On 12 August, the South Africa Soil Science Society and the Africa Soil Information Community of Practice (CoP), facilitated by ISRIC, will jointly organise a webinar titled "Soils Without Borders: Building a Soil Science Community for Southern Africa."
The webinar will feature two presentations:
Overview of national soil science societies across the region and, where applicable, the lack thereof, by Johan Van Tol, Full Professor of Soil Science at the University of the Free State. Johan works at the interface of soils, water and landscapes and has more than 20 years of research and consultancy experience across southern and eastern Africa. A South Africa's National Research Foundation (NRF) rated scientist and recognised leader in hydropedological research, his work focuses on how land-use change affects hydrological functioning. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and previously served as President of the Soil Science Society of South Africa and Chair of the Hydropedological Working Group of the International Union of Soil Sciences.
Collecting, sharing and using soil data for southern Africa’s benefit, by George van Zijl, Professor in the Agriculture subject group at North-West University. With more than 18 years of experience in Soil Science, George specialises in pedometrics, with research focused on developing accurate soil maps for South Africa and soil spectroscopy calibration algorithms. He is a C2 NRF-rated researcher and registered scientist at the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP), and serves on the Board of the Soil Science Society of South Africa and as a member of the Soil Classification Working Group.