complementary studies in physical land resources and

EDITORIAL
You will find this issue of Pedon this year a bit later in your postal box than
usual. As announced last year, we are coping with a peak year of activities.
On the one hand, there is the work related to the visitation of our programme
for accreditation. On the other hand, we have to prepare the Refresher
Workshop for Alumni that takes place next autumn, here in Ghent. And then
there is the ever increasing number of applications for VLIR-scholarships for
our programme. This year we had about 350 applications for 16 available
scholarships. It means a noticeable increase of our workload to go through all
these applications. The good news however is, that also the average quality
of the applications is rising and getting better than it already was. The past
two years, also more and better applications from female candidates were
received, resulting in a higher number of female students than we usually had
so far. Inevitably however, we will again have to disappoint many truly
deserving candidates.
CONTENTS
Editorial ................................................ 1
Staff News ............................................. 2
Students, research fellows &
trainees .................................................. 5
Publications ........................................ 17
Soils and maps .................................... 22
Project profiles .................................... 23
Communications received .................. 25
Meetings .............................................. 28
Advanced Training and Research
Opportunities ...................................... 31
At the moment of writing this editorial, most of the work related to the
visitation is behind us, allowing us to concentrate better now on the alumni
workshop (our apologies to all alumni that were mailing the past few weeks
and at times had to wait for an answer !). As for the outcome of the whole
"visitation exercise", it may take quite a while before we will receive any
news. We keep you informed of course ! By the way, I would like to thank
here all alumni who gave us some of their precious time to respond to the
questionnaire which we sent to obtain valuable information for our report to
the visitation commission. Note that only alumni of the M.Sc. Physical Land
Resources have been involved, for obvious reasons. By now, 131 students
have graduated from the interuniversity M.Sc. programme in Physical Land
Resources. They took either "Analysis", "Use" or (mostly) "Management" of
Physical Land Resources as major. As of 2006, graduates will major in either
"Soil Science" or "Engineering Geology". Most graduates return to their former
job, albeit in higher positions, and many turn to a job fitting better the M.Sc.
studies done here in Ghent. Quite a number of alumni pursue(d) a Ph.D.
degree, many abroad (USA, Canada, New Zealand, Europe – including
Belgium). Quite often, we discover this almost "by accident". Please do keep
us informed about your whereabouts, Ph.D. and other promotions ! Using
the leaflet included here or sending us an e-mail are ready-to-use options to
this purpose. Both we here in Ghent, as well as your former colleague
students are interested in this kind of news. Thanks to the alumni who wrote
us already. Please continue …
Prof. Dr. E. Van Ranst
May 2006
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STAFF NEWS
LAUDATIO
Prof. Dr. R. Langohr was born in
Antwerp on November 7, 1939. He
graduated in 1963 at the Free
University of Brussels as a botanist
with specialization in plant ecology
and systematics. In 1965 Prof. Langohr
became a student at the ITC.
His motivation was to get a better understanding of nature
through the study of soils.
After his studies Prof. Langohr worked as an Expert for the
Centre Technique Forestier Tropical in Ivory Coast
followed by a post as an Associate expert, then as an
Expert in soil science for FAO in Chile. Field data, many
reports and soil samples were brought to Belgium and
served as the base of his Ph.D. thesis, which concerned the
soilscape and quaternary geology of the Central Valley in
Chile. In between his international missions Prof. Langohr
was also active in the soil mapping of Belgium.
From 1971, Roger Langohr was attached to the Ghent
University, at first as an Assistant, then as Assisting
Professor and since 1992 as Associated Professor. During
his career, he was teaching several courses, such as :
general pedology (graduate), soil science for archaeologists
(graduate), pedology, soil and regolith prospection, soil
classification and mapping, geo- and archaeopedology
(post-graduate courses). His teaching always offered an
alternative viewpoint and his captivating lectures were
illustrated with large attractive photographs and numerous
slides. In the lectures he stressed the importance of raising
the quality of field soil databases. To make his scientific
points clear, numerous monoliths and other soil samples
were used in the lecture room – his class room with the
many samples, photos etc. was an open book of nature and
a paradise for any enthusiastic student. The field trips
formed an important part of the curriculum and were an
intensive training period for practicing, collecting and
interpreting field data. When Prof. Langohr was explaining
one of his chapters out of the "Book of Nature" he could
easily forget time and place, so it happened more than once
that his students had to remind him that it was time for a
break or lunch.
During the seventies and eighties several research projects
in the Zonian forest were performed under Prof. Langohr's
supervision. Nature was studied from a holistic or global
point of view but with the soil as central source of
information : the link between soil characteristics, plant
ecology and (paleo)environmental conditions (extension of
the factors of soil information) was made.
Since the late eighties Prof. Langohr's interest turned more
and more towards archaeo-pedology. Archaeologists tend
to make very large sections; the many peculiarities in soil
morphology gave him new insights into soil processes and
the evolution of the soilscape. This cooperation lead to
several research projects such as the study on the
distribution of Bronze age circles in Flanders, Bronze age
burial sites in Denmark, burial sites in Altai (Siberia), soils
of the Eemian-interglacial in Europe and Central Siberia,
old agricultural habits on Easter Island, landscape
reconstruction on the site of Verrebroek dok. Roger
Langohr's expertise was called upon in many excavations
throughout Belgium, France, Switzerland and many other
countries. The introduction of soil science as part of the
course "Natural science techniques in Archaeology" in the
curriculum for archaeology students is one of his merits.
"It is all in the book of nature ! Dig deeper and wider !
Follow the corridors and don't jump through the
windows !" … dixit Prof. Langohr. These are the sayings
that the alumni of the International Training Centre for
Post-graduate Soil Scientists at the Ghent University and
the International Centre for Physical Land Resources
(Ghent University, Vrije Universiteit Brussel) will cherish
throughout their own professional lives.
The 1 st of October 2005, Prof. Langohr took up his
retirement. We wish him a pleasant retirement. Fortunately
Roger will only retire from his administrative tasks at the
University, his scientific work we expect he will carry on
for many more years.
C. Ampe
Hugo Decleir was born in Berchem
(Antwerp-Belgium) the 7th of
December 1939. He studied
Geography at the Ghent University
(1957-61) and obtained his doctoral
degree in 1971 at the same
university.
From 1961 till 1985 he worked at the Observatory of the
Ghent University first as teaching assistant later as senior
researcher. In the period 1979-1985 he was part time
professor at the Geography Department of the Vrije
Universiteit Brussel (VUB), where he than became full
professor till 2005, date of his retirement.
During his carrier as a university professor he was teaching
courses on cartography, geodesy and topography, as well
as Climatology, Glacial and Periglacial Geosystems.
Together with his student Frank Canters he succeeded to
develop a successful research on automated cartography
and GIS. This made it possible to introduce the first course
on GIS at university level in Belgium.
However the main concern of his research was modelling
with the fields of glaciology and climatology, with
emphasis on the close interaction between both. Here he
developed an international recognised expertise together
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STAFF NEWS
with two of his most successful students (Ph. Huybrechts
and F. Canters).
As a researcher Hugo Decleir was involved in 8
international expeditions on the mainland of the Antarctic,
including a 15 month long expedition in 1966. Furthermore
he conducted fieldwork on Greenland, Spitsbergh and
Siberia.
Hugo Decleir is author of some 60 scientific publications
in leading international scientific journals, and he is holder
of Richard P. Goldwaith Award of the Byrd Polar
Research Center (Ohio State University).
Hugo Decleir was member and/or president of several
scientific societies: Scientific Committee on GIS for
Flanders, Council for Geographical Information Flanders,
Commission Sciences of the Earth (National Scientific
Foundation, Flanders), National Committee for Antarctic
Research, National Committee for the IPY, SCAR
(Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research) working
group on Glaciology and Geophysics, Belgian (National
Scientific Foundation, Flanders) representative to the
European Polar Board (EPB) and the European Polar
Consortium, Committee of Environmental Protection
(CEP) at the ATCM (Antarctic Treaty Consultative
Meeting).
In May 1998 he organised the International Symposium at
the occasion of the 100 th anniversary of the „Belgica‟
expedition. At this occasion Hugo Decleir edited the book
„The Belgium Expedition Centennial: Perspectives on
Antarctic Science and History‟ (VUB press, 366 pp.,
2001). He was also editor of the Dutch („Roald Amundsens
Belgica-Dagboek‟, Hadewych, 230 pp. 1998) and English
(Roald Amundsen‟s Belgica Diary, Bluntisham Books, 208
pp.,1999) translation of Roald Amundsen‟s diary on the
same expedition.
Hugo Decleir is co-founder (2002) of the „International
Polar Foundation‟ (IPF). This foundation was charged by
the Belgian government with the construction and
financing of a new Belgian scientific research station on
Antarctic. The inauguration of this station is due by 2008,
during the International Polar Year (2007-2008).
M. Van Molle
OBITUARY
Prof. Em. Robert Maréchal passed
away in Ghent on December 5, 2006
R. Maréchal was born in Ghent on January 11, 1926. After
his secondary school studies in his home city, he received
his professional education in geology at the local
university. He graduated with a licence degree in 1948,
earned his Ph.D. diploma in 1951 and became „aggregate‟
Higher Education at the very end of the fifties. He was
laureate of the Inter-University Competition 1947-1949
and was awarded the Wetrems prize by the Belgian Royal
Academy in 1960.
R. Maréchal began his academic career as an assistant
(1948) and “work leader” (1951) of the Belgian Centre for
Soil Survey (head : the late Prof. Dr. R. Tavernier). In
1954 he was appointed “work leader” at the Geological
Institute of the State University of Ghent. In 1960 followed
his nomination as Associate Professor and three years later
he became Full Professor. From October 1965 onwards he
was the head of the Department of Dynamic and
Stratigraphic Geology, and subsequently became director
of the Laboratory of Geology. R. Maréchal‟s scientific
work focused on soil mapping, hydrogeologic research,
geological survey, and stratigraphy of the Tertiary of
Belgium.
For almost thirty years (1963-1991), R. Maréchal was
member of the Academic Teaching Staff of the
International Training Centre for Post-Graduate Soil
Scientists (ITC) of the University of Ghent. In this
position, he was in charge of a basic course on geology and
petrography of parent materials and was particularly
helpful to his students. During his long university career,
he served on several faculty committees, supervised
research projects, and was an active and honoured
member, secretary, vice-president and/or president of many
national committees, commissions, professional
associations and other scientific bodies in the field of earth
sciences. All these activities lasted until his retirement on
October 1, 1991.
The friends, colleagues, ITC-students and personnel of
the former Laboratory of Geology of the University of
Ghent will remember Prof. Maréchal as a man of
exemplary scientific rigour and intellectual integrity, and,
above all, as a very modest, tactful, generous and
understanding person.
P. De Paepe
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STAFF NEWS
INTERESTING LINKS
The International Union of Soil Science (IUSS) has an
electronic newsletter that can be consulted online at the
IUSS-webpages : http://www.iuss.org/index.htm. If you
wish to receive the newsletter by e-mail, send your request
to be listed to Alfred.hartemink@wur.nl.
The ASA-CSSA-SSSA offers a "free science policy e-
newsletter that you can read at the Society Web Pages.
You can also subscribe online with your e-mail address at
the following site : http://www.asa-cssasssa.org/public_affairs_sspr.html
to receive bi-weekly
copies.
The Land-Water-L electronic newsletter is a free service
from the FAO Land and Water Development Division,
aimed at providing up-to-date information in the field of
land and water development. To subscribe, send an e-mail
to mailserv@mailserv.fao.org, leave the subject blanc and
write : SUBSCRIBE land-and-water-L your address.
Former issues of the newsletter are available at
http://www.fao.org/ag/agl/newsletter/default.stm.
