancement and the rise of the information age. Under the theme “Frontiers of Soil Science: Technology and the Information Age,” the community focused on the integration of digital tools, data systems, and computational modeling into soil research. Developments in digital soil mapping, remote sensing, and precision agriculture were central topics, reflecting a shift toward more data-intensive approaches. The congress also emphasized the importance of global data sharing and standardization, enabling more consistent and comparable research across regions. Updates to international soil classification systems were discussed, alongside broader environmental challenges such as soil degradation. The overall tone of the congress suggested a field undergoing rapid modernization, with conclusions pointing toward the increasing importance of technology in advancing both research and practical applications.
In a follow up of the presentation “suggestion for a harmonized terminology in soil classification” by E.Micheli, B. Ahrens, L.Montanarella and O. Spaargaren (see among WRB Discussion Papers & Comments) at Annual Meeting of the Soil Science Society of America in Denver in October 2003, Craig Di%ler (USDA) has made following proposals for Soil Taxonomy and WRB: o Develop a written inventory of diagnostic horizons and features curently used in both systems. r Document areas of agreemenídisagreement o Present a suÍnmary paper at the Paleosol meeting in June 2004 (see below) o Advocate the use of both systems for the field trips related to the 2006 IUSS Congress in Philadelphia. o Raise awareness on WRB through the NCSS Regional Soil Taxonomy committees. o Prepare a final paper for the 2006 IUSS Congress. WRB intends to propose a full symposium during the Congress on Developments of WRB since Bangkok. The provisional title could be: “WRB and other classification systems, especially Soil Taxonomy”. At the same time we are hoping to present a new version of V/RB.