Canadian Society of Soil Science

Snow-covered former corn field. The lower part of the stalks - stubble - about 8 inches tall, is in rows sticking up from the snow.

Scientists are working with farmers and others to find ways to increase the soil organic matter on their farms. Leaving plant litter, reducing tillage, and using cover crops are a few methods being used. Learn more in this #GroundedInSoils blog post: wp.me/pclOv9-wZ

On the bottom edge of the photo, leaf litter on top of a compost pile. Mid-range, steam rising from the compost pile. Background, blurry trees

Soil organic matter is a complex mixture of plant, animal, or microbial-derived residues at various stages of decomposition. Plants and microbial communities are usually the biggest contributors to #soil organic matter. Learn more in this blog post: wp.me/pclOv9-wQ

Major sources of inputs that form soil organic matter. The types and quantities of inputs vary with different ecosystems and land management practices. © Myrna Simpson. Figure created with BioRender (www.biorender.com). ALT infographic showing the major sources of soil organic matter: leaves, needles and wood; bacteria & fungi; arthropods & earthworms; roots (coarse and fine)

What is soil organic matter? #Soil organic matter consists of both living and non-living organisms and their components. Learn more in this #GroundedInSoils blog post: wp.me/pclOv9-wQ

📢The Global Soil Biodiversity Conference 2026 abstract submission deadline is coming up quickly 🐛🐜🕷️🦠🪱

Abstracts are due July 15th 23:59 PDT ‼️

Submit an abstract 👇

globalsoilbiodiversity2026.org/abstract/

@gsb2026.bsky.social

Lab equipment set up for testing. Several water bottles, a stainless bowl with a tube dripping into it and a basin below to collect overflow.

Charitha Hansima studied the environmental fate of veterinary antibiotics for her Masters degree. This work led her to the soil science community, and she started to see “the environment” through the lens of soil. Learn more: wp.me/pclOv9-xo

A large hill with a gully - hole - in the middle of it, where soil has eroded. On each side is green grassy material

How have humans influenced #soil development? Activities like agriculture and logging disrupted the natural processes of soil development that were in place before the settlers arrived in Canada. Learn more in this #GroundedInSoils blog post: wp.me/pclOv9-wI

Image description: Graphic showing cylinders of soil with two types of tailings tested in a recent study. Each column shows: (1) the type of native plant community tested (woody fen or graminoid fen on right, graminoid fen on left), (2) the capping material (peat mineral mix or a mixture of peat mineral mix and till), and (3) depth used for the tailings tested in the study (ranging from 0cm to 85cm). Infographic by Fuse Consulting LTD.

A research team at the Natural Resources CA, CAForest Service, Northern Forestry Centre, Edmonton, AB, recently published results of a study using native #wetland species to reclaim treated fluid fine tailings. Read more in this #GroundedInSoils blog post: wp.me/pclOv9-eQ

Early bird registration prices end this Saturday, May 31st! Make sure to register to get your discount! "Soils for our Future - A Gathering of Global to Local Perspectives" will be held in Winnipeg, Canada, from July 20-25, 2025.

Sign up for amazing tours and workshops!

soilsforourfuture.ca

What are soil surveys? Canada is endowed with vast amounts of agricultural land. Soil scientists determined this by doing soil surveys, starting in 1914. Today we know that worldwide, Canada has the third largest area of…

Soil surveys help understand the history and classification of soils in a specific area. #Soil scientists then create soil maps with this information to help in land use planning. Learn more in today’s blog: wp.me/pclOv9-aJ

Person with shoulder length dark hair wearing a jacket, pants and boots, stands in a field. A blue sky is next to them.

Charitha Hansima is earning her PhD in soil science at the University of Manitoba. Her research is especially relevant for Prairie agroecosystems, where sustainable management of soils is key. Learn more in this #GroundedInSoils blog post: wp.me/pclOv9-xo

What distinguishes forest soils? You may recall from this blog post that soil scientists study soil horizons by digging holes called soil pits. They then classify the soil in a particular area by “soil orders.” Forested soils in C…

In this #GroundedInSoils blog, we begin exploring biomes of Canada with #forest soils. Depending on the parent material, climate and more, #soils can be rich in organic matter and nutrients, or acidic with fewer #nutrients. Read more: wp.me/pclOv9-ax

Do fungi live in soil? Fungi are an important part of the soil biome. They are an important part of the nutrient cycle and soil health. Some fungi are single-celled yeasts. Others form multicellular networks that can inc…

We're fans of #fungi! Mycorrhizal mycelial networks in #soils can be pervasive and connect roots from multiple plants. They can facilitate energy and nutrient flow between them. A soil internet of sorts! Read more: wp.me/pclOv9-a8

Soils are now recognized as the most biodiverse habitat on Earth. Some biota in the soil can be seen, like ants and earthworms. Others can only be seen using a microscope. Learn more in this GroundedInSoils blog: bit.ly/3gzuiuH

Large rock with thick moss growing on it

Transformations of mineral and organic materials within the soil are very important for both soil creation and for plant nutrition. This is an important step in soil health. Learn more about soil formation in this blog post: wp.me/pclOv9-wdR

Man driving a tractor in a field

Happy Earth Day! The 4R nutrient stewardship approach is a decision-making framework that guides farms in selecting the four ‘right’ actions related to fertilizer use. 4R optimizes nutrient acquisition by the crop. Read more: wp.me/pclOv9-9V

What processes form soil? 4-minute reading time You might be surprised to learn that soil is a dynamic material. It’s constantly changing, though slowly and mostly unseen. An exception is the case of erosion. For example, w…

Soil formation begins when exposed sediments or rocks are acted upon by various physical, chemical, and biological processes. They fall into 4 major groups: additions, losses, transfers, & transformations. Learn more in this #GroundedInSoils blog post: wp.me/pclOv9-wd

Photo of woman in lab coat sitting on a stool in front of a lab bench.

Congratulations to Charitha Hansima, U of Manitoba, who earned the Steve Pawluk Scholarship Award! Charitha is a PhD candidate with Dr Inoka Amarakoon investigating soil-based carbon sequestration mechanisms in Canadian Prairie agroecosystems.

A soil pit showing different colors and layers of soil - Yukon paleosol. The lower glacial outwash deposits have a clay-rich, reddish soil horizon indicating a long period of soil formation and soil weathering. The upper wind-blown loess deposit is much younger and is less weathered. The sand wedge into the outwash deposit is evidence of a period of intensive frost action that affected the lower soil layer. Photo courtesy of Paul Sanborn. © Paul Sanborn, UNBC; licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license.

Only a few areas of Canada were not glaciated, and the soils of these unglaciated regions reflect soil formation over much longer time periods than most Canadian soils, which affected Canadian soil formation. Read more here: wp.me/pclOv9-w6

Simplified version of the soil nitrogen cycle. Nitrogen is used by plants for many processes. Some plants can get their nitrogen from the air. Others rely on biological processes in the soil to free up nitrogen from organic matter and manure. In managed systems like farms, plants may need fertilizer to meet their nitrogen needs. © Joann Whalen, licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license.

Some plants can get #nitrogen from the air. Others rely on biological processes in the #soil to free up nitrogen from #organic matter and manure. In managed systems like farms, plants may need #fertilizer to meet their nitrogen needs. wp.me/pclOv9-9L

soil showing a mass of plant roots. green shoots come out of the top

Plants acquire most of their essential nutrients ions from the soil pore water, a dynamic environment. In agriculture, much effort is made to understand the soil nutrient supply. Our #GroundedInSoil blog explains: wp.me/pclOv9-9n

Image description: graphic representation of the soil food web. Shown are primary producers: plants and organic substrates; herbivores and decomposers: root-feeding nematodes, fungi and bacteria; microbial grazers: collembolans, mites, nematodes, flagellates; tertiary consumers which are various types of nematodes)

One thing you don’t see when looking at soil is all the energy exchanges happening in the #soil! This is called the “soil food web.” Shown: fungi that live in the soil. Read our #GroundedInSoils blog to learn more! bit.ly/3v644Us

Map of parent materials for Canadian soils. Created from the 1:1,000,000 Soil Landscapes of Canada. © Darrel Cerkowniak, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license.

What are Canadian soils’ glacial legacies? The great ice sheets are responsible for the majority of sediments that Canadian soils have formed in and for the shape of the land surface itself. Learn more in this #GroundedInSoils blog post: wp.me/pclOv9-w6

Location of the 20 commercial producer fields across the Brown Chernozem Soil Zone from the Prairie Soil Carbon Balance project with respect to the long-term agroecosystem experiment (0MC study) in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada. The boundaries of the Saskatchewan map were extracted from the Canada_Provinical_boundaries_generalized polygon from the ArcGIS feature services online with ArcMap version 10.8.2. The coordinate system GCS_WGS_1984 was used for the geoprocessing of GPS soil sampling point-coordinates and the linear units was in meters. ArcMap version 10.8.2 was used to generate the map of the study area.

A unique study involving commercial producer fields in the Brown Chernozemic Soil Zone of Saskatchewan, Canada provided further evidence that conservation agriculture practices can increase soil organic carbon and soil total nitrogen. Learn more here: wp.me/pclOv9-vT

Most Canadian soils developed in a stable biome, for example, the Boreal forest or grassland biome. And soil properties reflect the distinctive set of soil processes associated with a particular biome. Learn more here: wp.me/pclOv9-vN

Graphic of grassland with words "Sustainability of Canadian Agriculture 2025 Virtual Conference March 4-6, 2025. Registration is free. Keynote: Michael H McCain

Join us virtually on March 4, 5 and 6th 2025 for the Sustainability of Canadian Agriculture 2025 Virtual Conference
umanitoba.ca/agricultural...

A field of wheat after harvest showing stalks about 6" long left as "stubble" to protect from erosion. Dead plant litter lays on top of the soil

A recently published Canadian Journal of Soil Science
paper compares the results of conservation ag on commercial production fields to long-term small-plot systems, giving more concrete information on best practices for farmers. Learn more in this new #GroundedInSoils blog post: wp.me/pclOv9-vT

Equipment to measure water quality sits in a ditch along an agricultural field. In the background are clouds with a rainbow.

Blake Weiseth's work is to evaluate different agricultural beneficial management practices for their ability to mitigate phosphorus losses in runoff water. Learn more here: wp.me/pclOv9-uc

A soil sample is in a cup. A wire is inserted into the soil, attached to a KD2 Pro soil analyzer.

A recent study showed that #covercrops can improve the ability of the #soil to buffer against rapid #heat change. Read more here: wp.me/pclOv9-vC.

A measuring tape marked off in centimeters showing grass on top of a smooth face of a soil pit. Darker soil is at the top of the soil pit; the soil gets lighter the further down.

Soil horizons differ from each other in colour, structure, texture, and many other properties. Studying the horizons in the #soil profile helps soil scientists create a picture of the #organic matter and minerals that make up soil in that location. wp.me/pclOv9-um

We're happy to have you Colby!