WORLD SOIL DAY
FOCUS
In 2002, the International Union of Soil Science (IUSS)
made a resolution to propose the 5th of December as the
World Soil Day to honour His Majesty the King of
Thailand for his promotion of soil science and soil
resources conservation. The 5 th of December is the
birthday of His Majesty. Since then the IUSS has initiated
various activities to proclaim the 5 th December as the
World Soil Day. The World Soil Day will be used to
advocate the use and need of soils for human survival and
its sustainable management. We aim to draw more
attention for the natural resource on which all life depends
: the soil !
working in these and related fields and of others with
strong ties to the region. Colleagues interested in being
included in the database should contact m.pillay@icsuafrica.org
and secretariat@icsu-africa.org.
DIGITAL SOIL MAPPING
The second Global Digital Soil Mapping workshop will be
held in Rio de Janeiro in July 2006. The workshop will
focus on countries with sparse spatial data infrastructures
but a range of topics related to soil mapping will be
presented and discussed. The Digital Soil Mapping
working group is a new working group of the IUSS. For
further information on this IUSS working group and the
Rio Workship see their website :
http://www.digitalsoilmapping.org/.
VLIR-ICP GET TOGETHER DAY 2005
Each year the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR)
organizes together with a Flemish university the VLIR ICP
Get Together Day. This year the ICP Get Together Day
was organized together with the International Relations and
Mobility Office of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. It took
place on December 2, 2005 in Brussels. The Get Together
Day is a special day for all international students who are
awarded a VLIR scholarship. The aim of this initiative is to
have a meet and greet between people from all corners of
the world while offering fun activities to them. There were
about 350 participants counting almost 45 nationalities
from Latin-America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
NETWORKING IN AFRICA
ICSU (The International Council of Science) has recently
established a regional office for Africa under the
leadership of Sospeter Muhongo s.muhongo@icsuafrica.org.
The office is seeking to coordinate the work of
African scientists and those from other parts of the
globe actively involved in research and capacity building
in the Africa region. Four priority areas have been
identified : 1. Health and Human Well-being, 2.
Sustainable Energy, 3. Natural and Human-induced
Hazards and Disasters and 4. Global Change. The first task
is to establish a database of African scientists who are
The day started with a visit to the exhibition "Made in
Belgium", an expo about the history of Belgium. Then
there was a lunch and an international quiz called "The
smartest team of the world" in La Tentation, an authentic
banquet hall in the center of Brussels. Every team had to
work together to collect as much correct answers as
possible.
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STAFF NEWS
Afterwards Rector B. Van Camp, Chairman of VLIR,
addressed a word of welcome to the students during the
academic session at Campus Etterbeek. During this session
the winners of the VLIR Scholar Contest were announced.
By the start of the academic year VLIR challenged all ICP
and IOB scholars to send them a design for a Christmas
and New Year‟s greetings‟ card or to send them an
animated movie/presentation about their experiences as a
foreign student : what does it mean to live in Belgium
The winner of each category received a travel cheque of €
500.
Later on dinner was served at the university restaurant
where the students could taste the typical Belgian fries.
After dinner all participants were invited for a party in the
Kultuurkaffee to dance the night away on international
music.
To conclude, for many December 2, 2005 will be a day to
remember !
GUEST LECTURERS
October 1, 2004 : Prof. Em. A. Zinck from ITC Enschede
gave the opening lecture of the academic year entitled :
"Soils, Soil Information and Society"
December 10, 2004 : K. Lamorski, A. Bieganowski, R.T.
Walczak and Nosalewicz gave lectures entitled :
"Specificity and the needs of standardization of
agrophysical methods", "Heat flux meter, accuracy of
measurements, Modelling and sensitivity analysis", "Effect
of soil compaction on root and shoot growth and water
uptake of wheat".
STUDENTS, RESEARCH FELLOWS & TRAINEES
COMPLEMENTARY AND ADVANCED STUDIES
IN PHYSICAL LAND RESOURCES 2005-2006
Complementary Studies
in Physical Land Resources
Option :
Soil Science
Option : Analysis of
Mr. Adortse Peter
Physical Land B.Sc. Agriculture Resources
Post Office Box 488,
G.P.H.A., Tema, Ghana
E-mail :
Peter.Adortse@UGent.be
Mr. Alam Md. Nazmul
B.Sc. Agriculture
Shamkhali, P.O. Hizalfala,
Kotwali, Barisal, Bangladesh
E-mail :
Md.Nazmul.Alam@UGent.be
Ms. Alipour Rounak
Bachelor Civil Eng., Islamic
Azad University, Iran
E-mail :
rounakalipour@yahoo.com
Mr. Amakor Xystus Ndubuisi
C.
B. Techn. (Soil Sc. & Techn.)
P.M.B. 1526, 40016 Owerri,
Imo State, Nigeria
E-mail :
Amakor.Ndubuisi@UGent.be
Ms. Anggria Linca
B.Sc. Chemistry
Jl. Arzimar 1, n° 9, Perumnas
Bantarjati, 16152 Bogor, Jawa
Barat, Indonesia
E-mail :
Linca.Anggria@UGent.be
Ms. Begum Ara Shamim
M.Sc. Horticulture
Regional Agricultural
Research Station, 2000
Jamalpur, Bangladesh
E-mail :
ShamimAra.Begum@UGent.
be
Mr. Botula Manyala Yves-
Dady
Ir. Agronome
P.O. Box 170, Kin XI,
Kinshasa, Congo D.R.
E-mail :
YvesDady.BotulaManyala@U
Gent.be
Mr. Eshetu Belayneh Bruk
B.Sc. Plant Science
Alemaya University, P.O. Box
284, Alemaya, Oromiya,
Ethiopia
E-mail :
Bruk.Eshetu@UGent.be
Mr. Funwi Joshua
B.Sc. Zoology
P.O. Box 275, Bamenda,
North West Province,
Cameroon
E-mail :
Joshua.Funwi@UGent.be
Ms. Gharahi Ghehi Nasrin
B.Sc. Agricultural Engineer
N° 124, Ostad Homaei St.
Ahmad Abad, St. Esfahan,
Esfahan, Iran
E-mail : Nasrin.GharahiGhehi
@UGent.be
- 5 -

STUDENTS, RESEARCH FELLOWS & TRAINEES
Ms. Hosseini Joshanizadeh
Zahra
B. Agr. Eng., Yazd University,
Iran
E-mail : hsodaee@yahoo.com
Mr. Mpulila Thadeo
B.Sc. Agronomy
P.O. Box 3120, Morogoro,
Tanzania
E-mail :
Thadeo.Mpulila@UGent.be
Mr. Velghe Filip
Bio-ir. Milieutechnologie
Vandewallestraat 7, 8810
Lichtervelde
E-mail :
Filip.Velghe@UGent.be
Mr. Islam Mohammad
Monirul
B.Sc. Agriculture, M.Sc.
Agriculture
113, R.K. Mission Road,
Nawmohall, 2200
Mymensingh, Bangladesh
E-mail :
MohammadMonirul.Islam@
UGent.be
Ms. Jalilpour Marzieh
B.Sc. Geology, Isfahan
University, Iran
E-mail :
m_jalilpoor@yahoo.com
Mr. Ngwira Robert Amos
B.Sc. Agriculture (Crop Sci.)
Chitedze Research Station,
P.O. Box 158, Lilongwe,
Malawi
E-mail :
Robert.Ngwira@UGent.be
Ms. Nuha Abdalla Mohamed
K.
B.Sc. Chemistry, M.Sc.
Chemistry
P.O. Box 3881, Wad Medani,
Gezira, Sudan
E-mail :
AbdallaMohamed.Nuha@
UGent.be
Mr. Wickramasinghe
Mudiyanselage Diana Ranjan
W.
B.Sc. Agriculture
Sri Lanka
E-mail :
Diana.Ranjan@UGent.be
Ms. Wollelo Tigist Oicha
B.Sc. Soil and Water
Conservation
P.O. Box 231, Mekelle,
Ethiopia
E-mail :
TigistOicha.Wollelo@UGent.
be
Ms. Katuwal Sheela
B.Sc. Agr. Eng. (Soil Cons. &
Watershed Mant.)
Purwanchal Campus, dharan-
8, Sunsari, Nepal
E-mail :
Sheela.Katuwal@UGent.be
Mr. Linh Nguyen Si
B. Environmental Sci.
RIFAV, Gia Lam Res.
Experimental Centre of Fruits
and Vegetables, Trau Quy, Gia
Lam district, Hanoi, Vietnam
E-mail :
Linh.NguyenSy@UGent.be
Ms. Manimel Wadu
Chathurika Wilasini Mihiri
B.Sc. Agriculture
Madawa Kalapaya, n° 174/8,
81000 Bogahawatta,
Walgiama-South, Matara, Sri
Lanka
E-mail :
MihiriC.W.;ManimelWadu@
UGent.be
Mr. Mohammed El Sadig
B.Sc. Agricultural Sciences
Land & Water Research
Centre, P.O. Box 388, Wad
Medani, Sudan
E-mail : Elsadig.Mohammed@
UGent.be
Ms. Salibay Ligtas Asuncion
B.Sc. Agriculture (Soil Sci.)
Lapanday Agricultural &
Development Corporation,
Research and Development
Department, Mandug,
Buhangin District, 8000
Davao City, Philippines E-
mail :
Ma.AsuncionLigtas.Salibay@
UGent.be
Mr. Saminathan Boopathi
Kumar
B.Sc. Horticulture
M.Sc. Water Sci. & Techn.
150 Shishir Hostel, IARI, Pusa
Campus, 110012 New Delhi,
India
E-mail :
Boopathi.Kumar@UGent.be
Mr. Shah Syed Haleem
B.Sc. Agr. Eng. (Soil Sci.)
M.Sc. Agriculture (Soil Sci.)
Dept. of Soil and
Environmental Sciences,
NFWP Agricultural University
Peshawar, 25000 Peshawar,
Pakistan
E-mail :
SyedHaleem.Shah@UGent.be
Ms. Tytgat Nele
Lic. Geology
Hulstboomstraat 3An 8760
Meulebeke
E-mail :
Nele.Tytgat@UGent.be
Option :
Engineering Geology
Option : Analysis Mr. Adhikari of Surendra
B. Agricultural Engineer
Physical Land c/o Mr. prakash Resources Adhikari,
Dept. of Electrical Eng., Joe
Pulchowk Campus, Katmandu,
Nepal
E-mail :
Surendra.Adhikari@UGent.be
Mr. Bayasgalan Gantulga
B.Sc. Physics & Applied
Ecology
Apartment 25, building 17,
Baga Toiruu Street, 210646
Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia
E-mail :
Gantulga.Bayasgalan@UGent.
be
Mr. Bui Le Vinh
B.Land Admin.
Dept. Of Land Resources and
Environment, Hanoi
Agricultural University,
Vietnam
E-mail :
LeVinh.Bui@UGent.be
Mr. Esaifan Muayad
B.Sc. Chemistry
University of Jordan,
Chemistry Dept., Queen Rania
El-Abdallah Street, 11942
Amman, Jordan
E-mail :
Muayad.Esaifan@UGent.be
- 6 -

STUDENTS, RESEARCH FELLOWS & TRAINEES
Mr. Le Nguyen Hoang
B.Sc. Geophysics
Remote Sensing and
Geomatics Dept., Res. Inst. of
Geol. & Min. Res., Nguyen
Trai-Thanh Xuan Dist., Hanoi,
Vietnam.
E-mail : hoang_ln@yahoo.com
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy
B.Sc. Geology (Geo-
Chemistry)
54, Chien Thang Road, Xuan,
Hanoi, Vietnam
E-mail :
Thuy.NguyenThi@UGent.be
Mr. Qudaih Ahmed A.
