The Soil Science Centre is involved in both research and education in soil science and in all aspects of land use. The centre conducts research on the physical, chemical and biological processes within soils and their mutual interaction – as well as the conditions which affect soil processes and the effect soil processes have on the environmental quality of air and water. Research is conducted on local, regional, national and global scales and contributes to sustainable soil use and sustainable design and management of the environment. Important issues driving research activities within the centre include maintaining soil biodiversity, maintaining clean ground water and surface water, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and chemical soil pollution, and creating sustainable (organic) agricultural systems.
Research
The Soil Science Centre distinguishes the following research themes:
- Land degradation
- Land use
- Regional and global cycles
- Soil biodiversity
- Soil fertility
- Soil pollution
These themes contribute to solving social issues such as ‘global change’, ‘food safety’, ‘sustainable agriculture' the 'country space’ and ‘biodiversity’. Because of the multidisciplinary and global nature of these themes, the centre’s research is carried out within a broad national and international network.
In addition, the Soil Science Centre has the following knowledge infrastructure at its disposal:
- The Soil Map of the Netherlands, including accompanying information. Alterra owns and manages this information, which is stored in geographical databases and can be accessed via the internet in sections.
Databases
- The Chemical Biological Soil Laboratory. This top level laboratory at Wageningen University offers researchers broad, custom laboratory services.
The Chemical and Biological Soil Laboratory
Organisation
The Soil Science Centre is a collaborative effort between four research teams from Alterra and three research departments from Wageningen University.
ALTERRA
WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY