South Africa, 2016
The South Africa meeting in 2016 brought the community into landscapes dominated by strongly weathered soils, offering important perspectives on classification in semi-arid and subtropical environments. Excursions focused on soils with complex mineralogy, including highly weathered profiles and soils influenced by fluctuating water tables. A central theme was the challenge of classifying soils with gradual horizon transitions and mixed characteristics, which are common in these regions. The community engaged in detailed field discussions to compare interpretations and improve consistency in applying WRB criteria. There was also attention to the relationship between soil classification and land capability, particularly in agricultural and rangeland contexts. Participants emphasized the need for clearer diagnostic thresholds and improved guidelines for field description. The meeting concluded with recognition of the importance of field-based collaboration in refining classification systems and ensuring their global applicability.
This field workshop aims to highlight the soils of the maize producing north-western South Africa. South Africa is an extremely dry country, annually receiving well below the world’s average rainfall. Exacerbating this, only about 14% of the soils of South Africa can be deemed high potential agricultural land – the majority of which occurs in the Mpumalanga province. Successful crop production in this rather hostile environment therefore requires careful planning and optimal utilization of the natural resources, especially soils. It is the latter aspect that will form the focus of this field workshop.