Canadian Society of Soil Science

@cssssoils.bsky.social

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We are dedicated to starting conversations about #Soil, #agriculture, #SoilScience and supporting a Canadian community of experts and enthusiasts. Website: csss.ca

microscopic view of a flax root showing cell walls, line-like hyphae, and dark-stained spots called arbuscules
An illustration of living things in soil. Along the top are headers, and in the columns are examples of large and small soil organisms. For example: Primary producers include plants and organic substrates. Herbivores and decomposers include root-feeding nematodes, mycorrhizal fungi, saprophytic fungi and bacteria. Microbial grazers include collembolans, mites, fungivorous and bacteriophagous nematodes and flagellates. Tertiary consumers include predacious and nematode-feeding mites, predaceous and omnivorous nematodes and amoeba.
Chart showing various cropping strategies to increase living plant cover. The green and brown lines indicate soil coverage as opposed to bare soil. Each column shows if plants are living during a season (spring, summer, fall, winter). The strategies are: summer annual crops; winter annual crops; relay or intercropping; cover cropping with summer annual crops; and, perennial crops. © Athena Wu (conceptualized by Yvonne Lawley) is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license.
Dark, loose soil, with romaine lettuce growing in rows.
A multi-colored litmus test chart, with a piece of wet litmus paper above it. The litmus paper is slightly green, for a pH between 7-8, a fairly neutral pH
An infographic showing the sources for compost: manure, bedding, feed wastes. In the middle is a pile of compost showing microorganisms inside, and arrows showing the flow of oxygen into the pile, and outflow of water, carbon dioxide, ammonia, and methane. On the right is the contents of mature compost: decomposed organic matter, minerals and microorganisms. The benefits are reduced volume and weight and good water content.
A diagram showing water molecules bonded to each other and clay particles in soil. Underneath are the words cohesion: the attraction of water molecules to each other and adhesion: the attraction of water molecules to a solid
An area of land that was reclaimed after mining. The land is now covered with grassy vegetation and some shrubs.
A hand wearing a yellow gardening glove on top of soil. Nearby is a packet of seeds.
Graphic of two farm fields. One has controlled traffic, with wheel marks in parallel lines. The other shows random traffic where lines vary.
A diagram that compares soil that has a carrot growing in it, which loosens the soil in a process called biodrilling. Crops that follow biodrilling plants have better root growth.
Pie chart showing soil is a three-phase system; solid, liquid and gas. The proportion of each phase may vary, but ideally, it consists of 50% solid, 25% liquid, and 25% gas. © Asim Biswas, Univ. of Guelph is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license. ALT a pie chart showing the % phase of soil as outlined in the caption.
Keith Reid giving a demonstration in a soil pit located in southern Ontario, discussing the impacts of the differences in properties in different soil horizons and the potential impacts on crop growth. Description: A man in a white hat and green shirt stands in a soil pit. He is holding some soil and speaking to an audience. A water bottle and tools are behind him.
Schematic path of identifying a soil threat, measuring various soil health indicators, and implementing the 6Cs of soil health management that restore soil health and simultaneously enhance various ecosystem services. Adapted from the Soil Health Institute by Laura Van Eerd. © Soil Health Institute is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license.
White patches on top of reddish soil with dried grasses in the background
Individuals can improve the organic matter of the soil in their own yard (or workplace!) by adapting the best practices of farmers. Learn more in this #GroundedInSoils blog post: https://wp.me/pclOv9-wZ
Examples of major soils of the Chernozemic and Luvisolic great groups found in the Prairie Provinces. Soils of the Chernozemic order have organically enriched A horizons (Ah) overlying decalcified and slightly reddened Bm horizons. The upper C horizon has concentrated secondary calcium carbonate (Cca) overlying largely unaltered parent material (Ck) with lower calcium carbonate contents. The Dark Gray Chernozem is transitional to the Gray Luvisolic soils and has an A horizon with both organic accumulation and bleaching (Ahe horizon). The forested Gray Luvisols have a leaf litter layer (LFH) on top of the mineral soil horizons. The uppermost bleached Ae horizon overlies a B horizon with higher clay levels than the Ae (Bt horizon). © “Brown, Dark Brown, Dark Gray Chernozem: Saskatchewan Center of Soil Research; Black Chernozem: Roly St. Arnaud (Saskatchewan Center of Soil Research); Dark Gray Luvisol: Kent Watson (Saskatchewan Center of Soil Research)” is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license.
Snow-covered former corn field. The lower part of the stalks - stubble - about 8 inches tall, is in rows sticking up from the snow.
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
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)
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.
A large hill with a gully - hole - in the middle of it, where soil has eroded. On each side is green grassy material
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.
Person with shoulder length dark hair wearing a jacket, pants and boots, stands in a field. A blue sky is next to them.
Large rock with thick moss growing on it
Man driving a tractor in a field
Photo of woman in lab coat sitting on a stool in front of a lab bench.
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.
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.
soil showing a mass of plant roots. green shoots come out of the top
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)
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.
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.
Graphic of grassland with words "Sustainability of Canadian Agriculture 2025 Virtual Conference March 4-6, 2025. Registration is free. Keynote: Michael H McCain
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
Equipment to measure water quality sits in a ditch along an agricultural field. In the background are clouds with a rainbow.
A soil sample is in a cup. A wire is inserted into the soil, attached to a KD2 Pro soil analyzer.
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.
A blue flag marks a section of cover crops in the study. The cover crops are a mixture of tall grassy plants and fringed-leaf plants.
a long, dark, wormlike animal with many legs coming out from the sides on top of soil
Graphic of blue sky, clouds and green fields with the words "Sustainability of Canadian Agriculture 2025 virtual conference...Graduate student research video competition is open!"
streptomycin under a microscope looks like worms with small sectioned bodies
large bolders in foreground with smaller boulders moving away from the river's edge. A few evergreen shrubs are growing in the soil. In the background a field and forest.
Microscopic view of a stained section of flax root that displays root-like structures called hyphae and circular structures called arbuscules
Graphic that looks like a shovel and a soil profile with plants growing on top. Words say Abstract deadline March 31, 2025. Soils for our Future - “A Gathering of Global to Local Perspectives” July 20-25th, 2025 Winnipeg, Canada. Hosted by the Soil Conservation Council of Canada and the Manitoba Soil Science Society including CSSS, IUSS, and the Global Soil Security Conference.
mage description: Four photos - upper left water splashing, upper right a nematode on soil, lower left a forest, lower right a basket filled with fresh vegetables. In the middle of the image is a red gift ribbon.
A tree root surrounded by soil with scrabble tiles spelling LIFE laying on the soil
three photos left to right - a waterfall, a farm field at sunset, a drawing of a home. The words "Happy World Soil Day - the soil provides for us" above the photos.