SENR Seminar Series

The SENR Seminar Series welcomes Alfred Hartemink
, Professor and Director, University of Wisconsin-Madison, College of Agricultural & Life Sciences, Department of Soil Science. The Seminar, Digital Soil Morphometrics – New Ways of Looking at the Soil Profile, begins at 12:00 p.m. and will be available through CarmenConnect.osu.edu/digital.

There is a need for rapid and accurate collection of soil information with depth. The methods and quantification of soil profile descriptions has not changed much in the past decades. Commonly, a soil profile is divided into genetic horizons and the attributes are described, sampled and its properties analyzed in the laboratory. The information is used to classify soils and for interpretations of soil functions. Proximal soil sensors and other instruments are used that measure in situ a range of soil properties. In this presentation, I will describe some ideas and novel practices for soil profile analysis including instruments and techniques for soil profile observations, continuous depth functions of soil properties, and the mapping of the soil profile. These three aspects, termed digital soil morphometrics, offer potential for enhancing our understanding of soils, their distribution across the landscape, and their genesis and classification. It has the potential for resurrection of pedology programs across the world.

Alfred Hartemink is Chair and Professor of Soil Science at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. His pedology research focusses on digital soil morphometrics, soil mapping, and soil C. Prior to his current position he was senior researcher at ISRIC–World Soil Information (Netherlands), global coordinator of the GlobalSoilMap project, and principal investigator in the African Soil Information Service project. He has worked in Tanzania, DR Congo, Indonesia, Kenya, Australia and Papua New Guinea, and for shorter periods in several other countries. He is the past Secretary General of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS).