Overview | In Focus | Funding | Partners | Events | Results/Impacts | Resources | Contacts

Overview

Soil is a complex and dynamic natural resource on the Earth's surface. It supports plant growth, affects water and air quality, and helps to clean up natural and human-made wastes. We depend on soils for the food we eat, the water we drink, and the environment in which we live and play. CSREES is involved in a diverse range of research, education, and outreach activities to better understand, maintain, and restore the health of this vital natural resource.

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In Focus

• Wetland ecosystems provide wildlife habitats and can play a major role in nutrient cycling, greenhouse gas mitigation, and wastewater treatment.
• CSREES supports research, outreach, and education to promote soil conservation and minimize soil erosion.
• Research on contaminant transport and control in soils can improve soil, water, ecosystems, and human health.
• Soil testing is used widely across the nation by homeowners and large-scale agricultural producers.
• Soilborne pathogens and pests can be managed through biological control and integrated pest management.
• Soils affect many processes affecting global change, and many CSREES activities relate to the potential for soil to serve as a sink for greenhouse gases.

Partnerships

• CSREES manages the Consortium for Agricultural Soils Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases (CASMGS), which researches agriculture's role in this global problem.
• CSREES participates in two soil-related working groups of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), a collaborative that studies global climate change.
• In partnership with CSREES, USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) conducts research on soil erosion, contamination, and production agriculture.


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Events

• Listening session on research, education, and extension priorities in soils and soil ecology, Seattle, WA, October 31, 2004.
• Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, October 31-November 4, 2004.
• 2nd National Tribal Districts & Tribal Conservation Advisory Councils Conference, Las Vegas, NV, December 6-10, 2004.


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Selected Results and Impacts

• CSREES National Research Initiative (NRI) projects enhance understanding of soil processes, increase agricultural productivity, and improve our environment.
• Investigators funded by CASMGS and the NRI Soils & Soil Biology Program participated in a principal investigator meeting on North American Carbon Program.

Resources

• Online Soil Survey Manuscripts, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Soil survey information arranged by state.
• Products & Services, USDA Agricultural Research Service. Online educational materials, the National Agricultural Library, and other resources.
• Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). Online resources for SSSA members.


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Contacts

Nancy Cavallaro

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