B.Sc. Geology/Water
Resources
El Majed St., 14-4, Khuza'a,
Gaza Strip, Palestine
E-mail :
Ahmed.Qudaih@UGent.be
Mr. Zulu Joseph Dryson Saul
B.Min.Sci. Geology
Great East Road, UNZA,
School of Mines, Geology
Dept., Box 32379, 10101
Lusaka, Zambia
E-mail :
JosephDrysonSaul.Zulu@
UGent.be
Option : Analysis of
Physical Land Resources
Advanced Studies
in Physical Land Resources
Option :
Soil Science
Option : Analysis of
Mr. Adhikari Kabindra
Physical Land B.Sc. Agriculture Resources
Geetanangar-4, Dgunagar,
Chitwan, Nepal
E-mail :
Kabindra.Adhikari@UGent.be
Mr. Bari Md. Khaled Nasimul
M.Sc. Agronomy
Upazila Agriculture Office,
Lalmatighat, Borogola, 5800
Bogra, Bangladesh
E-mail :
Md.KhaledNasimul.Bari@
UGent.be
Option : Analysis of
Physical Land Resources
Ms. Bonne Kathelijne P.M.D.
Lic. Geology
Koningin Astridstraat 12, 9250
Waasmunster, Belgium
E-mail :
Kathelijne.Bonne@UGent.be
Option : Analysis Mr. Chilongo of Kalinga
B.Sc. Agriculture
Physical Land Resources
Prof. Master Rural Land
Ecology Survey
Box 350001, Chilanga,
Lusaka, Zambia E-mail :
Kalinga.Chilongo@UGent.be
Option : Analysis Mr. Dabalos of Vernon Cacacho
B.Sc. Agricultural Engineer
Physical Land Blk. 26, Resources
lot-8, Wonderland
Homes Subdivision, Sta
Teresa, Iguig, 3504 Cagayan,
The Philippines
E-mail :
VernonCacacho.Dabalos@
UGent.be
Option : Analysis of
Mr. Duchatelet Jérémie
Physical Land Lic. Biology Resources
Rue des Tanneurs 12, 7730
Estaimbourg, Belgium
E-mail :
Jeremie.Duchatelet@UGent.be
Option : Analysis Mr. Herath Mudiyanselage of
Saman Kumara Herath
Physical Land B.Sc. Agricultural Resources Sciences
Sisirasewana, Kudawa,
Aluthwela South, 90150
Diyatalawa, Uva, Sri Lanka
E-mail :
Saman.Kumara@UGent.be
Mr. Kader MD Abdul
M.Sc. Soil Science
Department of Soil Science,
Bangladesh Agricultural
University, Mymensingh 2202,
Bangladesh
E-mail :
MDAbdul.Kader@UGent.be
Option : Analysis Mr. Messiga of Aime Jean
Nyamsi
Physical Land ir. Agronome Resources
P.O. Box 30517, Messa,
Yaoundé, Cameroon
E-mail :
AimeJeanNyamsi.Messiga@
UGent.be
Option : Analysis of
Physical Land Resources
- 7 -
Mr. Mujinya Bazirake Basile
Ingénieur Agronome
Kasangulu 64, Lubumbashi,
D.R. Congo
E-mail :
Basile.Mujinyabazirake@
UGent.be
Mr. Mureithi Stephen
Mwangi
B.Sc. Range Management
P.O. Box 11421, c/o Winnie,
00400 Nairobi, Kenya
E-mail :
StephenMwangi.Mureithi@
UGent.be
Ms. Neina Dora
B.Sc. Agriculture
Soil Science Dept., University
Post Office, Cape Coast,
Ghana
E-mail :
Dora.Neina@UGent.be
Mr. Neira Mendez Fredy
Hernando
Agrologist
C/o Manuel Olarte, Calle
53#81-36, Piso 2, Bogota,
Colombia
E-mail :
FredyHernando.NeiraMendez
@UGent.be
Ms. Nguyen Minh Phuong
B.Sc. Land Management
2/5A Le Lai Street, Cantho,
Vietnam
E-mail :
MinhPhuong.Nguyen@UGent.
be
Mr. Nicosia Cristiano
Laurea Archeology
Via Cilento 10, 36100
Vicenza, Italy
E-mail :
cristianonicosia@libero.it
Option : Analysis Mr. Uzoma Kingsley of Chinyere
B. Agricultural Technology
Physical Land P.M.B. 1526 Resources Owerri, Soil
Science & Techn. Dept., Uni.
Of Techn. Owerri, Imo State,
Nigeria. E-mail :
KingsleyChinyere.Uzoma@
UGent.be
Mr. Wickramasinghe
Mudiyanselage Diana Ranjan
W.
B.Sc. Agriculture
Sri Lanka
E-mail :
Diana.Ranjan@UGent.be

STUDENTS, RESEARCH FELLOWS & TRAINEES
Mr. Yadessa Sonessa Mergia
PG diploma Groundwater
Resources Exploration
P.O. Box 1032, Awassa,
Sidama, Ethiopia
E-mail :
Mergia.YadessaSonessa@
UGent.be
Mr. Youssef Ali Amer Ali
B.Sc. Agriculture
87, Masr Street, apartment n°
1, Ismailia, Egypt
E-mail :
Ali.YoussefAliAmer@UGent.
be
Option :
Engineering Geology
Ms. Alfarrah Nawal
B.Sc. Geology
P.O. Box 16418, 7th April
University, Zawia, Libya
E-mail :
Nawal.Alfarrah@UGent.be
Option : Analysis of
Mr. Kayastha Prabin
Physical Land B.Eng. Civil Resources Engineering
28 Bhagwan Bahal Marg,
Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal
E-mail :
Prabin.Kayastha@UGent.be
Mr. Ndofor Akongnui Fai
B.Sc. Geology
P.O. Box 18, Bambili, N.W.
Province, Cameroon
E-mail :
Fai.NdoforAkongnui@UGent.
be
Option : Analysis Mr. Shaheen of Sami
B.Sc. Geology/Chemistry
Physical Land Resources
54-Abu Baker El-Sedeek St.,
The Sea, El-Nusairat, Gaza
strip, Palestinian Authority
(PA), Palestine
E-mail : sshaheen@vub.ac.be
M.Sc. promoted 2005
Physical Land Resources
Option :
Analysis of Physical Land Resources
Ms. Fehér Olga
MORPHOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL
CHARACTERIZATION OF SOILS DEVELOPED
ON ANDESITIC ROCKS IN SOUTH-EASTERN
CARPATHS
Promoter(s) : R. Langohr
Contact address : Budapest 1107 somfa Köz 10.v.15,
Hungary
Abstract :
In the Miocene andesitic area of SW-Carpaths (Gurghiu Mountains)
10 representative soil profiles have been studied in detail. Based on
macromorphological, micromorphological and chemical properties, it
was possible to identify that the soils are composed of two major types
of soil material: a relict type with crystalline clay fraction and a
strongly amorphous type. Where the latter predominates, the soils bear
the characteristics of a Silandic (WRB, 1998 Soil Classification)
diagnostic horizon. Four main hypotheses were examined to explain
the origin and mode of deposition of the soil parent material of the
Andosols: (1) direct weathering from compact andesite rock, (2) eolian
sedimentation, (3) mudflow and (4) glacial deposition. It is concluded
that only the hypothesis of glacial transport and deposition can explain
the complete set of properties of the studied Andosol profiles.
Mr. Koy Kasongo Ruben
IMPACT OF PLANTED ACACIA FOREST ON
THE CHEMICAL FERTILITY OF SANDY SOILS
OF THE BATEKE PLATEAU (D.R. CONGO)
Promoter(s) : E. Van Ranst
Contact address : P.O. Box 190, XI Kinshasa, R.D.
Congo
Abstract :
The sandy soils occurring on the Bateke plateau have a mineralogical
composition limited to quartz, kaolinite and some residual oxides of
Al and Ti, which results in a low chemical fertility and a low water
holding capacity. Overall, these soils are acid, have a low CEC and a
low base saturation.
The results of this research allow to establish a more specific chemical
management, taking into account the impact of the acacia trees on the
chemical soil quality. It was found that the soil chemical fertility status
significantly increased with the age of the forest. The N-fixing Acacia
trees act as a major source for organic matter including nitrogen,
hence increasing the soil O.C content and decreasing the C/N ratio.
Together with the increase in organic matter, significant increase in
CEC and sum of basic cations was observed.
Studying the charge properties of the Bateke soils, it was found that
the pH 0 was systematically lower than the soil pH and decreases with
increasing organic matter content. Furthermore, the surface charge is
largely pH dependent and increases with increasing organic matter
content. The soil underneath the 17 years old Acacia forest has the
highest fertility level, indicating the importance of organic matter on
the fertility of the studied soils.
The chemical fertility of the Bateke soils can be further improved by
better managing the organic matter and adding mineral fertilizers to
restore the soil cation balance.
Mr. Lambiv Dzemua
MINERALOGICAL AND
MICROMORPHOLOGICAL
CHARACTERIZATION OF WEATHERED
SERPENTINITE FROM SOUTH-EAST
CAMEROON
Promoter(s) : E. Van Ranst, F. Mees
Contact address : B.P. 11555 Yaoundé, Cameroon
Abstract :
Mineralogical and micromorphological characteristics of serpentinite
at different weathering stages in Southeast Cameroon were studied
using chemical, XRD and micromorphological analyses with the aim
of understanding the occurrence of Co, Cr, Mn and Ni in the
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STUDENTS, RESEARCH FELLOWS & TRAINEES
weathered material. The serpentinite is characterised by antigorite,
magnetite and magnesite containing significant Co, Cr and Ni. The
serpentinite is overlain by a thick highly weathered material with a
granular microstructure and gibbsite coatings and infillings. Three
units are distinguishable in the weathered material: (1) an upper, very
dusky red (2.5YR 2.5/2, moist) unit, containing kaolinite, gibbsite,
iron (hydr)oxides and quartz; (2) a second unit containing pisolithic
gravel; and (3) a strong brown (7.5YR 5/8, dry) bottom clayey unit,
with a soft consistency containing solely kaolinite and iron
(hydr)oxides. The investigated elements, Co, Cr, Mn and Ni, occur
throughout the weathered material, with important amounts in the
bottom unit. They occur in the lattices of neoformed and/or inherited
sesquioxides and clays or are adsorbed onto these minerals.
Mr. Tafesse Kebede Demeke
LAND SUITABILITY ASSESSMENT OF THE
DEBREZEIT AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
FARMLAND FOR THE CULTIVATION OF
WHEAT AND TEFF (ETHIOPIA)
Promoter(s) : E. Van Ranst
Contact address : National Soil Research Center,
P.O. Box 144, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Abstract :
In this study, the yields of wheat and teff in Debrezeit Agricultural
Research center were simulated using a three-hierarchical level crop
growth model. The radiation-thermal production potential was quite
high, being 6.62 and 8.34 t/ha dry grains for wheat and teff,
respectively. A yield reduction varying between 23 to 29% for wheat
and 14 to 22% for teff was reported when estimating the water-limited
production potential. The land production potential ranged from 0.84
to 3.57 t/ha for wheat and 0.53 to 4.58 t/ha for teff. Both the spatial
and temporal yield variability were high. The model was validated
using the actual yields and showed good performance (r 2 =0.74 for
wheat and 0.78 for teff). A yield gap analysis was performed to
identify the main production limiting factors (moisture availability,
slope, drainage and organic carbon). Possible land use management
practices were identified to minimize the yield gaps.
