Symposia on Soil Ecology at the EUROSOIL 2008 (25-29 August, 2008) Vienna

We would kindly invite you to the Symposia on Soil Ecology at the EUROSOIL 2008 (25-29 August, 2008) at Vienna. Please note that registration closes on the 31 January 2008.

TITLE: SOIL ECOLOGY – SOIL AS A LIVING SPACE

Invited Keynote Speaker: Prof. Mary K. Firestone, Berkeley, U.S.A.

DESCRIPTION

Life on Earth relies on life in earth, a habitat resembling a labyrinth. The structural organisation in a soil is the basis for the development of a specific soil community. The heterogeneity of microbial distribution and life strategy play a crucial role in terrestrial food web organization, but very little is known about the spatial organization of soil microorganisms across scales that are relevant both to microbial function and to field-based processes. At the molecular level, the topics of interest are transport of substrates within the physical soil environment and enzymological characteristics of degradation; at the organismal level, the focus is on functional gene analyses, regulation of enzyme expression and growth kinetics, whereas at the community level, research concentrates on metabolism, microbial successions and competition between microbial and faunal communities. Soil physical and biochemical techniques, isotopic studies and new molecular biology techniques are rapidly evolving disciplines that hold promise to provide new insights into the complex interactions of microorganisms and soil. Our objective is to improve the interface among researchers working in various fields of soil biology in order to deepen our understanding of soil resilience and ecosystem sustainability.

We invite contributions on all aspects of soil ecology.

Hope to see you at Vienna and best regards,

Ellen Kandeler & Sophie Zechmeister-Boltenstern

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Dear colleague,

We cordially invite you to participate at the Symposium 'Forest Management and Soil' at EUROSOIL 2008 (25-29 August, 2008) in Vienna.

The symposium will be a forum to present most recent advancements in research on forest management impacts on soil. This symposium will discuss mainly the following topics:

1. Plant- soil feedback:

• a. Vegetation dynamics and soil
• b. Tree species and soil
• c. Stand treatment and soil

2. Forest soil management in the context of global climate change

3. Soil restoration

With respect to:

Soil physical properties, soil water, and soil aeration

Humus dynamics and carbon sequestration

Soil chemical processes

Nutrient cycling

We are looking forward to seeing you in Vienna!

Best regards,

Ernst Leitgeb, Jiri Kulhavy and Klaus Katzensteiner