We believe that addressing and selecting future soil issues for a specific country must be made by adapting soil issues to current and future country needs. We thus start this chapter by analysing both Italy’s physical landscape along with the social and economic structure and its population. On this basis, we identify the most important country-specific contributions of soil science to the well-being of Italy. Rather than showing advanced techniques for applications in soil science, we start from soil issues considered important for the future needs of Italian society. Our analysis is based on the evidence that there appears to be no countrywide need for specific research issues such as soil mineralogy, soil micromorphology, soil genesis, study of humic substances, site monitoring of soil pollution, site monitoring of soil biology, geostatistics of small plots, soil biodiversity of specific sites and soil modelling calibration/ validation of specific sites. We believe that all these basic issues (and many others), which are indeed important and are sometimes fundamental for soil science and for the progress of science, should be developed within the framework of society’s needs. Then, soil scientists must have a very active role, as sketched in Fig. 11.1, ameliorating country potentialities and mitigating country limitations. From our perspective, this is the only future feasible for soil science within the constraints of this society.
Future Soil Issues
COLOMBO, Claudio Massimo;
2013-01-01
Abstract
We believe that addressing and selecting future soil issues for a specific country must be made by adapting soil issues to current and future country needs. We thus start this chapter by analysing both Italy’s physical landscape along with the social and economic structure and its population. On this basis, we identify the most important country-specific contributions of soil science to the well-being of Italy. Rather than showing advanced techniques for applications in soil science, we start from soil issues considered important for the future needs of Italian society. Our analysis is based on the evidence that there appears to be no countrywide need for specific research issues such as soil mineralogy, soil micromorphology, soil genesis, study of humic substances, site monitoring of soil pollution, site monitoring of soil biology, geostatistics of small plots, soil biodiversity of specific sites and soil modelling calibration/ validation of specific sites. We believe that all these basic issues (and many others), which are indeed important and are sometimes fundamental for soil science and for the progress of science, should be developed within the framework of society’s needs. Then, soil scientists must have a very active role, as sketched in Fig. 11.1, ameliorating country potentialities and mitigating country limitations. From our perspective, this is the only future feasible for soil science within the constraints of this society.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