Option :
Use of Physical Land Resources
Mr. El Desouky Hamdy
ECONOMIC MINERALIZATIONS IN THE AREA
OF ABU KHARIF MOUNTAIN, NORTHERN
EASTERN DESERT, EGYPT. A COMBINED
REMOTE SENSING AND GEOCHEMISTRY
STUDY AFTER FIELD WORK
Promoter (s) : E. Keppens, O. Batelaan
Contact address : Brusselsestraat 165/J118, 3000
Leuven, Belgium
Abstract :
The thesis offers a unique combination between Remote Sensing,
Geochemistry and Fieldwork for geological mapping and mineral
resource exploration. This unique combination has been used to
explore and map the area of Abu Kharif Mountain with focusing on its
economic mineralizations. Further more the thesis offers a unique
comparison between some different remote sensing techniques applied
on different remote sensing data sets with different spatial and spectral
resolutions, first to test the validity of these data sets and these
techniques for geological mapping and ore deposit exploration, then to
select the best results for the study area. The research resulted in a set
of new maps, which were presented for the first time in this thesis,
these including: one geologic map, one lineament map, three
lineament density maps and one ore deposit map, this in addition to a
set of rose diagrams, one cross section and one sketch in the ore
deposit map.
Mr. Michael Ndemo Bogonko
HYPERSPECTRAL REMOTE SENSING OF SOIL
MOISTURE GRADIENTS IN THE
MILLINGERWAARD, THE NETHERLANDS
Promoter(s) : O. Batelaan, J. Bogaert
Contact address : Rubensstraat 52, 1030 Brussel,
Belgium
Abstract :
Hyperspectral remote sensing by HyMap imaging might provide a
methodology to map surface moisture conditions over space and time.
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the potential of the HyMap
data for soil moisture mapping. This is performed by comparing the in
situ soil moisture data from Millingerwaard study area (Netherlands)
with the hyperspectral high-resolution data acquired by the HyMap
sensor.
As part of part of the „HyEco‟04 project‟, the Department of
Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering executed on July 28 th 2004 a
field campaign in which eighty eight ground truth soil moisture
measurements using a Theta Probe Type ML2 were taken. On the
same day also the HyMap 5 m resolution imagery were taken. Soil
moisture point measurements were spatially interpolated using a spline
interpolation technique. Statistical analyses, including simple linear
correlation, principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis
were used to compare the generated soil moisture map with the
imagery. Obtained correlations showed a weak relationship between
the observed soil moisture and the hyperspectral data. Correlations
between 0.2 and 0.4 could not single out an effective HyMap band
suitable for soil moisture mapping. Three principle components that
explained more than 99% of the information equally indicated a weak
correlation of less than 0.2 with field soil moisture data. Indices like
NDVI, SAVI or NDWI, did not give a better correlation than the
individual bands. The NDVI index could only explain 32% of the total
variance. The patterns of soil moisture could be inferred as a function
of topography which indicated a higher correlation with an R 2 of 0.76.
Spatial patterns of the moisture could not be explained by cluster
analysis as no clear clusters were defined.
HyMap data could not be effectively used in mapping of soil moisture
in the study area. Better methods for defining spatial variability of soil
moisture can be used and the temporal aspect for this kind of study
can constitute effective means of monitoring and mapping of soil
moisture.
Mr. Prigiarto Hokkal Yonatan
DRAINED AND UNDRAINED SLOPE
STABILITY ANALYSIS USING GIS ON A
REGIONAL SCALE
Promoter(s) : F. De Smedt, O. Batelaan
Contact address : Jl. Karet GG; TIONG Ujung N° 5,
12940 Jakarta, Indonesia
Abstract :
This study is the continuation of the previous study done by Ram
Lakhan Ray, 2004, that applied stability model on an area of 341 km 2
of Dhading district, Nepal. In this study, a spatial distributed
physically based slope stability model was presented and applied on
84 km 2 of cohesive soil, covered about 25% of the original study area.
Two methods of analysis were performed, i.e. total and effective stress
analyses and Taylor and infinite slope methods were applied on the
analysis. Critical height and safety factor maps were produced based
on those analyses. Steady state and quasi dynamic conditions were
considered for the present study with varying soil thickness. For quasi
dynamic conditions, wetness index was applied based on direct
rainfall infiltrations. Slope angle of 38 and 17 can be considered as
the average mean slope angle to cause instability and the lower most
slope angle for stable conditions, respectively. This value was derived
from the analysis based on half saturated conditions. It was also
concluded that this case can serve as general conditions of safety
factor map at the site where this case also has a similar result with
models based on different return periods. Taylor method was not
applicable for this study area since this method is only applicable for
assessing safety factor with high slope angle. For short term safety
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STUDENTS, RESEARCH FELLOWS & TRAINEES
factor map, completely dry conditions resulted from infinite slope
method can be used as a short term applications. Half saturated case
can be considered as general and long term safety factor map as this
condition reveals similar result as given by various return periods.
This study has proved that models developed with infinite slope
models have given the best result even with some assumption.
Ms. Udas Anju
SLOPE STABILITY ANALYSIS USING GIS ON A
REGIONAL SCALE: A CASE STUDY OF
NARAYANGHAT - MUNGLING HIGHWAY
SECTION, NEPAL
Promoter(s) : F. De Smedt
Contact address : Dharan-3, 12940 Sunsari, Nepal
Abstract :
In this study, the stability of the slope has been analyzed with the help
of Arcview GIS 3.2. The study area is located in the western part of
Nepal in Chitwan district and the total area is near about 287.62 km 2.
During this study the maps for the stability of the slope for seven areas
have been produced, including three steady state conditions assuming
either completely dry rocks, half saturated rocks, or fully saturated
rocks and four quasi dynamic conditions, i.e. soil wetness resulting
from storm events with respectively 2, 10, 25 and 50 years return
periods. The methodology is applied only for rock slope and analysis
and is conducted to evaluate the safety factor of various steady state
conditions and different return periods. Most of the areas are prone to
slope failure in function of topography. It has been found from the
study that only 24.58% of the rocks are unconditionally stable
(characterized by slopes smaller than 30°) while 45 % of the soils are
found to be unstable under fully dry conditions. Only 1.28% of the
rocks are unconditionally stable (characterized by slopes smaller than
10°) while 91.76 % of the soils are found to be unstable under fully
saturated conditions. Thus, it can be concluded that the study area is
prone for rock slide and susceptible to slope failure. As the analysis
derived from the present study reveals that the areas are in critical state
of slope failure, the detailed study for the slope stability should be
taken to avoid severe damages in near future.
Option :
Management of Physical Land Resources
Mr. Addisu Delelle Molla
THE ROLE OF INTEGRATED ORGANIC AND
MINERAL FERTILIZER APPLICATION ON SOIL
FERTILITY PARAMETERS AND YIELD OF
WHEAT UNDER THE DRYLAND CONDITIONS
OF NORTHERN ETHIOPIA
Promoter(s) : H. Verplancke
Contact address : Sirinka Agric. Research Centre, 74
Weldia, N. Welo, Ethiopia
Abstract :
A field experiment was conducted to assess the role of integrated use
of farm yard manure (FYM) and mineral fertilizers on soil fertility
parameters and grain yield and yield components of wheat in the
highlands of northeastern Ethiopia. The soil chemical properties were
affected by both application of FYM alone and integrated with mineral
fertilizers. Increases in soil fertility parameters were observed with
increased levels of FYM application. The integrated application of
FYM with mineral fertilizers significantly increased wheat yield and
yield components. The addition of 5 and 10 ton ha -1 FYM gave yield
advantages of 15.7 and 16.4% over the non-manured plots,
respectively. The highest grain yield of wheat (2253.4 kg ha -1 ) was
obtained by applying 5 ton ha -1 FYM combined with 0/10 Kg ha -1
N/P. As a conclusion, the application of FYM at 5 and 10 ton ha -1
with 50% the locally recommended mineral fertilizer rates had a
positive effect on soil fertility parameters and wheat yield and yield
components.
Mr. Bekiebang Nuikwangho Peter
APPLICATION OF QUALITATIVE AND
QUANTITATIVE LAND EVALUATION TOOLS
TO ASSESS THE AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCTION POTENTIAL OF NORTH-WEST
CAMEROON
Promoter(s) : E. Van Ranst, H. Verplancke
Contact address : P.O. Box 30, NDOP, Ngoketunjia
div. N.W.P., Cameroon
Abstract :
Qualitative and quantitative land evaluation tools were applied to
asses the agricultural potential of North-West Cameroon for the
production of groundnut. Using GIS tools, a digital spatial and
numerical database of the natural resources was generated. The land
suitability classification revealed that a greater part of the study area
was moderately suitable with respect to climate but marginally suitable
with respect to edaphic properties. With regard to the crop growth
model, the estimated yield ranged from 0.34 to 1.99 t/ha. The
production of groundnut is strongly being hampered by high soil
acidity and low sum of basic cations. The results of both land
evaluation tools were validated using locally recorded and
internationally reported yield data
Ms. Berko Cynthia
MANIPULATION OF NITROGEN RELEASE
FROM 15N LABELLED CROP RESIDUES
THROUGH APPLICATION OF ON-AND OFF-
FARM ORGANIC WASTE PRODUCTS
Promoter(s) : P. Boeckx, B. Chaves Daguilar
Contact address : c/o Mr. William Berko, IRS
(accounts), P.O. Box 2202, Accra, Ghana
Abstract :
This incubation experiment imitated two winter – spring seasons (380
days) to asses the effectiveness of straw to immobilize N released from
N- rich celery residues during the winter period and vinasses to
stimulate remineralisation of previous immobilized N in spring, when
crops need N for growth. We employed 15 N techniques to better
understand the N processes involved and to quantify N content in the
various N pools.
N mineralization from celery was highest (57.4 mg N kg -1 ) at the end
of the first winter- spring phase. The straw + celery treatment showed
a net N immobilization effect of –56.1 mg N kg -1 . Still a net
immobilization effect of –7.5 mg kg -1 was observed after the addition
of vinasse in spring. The same pattern was noticed during the second
winter – spring season (198-380 days) in which the above
experimental set-up was maintained but unlabelled celery was used.
Reduced levels of mineral N were associated with higher levels of
microbial biomass N (MB-N).
Mr. Chapagain Kumar Saroj
RELEASE OF ARSENIC FROM INTERTIDAL
SEDIMENTS OF THE RIVER SCHELDT :
INFLUENCE OF MOISTURE REGIME
Promoter(s) : M. Verloo, G. Du Laing
Contact address : c/o Giridhar Upadhayaya, General
Post Box n° 8345, Kathmandu, Nepal
Abstract :
This study aimed to assess the occurrence of arsenic in the intertidal
sediments of River Scheldt and the relationship between arsenic
release and the level of the ground water table. On an average, the
arsenic concentrations in the sediments were below the background
and the remediation levels of arsenic in Flanders. Strong positive
correlation existed between arsenic and organic matter, and between
arsenic and clay content. In contrary, negative correlation existed
between arsenic and sand content, and between arsenic and pH.
The results of arsenic release under different ground water conditions
in the greenhouse revealed that arsenic release depended upon the
redox conditions. The release of arsenic was quite low and stable in
the oxic zones where as, arsenic release was much higher at depths
below the groundwater table with a significant temporal variation.
- 10 -

STUDENTS, RESEARCH FELLOWS & TRAINEES
Mr. Kamande Peter Njoroge
METAL CONTAMINATION IN IRRIGATED
AGRICULTURAL LAND : CASE STUDY OF
NAIROBI RIVER BASIN, KENYA
Promoter(s) : F. Tack
Contact address : University of Nairobi, P.O. Box
29053 Nairobi, c/o Dr. Njoka, Nairobi, Kenya
Abstract :
This study was conducted to assess the impact of using polluted river
water on the farmlands along the Ngong river in Nairobi. Soil samples
were taken at depths of 0-20 cm, 20-40 cm and 40-60 cm. The total
metal concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn were determined
with aqua regia extraction. Single extractions were used to establish
the environmental risk and metal bioavailability : a 0.5 M HCl
extraction assessed the labile phase while 0.05 M EDTA and 0.11 M
acetic acid extractions assessed the fraction correlating with plant
contents; a 0.01 M CaCl 2 extraction assess the exchangeable fraction.
The metal contents were analysed by ICP-OES. Except for Ni, there
was significant anthropogenic influence and a possible environmental
risk. This calls for a reversal of the trend and further study about the
effects on plant nutrition and the food chain, to prevent direct hazard
to man.
Mr. Olana Daniel Emiru
NITROGEN DYNAMICS UNDER
CONVENTIONAL AND REDUCED TILLAGE
FIELDS
Promoter(s) : S. De Neve, K. D'Haene
Contact address : P.O. Box 24139, Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia
Abstract :
To avert the negative impacts of conventional tillage (CVT) the
adoption of conservation tillage (CST) has gained a wide recognition.
The study was conducted on samples from 18 fields that had been
under CVT and CST. Soil nitrogen mineralization, microbial biomass
nitrogen (MBN) and total nitrogen was studied in this experiment.
Results showed contrasting nitrogen mineralization rates in both CST
and CVT fields. Most of CST fields had slightly higher mineralization
rate. Although few CST fields with long duration had higher
mineralization rates, the length of CST didn‟t necessarily reflect the
mineralization rate. The field with 10 year CST was found to have the
highest mineralization rate. The highest microbial biomass nitrogen
(MBN) was found in fields with the longest (18 years) CST at the 10 th
week of incubation. The MBN decreased with incubation time. Total
nitrogen in the soil profile decreased sharply in CST. Overall, adopting
CST seemed to have improved N mineralization, total soil nitrogen
and MBN as compared to CVT, but the variability of the results was
large due to the specific experimental set-up adopted. Further research
would be needed to better quantify the effect of tillage and soil
disturbance on N mineralization.
Mr. Pervej Hasan Ahmed
DENITRIFICATION ACTIVITY IN
CONVENTIONAL AND REDUCED TILLED
CROPLANDS
Promoter(s) : P. Boeckx, D. Beheydt
Contact address : Baitul Aman Jane Mosque Road,
7433 Baganchara, Sharsha, Jessore, Bangladesh
Abstract :
A study was conducted during 2004 to investigate the N 2O and total
denitrification losses, using the acetylene inhibition method, from 2
no-tilled (cropped with maize and summer oat) and 1 conventionally
tilled field (cropped with maize) at Maulde, Henegouwen, Belgium.
The N 2O production from the no-tilled soils was higher than from the
conventional tilled soil although the no-tilled fields received less
N-fertilization. N 2 losses from all three fields were low or absent
which was also confirmed by the WFPS barely reaching 60%. Based
on field N 2O measurements and laboratory measurements of N 2O and
N 2O+N 2 the N 2O/(N 2O+N 2) ratio of the fields were calculated. The
highest and lowest overall calculated ratio were recorded respectively
from the no-tilled (1.02) and the conventional tilled (0.09) maize field.
Mr. Senkondo Hassan Yasin
METAL CONTENTS IN REED (PHRAGMITES
AUSTRALIS) AND WILLOW (SALIX SP.) IN
FLOODPLAINS AS AFFECTED BY PHYSICO-
CHEMICAL CONDITIONS
Promoter(s) : F. Tack
Contact address : P.O. Box 2409, Arusha, Tanzania
Abstract :
In Belgium, there has been a regular dredging of the Scheldt river. The
disposed sediments are polluted by at least one of the metals, Cd, Cr,
Zn or Pb. The pollution levels encountered is a subject of concern as
most of the soils affected are currently in use for agriculture, nature
development or forestry.
Higher concentrations of Cu and Cd were found in roots than in shoots
in both reed and willow plants. Cu was found to be more available in
alternating wetting and drying conditions than in permanently flooded
conditions. Plants that grew in soils where no organic matter was
added had lower Cd and Cu concentrations than the plants that grew
in soils where organic matter was added.
Plants that grew in heavy textured soils had the lowest concentrations
of Cd and Cu. The lower concentrations of Cd and Cu were observed
in plants that grew under permanently flooded conditions than in
plants that grew under field capacity. In addition, plants grown in
oxidized soils had higher concentration of metals than the plants
grown in reduced soils.
There was no significant relationship between the concentration of Cu
and Cd in the pore water and the concentration of Cu and Cd in reed
and willow plants.
Ms. Sultana Nasrin
USING ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION
MEASUREMENTS TO IDENTIFY SOIL
SUITABILITY ZONES FOR TREE SPECIES
Promoter(s) : M. Van Meirvenne
Contact address : c/o Nasrin Sultana or Md. Monirul
Islam, 88 St.Johns road, E174JQ Walthamstow, UK
Abstract :
This study focused on the electromagnetic induction measurement to
identify soil suitable zone for tree species for two fields: one is a
pasture field and the other is a forest litter field in the West-Flanders,
Belgium. EM38, sensor was used to measure the electrical
conductivity (EC) of soil within the field scale and those EC values
were used to take site specific soil sampling for soil particle size
analysis. A positive relationship was obtained between EC and clay
content. Both fields were classified by using fuzzy k means analysis.
According to EC, the pasture field was classified into 2 zones and the
litter field was classified into 3 zones. Betula pendula Roth and Pinus
sylvestris L. were selected for zone 1 and zone 2 for the pasture field.
Quercus robur L. tree species was selected for the litter field.
Electromagnetic induction measurement was functional to classify soil
suitability zones and selecting tree species for specific sites.
Mr. Tekele Alemu Legesse
DETERMINANTS OF RURAL LIVELIHOOD
DIVERSIFICATION : CASE STUDY OF
CENTRAL RIFT VALLEY, ETHIOPIA
Promoter(s) : L. D'Haese
Contact address : P.O. Box 32888, Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia
Abstract :
This study focuses on determinants of rural livelihood diversification
in Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Four key questions have been
addressed: i) what are existing categories of potential off-farm
activities ; ii) How much is the contribution of farm and off-farm
activities to the livelihood of rural households; iii) Are there barriers
to rural off-farm employment opportunities; and iv) What are
practical remedies to the barriers of rural livelihood diversification at
the household level A survey of 60 households using a structured
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STUDENTS, RESEARCH FELLOWS & TRAINEES
questionnaire complemented by focused group discussions were
carried out by the author. Descriptive and quantitative analysis has
been undertaken. From descriptive analysis, it has been found out that
off-farm employment opportunities contribute 36.3%, 42.9 %, and
27.8% of total income for rural household with high, medium and low
income level respectively. The logit regression results verified many of
hypotheses set forth. In other words, off-farm employment is
significantly influenced by literacy level of household head, number of
active family members, number of livestock owned, household head
age, perception of rural households towards farming, infrastructure
development such as access to credit and access to nearby town and
cities. But it has been discovered that off-farm activities are not much
shaped by gender, which contradicts the hypothesis set forth.
Mr. Vandi David Kallon
EFFECTS OF MULCHING AND SEED BED TYPE
ON SOIL WATER STORAGE AND WATER USE
EFFICIENCY : CASE STUDY OF PEPPER,
FREETOWN (SIERRA LEONE)
Promoter(s) : H. Verplancke
Contact address : Njala University College, New
England, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Abstract :
Degradation of soils in Sub-Saharan Africa has left vast agricultural
land largely unproductive in relation to soil water supply and nutrient
management. A field experiment was conducted (Sept. – Nov./2004)
on a sandy clay soil in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to evaluate the
contribution of growing-season grass mulch and seed bed type to soil
water storage, water use and water use efficiency, and yield of sweet
pepper (capsicum annum). Six treatments each were laid out in a
complete randomized block in three replicates of equal numbers of
raised and flat beds. Grass mulch was applied after transplanting at
rates of 2 cm and 4 cm leaving one plot vacant as control. Mulch rate
had a positive effect on water storage in both systems although this
effect was complemented by moisture storage from the preceding peak
rainfall in August/04. Total Available Water (TAW) was 148.5 mm.
Above average yield was observed with values averaging between
1600, 1187 and 827 kg/ha-cm for the raised bed plots and 1310, 953,
and 632 kg/ha-cm for the flat bed plots in the 4-, 2-, and 0-cm mulch
plots respectively. Water use was favourably affected by both mulch
rate and bed height. The values averaged 24.3, 23.2, and 22.8 cm and
21.3, 20.8, and 20.3 cm water in the 4-, 2-, and 0-cm mulch plots
respectively. The 2- and 4-cm mulch rates respectively, increased
water use efficiency 45% and 29% in the raised bed and 50% and 32%
in the flat bed plots over the no-mulch treatments. Apparently, canopy
shading largely substituted for the beneficial effect of mulch during
the growing season. Soil water depletion (p-fraction) at average
maximum ET rate of 3.26 mm/day was in the range of 0.41 – 0.35,
with the lowest occurring during the mid season. The effect of high
depletion by ET on critical growth stages was minimized and
apparently yields were generally good. In conclusion therefore,
surface grass mulch application seems to have an increasing effect on
water storage, water use and water use efficiency, and the yield
response of pepper grown especially on standard raised beds in the
study area.
Ph.D. PROGRAMME PHYSICAL LAND RESOURCES
Ph.D. promoted 2004-2005
Dr. Charles Magori
Present function and address : Research
Scientist, Kenya Marine and Fisheries
Research Institute (KMFRI), Mombasa,
Kenya.
Title of Ph.D. thesis : Hydrodynamic Modelling of a
Mangrove-Fringed Estuary, Mtwapa Creek, Kenya
Date of promotion : July 2, 2004
Promoter(s) : Prof. Dr. F. De Smedt
Curriculum vitae :
Charles Magori was born in Kenya in 1969. He holds a
BSc in Mathematics (1993) from Jomo Kenyatta
University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in
Kenya. He obtained a Master of Science degree in
Physical Oceanography from University of Gothenburg,
Sweden in 1997. He is a Research Scientist working for
Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI)
in Mombasa, Kenya. His PhD was carried out under the
auspices of KMFRI and the Department of Hydrology and
Hydraulic Engineering, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Vrije
Universiteit Brussel, from January 2000 to June 2004.
Abstract :
Mtwapa creek is a tropical estuarine system located along
the Kenyan coast in the Western Indian Ocean region. The
creek is surrounded by vast mangrove swamps, while its
offshore area is shielded by extensive share parallel coral
reefs. It receives runoff from a seasonal river. This
research concerns the development and application of a
numerical model to describe the hydrodynamic
characteristics of the creek.
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STUDENTS, RESEARCH FELLOWS & TRAINEES
The model is based on RMA2, a finite element
hydrodynamic numerical model for two- dimensional
(depth-averaged) simulations. It uses a fully implicit
scheme for solving shallow- water equations. The model
predicts water level variations and current velocities in the
creek reasonably well. Using scenario modeling, the
sensitivity of Mtwapa creek to anticipated sea-level rise
(induced by climate change) in the 21st century has been
investigated. Furthermore, using the numerical model,
estimates of Mtwapa creek's volume, surface area and tidal
prism during spring and neap tides are computed. It is
concluded that the numerical model presented in this
dissertation can be used as a research tool for further
investigations of estuarine hydrodynamic processes. This is
important for ecological studies and for the short- and
long-term sustainability of the system.
Dr. Adnan M. Aish
Present function and address : Assistant
Professor at Geology/Water Resources
Department, Al Azhar University-Gaza,
Palestine.
Title of Ph.D. thesis : Hydrogeological Study and
Artifitial Recharge Modeling of the Gaza Coastal
Aquifer using GIS and MODFLOW
Date of promotion : November 25, 2004
Promoter(s) : Prof. Dr. F. De Smedt
Curriculum vitae :
Adnan Aish was born in Gaza (Palestine) in 1964. He
holds a Master of Science degree in Water Resources
Engineering (Hydrogeology) from the Vrije Universiteit
Brussel (VUB), Belgium in 2000, and a Postgraduate
diploma in Water Resources Survey from the International
Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth
Observation (ITC), Netherlands in 1997. He has worked as
a PhD student in the Department of Hydrology and
Hydraulic Engineering at the VUB from October 2000 to
November 2004. Before he came to Belgium for further
study, he had been working as a lecturer at Al-Azhar
University, Gaza, Palestine.
