July 4, 2008

The Canadian Society of Soil Science will be hosting its annualconference at UNBC starting this Sunday. The event is attracting morethan 180 soil scientists from across Canada, making it one of thelargest national conferences ever held at UNBC.

The event will feature 120 oral presentations and about 70 postersdisplays. Keynote speakers will discuss land reclamation, the roles ofsnow and soils in local/global climate change, and the vital roleplayed by soils for sustainable development in a world facingsignificant population growth.  Presentations by UNBC researcherswill highlight the warming of Arctic soils, the impacts of wildfiresand clear-cutting on soil productivity, the effects of biomass removalon soil productivity, the microscopic organisms in soil that facilitatenutrient delivery to plants (such as pine trees and huckleberrybushes), the link between snow-melt and soil moisture at highelevations, the importance of soil to food and energy production, thestorage of carbon in forest soils, grassland soils in northwesternCanada, and forest soils on glaciers.

Registration begins on Sunday and the research presentations will beheld from Monday to Wednesday. Field trips will be conducted onThursday, July 10, to the Ancient Forest east of Prince George, theNazko Cone volcanic site west of Quesnel, and local agricultural sites.

For more information about the conference program, see www.res.unbc.ca/csss2008.

Contact:
Dr. Paul Sanborn, Ecosystem Science and Management professor, UNBC – 250.960.6661
Rob van Adrichem, Director of Media and Public Relations, UNBC – 250.960.5622