Abstract :
This research work investigates the first phase of a
feasibility study on the impact of artificial recharge from a
planned wastewater treatment plant on the groundwater
quantity and quality of the coastal aquifer in the Gaza
Strip, Palestine. During September 2001 to August 2002,
an extensive program of hydrogeological investigation and
laboratory analysis of soil samples were undertaken to
achieve the most reliable characterization of the subsoil
and eventually to assist in the design and implementation
of a pilot artificial recharge system for treated wastewater
to groundwater.
The main concerns of the hydrogeological study are to
determine the hydrological parameters, lithological
description, and geological setting. The study area extends
over 336,000 m2, of which 212,000 m2 is used for a
treatment plant and artificial recharge basin. Three sets of
boreholes have been drilled. The first set consists of 19
shallow boreholes that penetrate the silty clay layer and the
underlying sandstone (kurkar). The second set consists of
five boreholes that penetrate the unsaturated zone to at
least 5 m below the groundwater level. The last set consists
of three deep boreholes and one pumping well. The deep
boreholes were drilled at 100 m to 120 m depth going
through the kurkar and clay formations. The pumping well
was drilled at 156 m reaching the Saqiye formation. Packer
tests were carried out to determine the hydraulic
conductivity of the unsaturated zone. Also, 5 infiltration
tests were conducted to assess the infiltration capacity at
the location of the proposed artificial recharge. In addition,
a pumping test was also carried out to determine the
hydraulic properties of the aquifer.
In the local model of the artificial recharge simulation, an
analytical and numerical solution of the transient
groundwater flow is used to predict the time-dependency
of the groundwater response in case of the planned
artificial infiltration pond of the wastewater treatment
plant. The maximum rise of the groundwater mound after
100 days would be 14 m in the center of the infiltration
pond and about 12 m at the edges.
Regional groundwater flow simulations are made using the
three-dimensional numerical model MODFLOW. The
groundwater mounding has been simulated with a constant
recharge of 60000 m3/d, and an infiltration rate of 0.75
m/d, while all other hydrogeological conditions are
assumed as present conditions. The simulation shows that
the groundwater mound beneath the center of the recharge
basin can be expected to rise to about 15 m above the
present water table, and after about 2 years will be a slight
increment in the groundwater mound. The native
groundwater downstream of the recharge area will
gradually be influenced by the water originating from the
infiltrated water and the cone of depression will diminish
substantially due to the infiltration.
In the solute transport model MT3D we assumed the
infiltration water is at hypothetic conservative
concentration of 100 mg/l that no absorption or adsorption
solute is present, and that the initial concentration in the
aquifer is 0 mg/l. In the analysis of the results, the 100 mg/l
of solute will be considered as the reference concentration
(100% injected water) and the simulated concentration in
the aquifer will be expressed relative to this value. The
results indicate that 90% of the infiltrated water will be
mixed with the aquifer water after 1 year beneath the
recharge area with decreasing percentages in the
surrounding area.
- 13 -

STUDENTS, RESEARCH FELLOWS & TRAINEES
Dr. Yongbo Liu
Present function and address :
Post-Doctoral Associate, Department of
Geography, University of Guelph, Guelph,
Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Title of Ph.D. thesis : Development and application of a
GIS-based hydrological model for flood prediction and
watershed management
Date of promotion : December 23, 2004
Promoter(s) : Prof. Dr. F. De Smedt
Curriculum vitae :
Yongbo Liu was born on November 15, 1965 in Jilin,
China. He got his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil
Engineering from Chengdu University of Science and
Technology (Sichuan University), China, in 1987. In
August 1987, he started working as an engineer and a
project manager in the Songhua and Liao River Water
Resources Commission, Ministry of Water Resources,
China. He got a Postgraduate diploma in Water Resources
Engineering from Katholieke University Leuven (KUL),
Belgium in 1998, and became a holder of Master of
Science degree in Water Resources Engineering from Vrije
University Brussel (VUB), Belgium in 1999 with a great
distinction.
From October 1999 onwards, he was involved as a
research assistant in the Department of Hydrology and
Hydraulic Engineering at the VUB working on the
development of a distributed hydrological model of
WetSpa (Water and Energy Transfer between Soil, Plant
and Atmosphere). At the same time, he actively
participated in several water resources engineering
projects in Belgium, Luxemburg, Slovakia, Hungary,
Romania, Poland, Vietnam, Surinam, and China. His
duties in these projects include flood prediction and
impact assessment of climate change, land use change and
river restoration on the hydrological processes using the
WetSpa model.
Yongbo Liu’s research results have been presented in the
form of publications in international journals including
Journal of Hydrology, Hydrological Processes, Hydrology
and Earth System Sciences, Water Resources
Management, Environment Modelling and Assessment,
Environmental Geology, etc. He also attended several
international symposia and contributed to presentations,
posters, proceedings and workshops. He presented his
PhD thesis in December 2004 and was awarded with the
grade of greatest distinction.
continuous simulation model that may operate at a different
time scale and at a different spatial resolution, which well
represent the river basin characteristics. The required
inputs to the model include digital maps of elevation, soil
type and land use, and time series of precipitation,
temperature, potential evapotranspiration and flow
discharge. The model enables one to simulate the complex
hydrologic regimes of a river basin within a GIS
framework, estimate runoff for each grid cell and route the
flow along its flow path to the basin outlet or any
converging points in the stream network, and eventually to
simulate the spatial distribution of hydrological variables
in a river basin.
The application of the WetSpa model was demonstrated in
three case studies, i.e. Barebeek (Belgium), Steinsel
(Luxembourg) and Margecany (Slovakia). The Barebeek
catchment is a typical suburban watershed with drainage
area of 67.8 km2 situated northeast of Brussels, Belgium.
The resulting calculated hydrographs with WetSpa model
compare favourably with measurements at the gauging
sites. The Steinsel catchment is a highly urbanized
watershed with a drainage area of 407 km2 located in the
upstream part of the Alzette River basin, Grand Duchy of
Luxembourg. Results of WetSpa model simulation show
that the model‟s level of representativeness to be quite
satisfactory. Next, the runoff contribution from different
land use areas and the impacts of land use change and
natural river restoration for the headwater areas on the
flood behaviours are assessed using WetSpa model on an
hourly time scale and 50×50 m resolution results. The
Margecany catchment is a typical mountainous watershed
with a drainage area of 1133 km2 situated in the upstream
part of the Hornad River basin, Slovakia. Simulation
results of WetSpa model show that the flow hydrographs of
both snow melting floods and storm floods are well
reproduced on a daily time scale and 100×100 m
resolution.
The WetSpa model makes full use of the remote sensed
data and calculations are for the most part performed by
GIS tools, such that the model is useful for flood prediction
on complex terrain and analyzing the effects of
topography, soil type, and land use on the flood
behaviours.
Dr. Kurt Van Rompaey
Present function and address : Consultant,
Environmental Resources Management
(ERM), Rouppeplein 16, Brussels
Abstract :
A GIS-based distributed hydrological model, WetSpa
Extension, that operates on catchment scale is developed
for flood prediction and watershed management. It is a
Title of Ph.D. thesis : Study on the interaction between
atmospheric deposition, soil acidification and mineral
weathering, using soil solution analyses, laboratory and
field experiments
- 14 -

STUDENTS, RESEARCH FELLOWS & TRAINEES
Date of promotion : January 7, 2005
Promoter(s) : E. Van Ranst
Curriculum vitae :
Kurt Van Rompaey was born in Brasschaat on the 15 th of
July 1975. He graduated as Agricultural Engineer in
Management of Land and Forest, option Soil and Water
Management at the Ghent University in July 1998. His
thesis focused on the determination of background values
of heavy metals in the province of Antwerp (Flanders,
Belgium). From August 1998 till November 1998 he
worked as a scientific collaborator at the Laboratory of
Soil Science after which he became the assistant of Prof.
Dr. E. Van Ranst. In this position he was responsible for
the practical exercises of Soil Mineralogy, Clay
Mineralogy, Tropical Soils, Environmental Soil
Management. During his PhD research he worked on a
large database obtained by a bi-weekly monitoring (from
the early 90’s till present) of rainfall, throughfall and soil
solutions at six monitoring plots in Flanders and
performed field work in the Antwerp Campine (Flanders)
to measure the in situ weathering rates of minerals in
soils. Several technical reports were written to distribute
the results of the monitoring campaign to different
governmental agencies. The results of his PhD work were
presented through oral and poster presentations on
meetings of the Belgian Soil Science Society and on
different international conferences (USA, Poland,
Thailand). He further worked on projects concerning
habitat characterization using soil profile research and
ground- and surface water analyses and the SPADE II
(Soil Profile Attribute Data Environment) for Belgium and
Luxembourg, in cooporation with the National Soil
Resources Institute of the Cranfield University, UK.
Abstract :
The first part of this work focused on the analyses of rain-,
throughfall and soil solutions in 6 forest ecosystems in
Flanders. Bi-weekly monitoring during more than a decade
has shown that the pH values of the rain- and throughfall
lie in the range of what is internationally accepted as
“natural values”. Any acid components in the atmosphere
are thus fully neutralized before they reach the forest floor.
Hence, it should be stressed that the NO 3 - and the SO 4
2-
compounds in the rainfall can not cause acidifying
reactions. Only the NH 4 + can – by oxidation – cause a
decrease in pH of the solutions. However, as all rain- and
throughfall solutions also contain HCO 3 - , the HNO 3 ,
formed by the oxidation (nitrification) of NH 4 + will already
be partly neutralised by this bicarbonate. The formula used
to calculate the amount of acid deposition on a given site
(containing nitrate, sulphate and ammonium as sources of
acidity), presently used by policy makers is thus incorrect
and strongly overestimates the actual acid deposition.
From the soil solution studies of 6 monitoring plots, it was
further concluded that the NO 3 - in the soil solutions largely
comes from the breakdown of organic matter in the soil, as
the N-input from the atmosphere is insufficient to explain
the high concentrations of N in the soil water (> 60 mg.l -1
NO 3 - ). During the breakdown of organic matter (oxidizing
reaction), nitric acid is formed (H + + NO 3 - ). This strong
mineral acid must of course be neutralized immediately.
Two reaction mechanisms were found that can play this
role: (1) uptake by the vegetation of nitrate: when taking
up this anion, the plant, in order to maintain its electrical
neutrality, reacts by secreting a hydroxyl-group. This
hydroxyl-group can then neutralize the acidity of the nitric
acid. A second mechanism that was found (2) is the
reaction of HNO 3 with silicate minerals (the soils under
study do not contain any carbonates). During this reaction,
the protons react with the silicate minerals, as such
liberating structural cations (e.g. Ca 2+ , Al 3+ ). When the
turn-over of nutrients in the ecosystem is slow (low
nutrient consumption), high concentrations of Al 3+ (from
reaction with the minerals) and NO 3 - (from the breakdown
of the organic matter) are found. When the turn-over of
nutrients occurs fast, hardly no aluminium is leached from
the soil as the acidity formed by the breakdown of the
organic matter is fully neutralized by the uptake of
nutrients from the soil solution. The leaching of nitrate and
aluminium from forest floors is thus directly related to the
balance between breakdown of organic matter and uptake
of nutrients by the vegetation. In some case however, this
relationship can be strongly masked by external sources of
nutrients (groundwater flow, fertilizer application, etc.).
The influence of atmospheric deposition on the
composition of the soil solutions thus seemed to be much
smaller than the influence of other parameters: nutrient
uptake, in situ breakdown of organic matter, influences
from groundwater, etc.
In the second part of the research, the weathering of soil
minerals was studied using different approaches (batch-,
column and field experiments). In general, the weathering
(breakdown) of silicate minerals was found to be a very
slow process.
From the batch-experiments, it was found that the nature of
the acid had little effect on the weathering rate, but the
effects of acid concentration, the temperature, the
solid:liquid ratio and the particle size of the minerals
(glauconite, biotite, vermiculite, hectorite) were significant.
Speeding up the weathering process in batch-experiments
showed one major drawback, in that the extrapolation to
the field conditions proved to be unjustified as batchexperiments
are closed systems from which intermediary
reaction products cannot be removed.
To overcome this problem and to better imitate natural
conditions, column experiments were set up in which
vermiculite and glauconite were continuously leached with
synthetically prepared rainfall and soil solutions. A
breakdown of the minerals was not observed, but the fact
that the pH of the effluent decreased after percolation
through columns filled with glauconite, and strongly
increased after percolation through the vermiculite
- 15 -

STUDENTS, RESEARCH FELLOWS & TRAINEES
columns has opened new perspectives on research
concerning the acid neutralizing capacity of minerals. It
was found that it are mainly the exchangeable cations on
the vermiculite that neutralize the acidity, as such
suggesting that a structural breakdown of silicate minerals
is a process which is too slow to have an acid neutralizing
effect. To dissolve silicate minerals in the soil, very strong
acids (e.g. HNO 3 ) are thus needed in combination with
very small particle sizes.
The fact that weathering is a very slow process was also
clear from the field experiments. During 4 years,
glauconite and vermiculite were placed in different
horizons of three different Podzol profiles according to the
test mineral technique. After this period, the minerals were
characterized in detail using different chemical and
mineralogical (XRD) techniques. After 4 years, no
significant mineralogical or chemical changes were found
between the glauconite samples that were incubated in the
soil and the reference material stored in the lab.
Vermiculite however did show some marked changes after
4 years, among which the presence of non-exchangeable
Al-polymers in the interlayer and a strongly decreased
cation exchange capacity (to about 10% of the original
CEC) were the most important ones. The formation of the
Al-polymers is contradictory to the theory of acidocomplexolysis.
According to this theory, the Al polymers
in the interlayer can not be formed in a Podzol as the Al 3+
is too strongly bound to the organic molecules to form
hydroxides in the interlayer. Our results however, clearly
show that, even in a Haplic Podzol, the formation of Alpolymers
in the interlayer is possible and occurs rather fast
(< 2 years).
In general, weathering of the minerals was not seen in the
field experiments and for future studies, a longer
incubation period (10 – 15 years) and a smaller particle
size (preferable < 2µm) are advised.
SPECIAL TRAINING PROGRAMMES
PHYSICAL LAND RESOURCES
2005-2006
Mr. Mbayo Ndekanya Doudou
Université de Lubumbashi, R.D. Congo
From : March 11, 2006 till September 10, 2006
Subject : Valorisation des données disponibles des
ressources naturelles physiques de la R.D. Congo
pour une gestion rationnelle et durable des terres :
SIG et Cartographie des Sols
Promotor(s) : Prof. Dr. E. Van Ranst, Prof. Dr. G.
Baert, Prof. Dr. M. Ngongo (UNILU)
Physical
Land
Resources
New Ph.D. students 2005-2006
Mr. Johan Van de Wauw (Belgium)
Assistent
Subject : Mapping of ground water dynamics
Promotor(s) : Prof. Dr. P.A. Finke
Ms. Denef Karolien (Belgium)
Scholarship : FWO (Research Foundation – Flanders)
Subject : Characterization of the ecological and biogechemical
functionality of microbial community structures via molecular &
component-specific isotope analyses
Promotor(s) : Prof. Dr. ir. P. Boeckx
- 16 -

PUBLICATIONS
ITC - ICE
Papers
ACCOE, F., BOECKX, P., VIDELA, X., PINO, I.,
HOFMAN, G. & VAN CLEEMPUT, O. 2005. Estimation
of potential gross nitrogen transformations and nitrogen
retention in different grassland soils using FLUAZ. Soil
Science Society of America Journal 69:1967-1976.
BAHREMAND, A., CORLUY, J., LIU, Y.B., DE
SMEDT, F., POOROVA, J. & VELCICKA, L., 2005.
Stream flow simulation by WetSpa model in Hornad river
basin, Slovakia. Van Alphen, J., van Beek, E., & Taal, M.
(eds.), Floods, from Defence to Management, Taylor &
Francis Group, London: 67-74.
BARRERA-BASSOLS, N., ZINCK, J.A., VAN RANST,
E. 2006. Symbolism, knowledge and management of soil
and land resources in indigenous communities :
Ethnopedology at global, regional and local scales. Catena
65:118-137.
BATELAAN, O., HUNG, L.Q., TAM, V.T., VAN,
N.T.H., NGUYET, V.T.M., LONG, N.T. & DE SMEDT,
F., 2005. Geology and Mineral Resources, Volume 9, in
observance of the 40th anniversary of the Research
Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources (1965-2005),
Hanoi: 564-577.
BEHEYDT, D., BOECKX, P., CLOUGH, T.J.,
VERMEULEN, J., SHERLOCK, R.R. & VAN
CLEEMPUT, O. 2005. Methods to adjust for
theinterference of N 2 O on 13 C and 18 O measurements of
CO 2 from soil mineralization. Rapid communications in
Mass Spectrometry 19, 1365-1372.
BOECKX, P., PAULINO, L., OYARZUN, C., VAN
CLEEMPUT, O. & GODOY, R. 2005. Soil 15 N patterns
in old-growth forests of southern Chile as integrator for N
cycling. Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies
41:249-259.
BOECKX, P., XU, X. & VAN CLEEMPUT, O. 2005.
Mitigation of N 2 O and CH 4 emission from rice and wheat
cropping systems using dicyandiamide and hydroquinone.
Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 72:41-49.
CHAVES, B., DE NEVE, S., LILLO CABRERA, M.C.,
BOECKX, P., VAN CLEEMPUT, O. & HOFMAN, G.
2005. The effect of mixing organic biological waste
materials and high-N crop residues on the short-time N 2 O
emission from horticultural soil in model experiments.
Biology and Fertility of Soils 41:411-418.
CORLUY, J., VERBEIREN, B., BATELAAN, O. & DE
SMEDT, F., 2004. Integrating vegetation mapping in
groundwater modelling for ecohydrological predictions
within an ecosystem vision. In : Model application for
wetlands hydrology and hydraulics, Eds. Kubrak, J.,
Okruszko, T. & Ignar, S., Center of excellence in wetland
hydrology, WETHYDRO, Warsaw Agricultural University
Press: 155-166.
DE SMEDT, F., BREVIS VERGARA W. & DEBELS, P.
2005. Analytical solution for solute transport resulting
from instantaneous injection in streams with transient
storage. Journal of Hydrology (in press), available on line:
1-15.
DUDAL, R., DECKERS, J., VAN ORSHOVEN, J. &
VAN RANST, E. 2005. Soil survey in Belgium and its
applications. In : Soil Resources of Europe, second
edition. R.J.A. Jones, B. Houškové, P. Bullock and L.
Montanarella (eds). European Soil Bureau Research
Report N° 9, EUR 20559 EN, 420 pp. Office for Official
Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg :
63-71.
FINKE, P.A., BRUS, D.J., BIERKENS, M.F.P.,
HOOGLAND, T., KNOTTERS, M. & DE VRIES, F.
2004. Mapping ground water dynamics using multiple
sources of exhaustive high resolution data. Geoderma 123:
23-39..
FINKE, P.A., BRUS, D.J., BIERKENS, M.F.P.,
HOOGLAND, T., KNOTTERS, M. & DE VRIES, F.
2005. Kartering van de grondwaterdynamiek met behulp
van geo-informatie van hoge resolutie. Stromingen 11/1:
pp: 27-42.
GEBREMESKEL, S., LIU, Y.B., DE SMEDT, F.,
HOFFMANN, L. & PFISTER, L. 2005. Analysing the
effect of climate changes on streamflow using statistically
downscaled GCM scenarios. Int. J. River Basin
Management 2(4): 271-280.
HUYGENS, D., BOECKX, P., GODOY, R., OYARZUN,
C. & VAN CLEEMPUT, O. 2005. Aggregate and soil
organic carbon dynamics in south Chilean Andisols.
Biogeosciences 2:159-174.
HUYGENS, D., BOECKX, P., VERMEULEN, J., DE
PAEPE, X., PARK, A., BARKER, S., PULLAN, C. &
VAN CLEEMPUT, O. 2005. Advances in coupling a
commercial total organic carbon analyzer with an isotope
ratio mass spectrometer to determine the isotopic signal of
the total dissolved nitrogen pool. Rapid Communications
in Mass Spectrometry 19:1-7.
- 17 -

PUBLICATIONS
KANYANKOGOTE, P., VAN RANST, E., VERDOODT,
A. & BAERT, G. 2005. Effet de la lave trachybasaltique
broyée sur les propriétés chimiques de sols de climat
tropical humide. Etude et Gestion des Sols, 12(4):301-311.
KRAVCHENKO, I.K., SEMENOV, V.M.,
KUZNETSOVA, T.V., BYKOVA, S.A., DULOV, L.E.,
PARDINI, D., GISPERT, M., BOECKX, P., VAN
CLEEMPUT, O. & GALCHENKO, V.F. 2005.
Physicochemical and Biological Factors Affecting
Atmospheric Methane Oxidation in Gray Forest Soils.
Microbiology 74:216-220.
LIU, Y. B., GEBREMESKEL, S., DE SMEDT, F.,
HOFFMANN, L. & PFISTER, L. 2004. Simulation of
flood reduction by natural river restoration using a
distributed hydrological model. Hydrology and Earth
System Sciences, 8(6): 1129-1140.
LIU, Y.B., BATELAAN, O., DE SMEDT, F.,
POOROVA, J. & VELCICKA, L., 2005. Automated
calibration applied to a GIS-based flood simulation model
using PEST. Van Alphen, J., van Beek, E., & Taal, M.
(eds.), Floods, from Defence to Management, Taylor &
Francis Group, London: 317-326.
LIU, Y.B., YI, Y., BATELAAN, O. & DE SMEDT, F.,
2005. Assessing grid size effects on runoff and flow
response using a GIS-based hydrologic model. In S.N. Li
& V. Tao (eds.), Proceedings of the 13th International
Conference on Geoinformatics, Toronto, Canada, Sept. 17-
19, 2005, F050: 1-8.
MAHINGA, J.C., VAN RANST, E. & BAERT, G. 2005.
Land suitability assessment for sugarcane cultivation in
"Herois de Caxito" (Angola). Tropicultura 23(2) : 77-84.
MANDIRINGANA, O.T., MNKENI, P.N.S., MKILE, Z.,
VAN AVERBEKE, W., VAN RANST, E. &
VERPLANCKE, H. 2005. Mineralogy and fertility status
of selected soils of the Eastern Cape Province, South
Africa. Comm. in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 36 :
2431-2446.
MEES, F., STOOPS, G., VAN RANST, E., PAEPE, R. &
VAN OVERLOOP, E. 2005. The nature of zeolite
occurrences in deposits of the Olduvai Basin, northern
Tanzania. Clays and Clay Minerals, 53(6) : 659-673.
RWETABULA, J. & DE SMEDT, F. 2005. Landuse and
land cover mapping of the Simiyu catchment (Tanzania)
using remote sensing techniques. From Pharaohs to
Geoinformatics. Cairo, Egypt, April 16-21, 2005, TS27.1:
16 pp.
TAM, V.T., DE SMEDT, F. & BATELAAN, O. 2004.
Estimation of underground rivers in a tropical karst area by
way of a multithematic study. In: G. Demarée, M. de
Dapper, & J. Alexandre (eds.), Proceedings Second
International Conference on Tropical Climatology,
Meteorology, and Hydrology, Brussels, 13-14 September
2001, Royal Meteorological Institute & Royal Academy of
Overseas Sciences, Brussels, Belgium: 231-244.
TANG, H. & VAN RANST, E. 2005. Is highly intensive
agriculture environmentally sustainable A case study
from Fugou county. China. Journal of Sustainable
Agriculture 25(3) : 91-102.
VAN LOOY K., SEVERYNS, J., JOCHEMS, H. & DE
SMEDT F, 2005. Predicting patterns of riparian forest
restoration. Large Rivers Vol. 15, No. 1-4, Arch.
Hydrolbiol. Suppl. 155/1-4: 373-390.
VAN RANST, E. & VAN ROMPAEY, K. 2005.
Monitoring atmospheric deposition and soil water to assess
nutrient replenishment in forest soils. In : Proc. Conf. on
"Management, Use and Protection of Soil Resources".
Sofia, Bulgaria. Publish Scie Set – Eco (ISBN : 954-749-
058-3):45-48.
VAN VOSSELEN, A., VERPLANCKE, H. & VAN
RANST, E. 2005. Assessing water consumption of banana
: traditional versus modelling approach. Agricultural Water
Management, 74:201-218.
VERDOODT, A., VAN RANST, E., YE, L. &
VERPLANCKE, H. 2005. A daily multi-layered water
balance to predict water and oxygen availability in tropical
cropping systems. Soil Use and Management, 21 : 312-
321.
VERDOODT, A. & VAN RANST, E., 2006.
Environmental assessment tools for multi-scale land
resources information systems. A case study of Rwanda.,
Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 114,:170-184.
XU, X., BOECKX, P., VAN CLEEMPUT, O. &
INUBUSHI, K. 2005. Mineral nitrogen in a rhizosphere
soil and in standing water during rice (Oryza sativa L.)
growth : effect of hydroquinone and dicyandiamide.
Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 109:107-117.
ZINCK, J.A., BERROTERÁN, J.L., FARSHAD, A.,
MOAMENI, A., WOKABI, S. & VAN RANST, E., 2005.
La sustentabilidad agrícola : un análisis jerárquico. Gaceta
Ecologica, 76:53-72.
TACK, F.M.G., VANHAESEBROECK, Th., VERLOO,
M.G., VAN ROMPAEY, K. & VAN RANST, E. 2005.
Mercury baseline levels in Flemish soils (Belgium).
Environmental Pollution, 134:173-179.
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PUBLICATIONS
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION TO SOIL SCIENCE : SOILS OF
THE TROPICS, 2005
Bernard P.K. Yerima & E. Van Ranst
Trafford Publishing, Victoria, BC, Canada
ISBN 1-4120-5853 -8 (417 pp.)
MAJOR SOIL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS USED
IN THE TROPICS : SOILS OF CAMEROON, 2005
Bernard P.K. Yerima & E. Van Ranst
Trafford Publishing, Victoria, BC, Canada
ISBN 1-4120-5789 -2 (295 pp.)
Explanatory notes on the contents of the two books.
In the developing countries like Cameroon, the availability
of appropriate textbooks on the soil science discipline is
very limited and when available their acquisition by most
students is limited by prohibitive costs. Moreover, most of
these books make many assumptions, which a beginner in
soil science would find difficult to follow. Further, in most
cases these books are strongly oriented towards soils of the
temperate regions so that most of the materials presented in
form of examples have little relevance for students working
in the tropical environment. The purpose of writing these
text books was to address the above problems.
The first book
“Introduction to Soil
Science: Soils of the
Tropics” is a general soil
science textbook, which
addresses the basic soil
science principles with
emphasis on tropical
soils. This comprehensive
text combines both the
basic principles of soil
science. It bridges the gap
between the main soil
classification systems
used in the tropics to
enable a better understanding of developments in soils by a
wider public, and is necessary for undergraduate and
beginning graduate students in the tropics. It covers in
great detail a broad spectrum of the elements of soil
science, to include: the morphological, physical and
chemical properties, soil forming processes, soil
classification, and special aspects of soil science such as
soil biology, soil fertility, soil and water conservation and
management, which are unavoidable in the continuum from
basic to applied soil science principles.
This book combines a basic soil science text with an
applied approach. It is thus very essential for many users
who need a text that is both fundamental and practical. The
book is designed with the hope and desire that it will be
equally useful to undergraduates and graduates,
professional soil scientists, ecologists, environmentalists,
agriculturists, and many others interested in or involved
with the land. With the ever increasing world population
and the need for fertile soils to grow the necessary food to
sustain this population, a good understanding of soil
science is necessary to live in our environment and derive
the basic necessities from it without destroying it.
The second book “Major
Soil Classification
Systems Used in the
Tropics: Soils of
Cameroon” reviews the
major soil classification
systems used in the tropics.
This has special
implications for
application in Cameroon
where all the three soil
classification systems
(U.S.D.A. Soil Taxonomy,
World Reference Base for
Soil Resources (WRB) and
the French CPCS soil classification system) are used to
document works on soils. Because of the fact that most
works on soils have been reported at any given time in only
one or two of the above soil classification systems, this
book provides a rough table of equivalence, so that work
reported in any of the three classification systems can be
valorized.
For better understanding of the soils of Cameroon, the
factors of soil formation (climate, vegetation, geology,
geomorphology, hydrology, relief, time and human
influence) which have helped for shape the development of
these soils in Cameroon are examined. Additionally, the
soil forming processes, which have shaped or influenced
the development of soils in Cameroon are also examined.
The logical sequence is to follow up with the discussion of
the soils found in Cameroon. The approach here was to
look at the distribution of the soils in Cameroon and how
they have developed, and their morphological, physical,
chemical, mineralogical, and hydrological properties. The
last section on each soil addresses the management of the
specific soil, their limitations and use potentials for
agricultural and other uses.
Some of the soils, such as the high shrink/swell clay soils
of North Cameroon, the very deep and red soils that
occupy most of the area south of Ngaoundere, the soils
developed from volcanic materials in the South-West,
West and North-West provinces, which constitute great
natural resources for agriculture in Cameroon, were treated
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PUBLICATIONS
in greater detail. The salt affected soils in North Cameroon
and soils with (petro)plinthite, which pose a great
impediment to agricultural practice, were also treated in
greater detail.
In order to give the book the depth it requires, most of the
works carried out especially by the Belgian, Dutch, and
French soil scientists and the FAO experts who have made
a great contribution to the soil science discipline in the
tropics and in Cameroon in particular were consulted. So
was also the contribution by the Cameroon soil scientists.
In 1978 the Working Group on Land Use and Rural
Resources of the European Communities proposed that a
Soil Map of EEC countries be prepared using the data
already collected by FAO for the compilation of a Soil
Map of Europe. It was also proposed that the EEC should
invite Professor R. Tavernier, Chairman of the Soil
Correlation Centre at Ghent University, who was then
already in possession of an up-to-date soil map of all EEC
and many East-European countries, to oversee the
preparation of such a map.
This book is aimed at serving as a textbook for courses on
soil formation, classification and land utilization in
Cameroon and as a reference for agricultural scientists,
environmentalists, researchers, teachers, agronomists,
policy makers and development workers interested in the
tropics, especially Cameroon.
SOIL ATLAS OF EUROPE, 2005
European Soil Bureau Network
European Communities, Luxembourg
ISBN 92-894-8120-x (128 pp.)
The late Prof. Em. Dr. R. Tavernier
1st Director of the International Training Centre
for Post-Graduate Soil Scientists
The launch event of the European Soil Atlas, organised by
the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC),
the European Soil Bureau Network (ESBN) and the
Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(DEFRA), took place on October 18, 2005 in London.
The Atlas, which was formally launched by Lord Bach of
Lutterworth, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Lords)
for Sustainable Farming and Food at DEFRA, is an
important step in creating further awareness of the
importance of soils.
The publication by the European Commission of the first
ever "Soil Atlas of Europe" is the result of many years of
collaboration between European soil scientists of over 40
national soil surveys and soil science institutions
cooperating across Europe.
Following the decision taken in 1978 to prepare a Soil Map
of EEC countries an Advisory Panel with representatives
from each member state was convened. Since most of the
existing maps had been prepared before 1974 it was
decided to update them using more recently acquired
information. The Soil Map of the EEC countries at scale
1:1,000,000, accompanied by an explanatory text, was
published in 1985 and was the culmination of more than 30
years' work.
The European Soil Bureau Network (ESBN), which joins
soil institutions throughout continental Europe, continued
the activities by bringing together soil information
collected in separate European countries, using very
different methodologies, standards and scientific
backgrounds, into one single geographic information
system. Lengthy transnational sessions between bordering
countries have resulted in a common fully harmonised soil
geographical database of Europe at a nominal scale of
1:1,000,000. This database has allowed production of the
maps that are at the heart of the new "Soil Atlas of
Europe".
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PUBLICATIONS
The Atlas compiles existing information on different soil
types in easily understandable maps covering the entire
European Union and bordering countries, and illustrates
vividly the great diversity of European soil. The Atlas
dedicates a large section to the global dimension of soil
protection, including a number of plates covering the
Mediterranean Countries, the Northern Circumpolar
Countries (Eurasia, Greenland, North-America) and the
globe. The Atlas also uses specific maps to illustrate
threats such as soil erosion, the decline of organic matter,
soil sealing by housing and infrastructure, etc.
The Atlas is intended to be a step towards raising public
awareness on the importance and the key role of soil for
many human activities and for the survival of ecosystems.
Not only climate change, but also desertification and loss
of biodiversity are strongly affecting soils globally, making
the Atlas relevant to much larger community of
stakeholders involved in the implementation of the three
"Rio Conventions" and allowing the exploration of
possible synergies among international agreements towards
global soil protection.
The Atlas is intended not only for the specialized reader
but also for the general public, aiming to "bridge the gap"
between soil science, policymaking and public knowledge.
By addressing a non-specialized audience, the Atlas will
increase public awareness and understanding of the
diversity of soils and of the need to protect this precious
resource.
In November 2005, the Soil Atlas of Europe has been
awarded the prestigious "GOLDEN SICKLE" prize at the
2005 Agrokomplex International Agricultural and Food
Fair held in Nitra in the Slovak Republic.
In his book, Mr. Rahman
gives an overview of
Bangladeshi soils, including
floodplain soils, piedmont
plain soils, soils of
miscellaneous sediment
deposits, peat-basin-soils, acid
sulphate soils, terrace soils
and hill soils. The book
contains the list of soil series,
the areas they cover in square
miles, and their broad
physiography, and adds an overview of the major soils of
the Upazillas. About 70 pages of appendices give profile
descriptions and chemical compositions of representative
soils of the different regions.
Published by Darpon Publications, Dhaka, Bangladesh
MAPPING OF THE SOIL
Jean-Paul Legros
Science Publishers, Enfield, NH, USA
ISBN 1-57808-363-x
This book presents mapping methods relevant to the soil
mantle and considers recent advances made in the
discipline through the use of GIS, databases, multicriteria
analysis, fuzzy set theory and computer modelling. It is
divided into ten chapters that discuss methodological
foundations, different phases of the work, computer
processing, applications, exercises, and current state of the
art in various countries.
The Atlas has a nominal cost of 25 €. Formal distribution
will be through the Office of Official Publications of the
European Communities (OPOCE) in Luxembourg.
For further information, please visit the JRC website :
http://eusoils.jrc.it/projects/soil_atlas/ index.htmlr
SOILS OF BANGLADESH
M. Rezaur Rahman
Darpon Publications, Dhaka, Bangladesh
ISBN 984-32-2258-x
Eric Van Ranst
Member of ESBN
Mr. Rezaur Rahman obtained an M.Sc. degree in Soil
Science from the University of Dhaka (1957), and an
M.Sc. degree in Soil Science (Soil Survey and Land
Classification) at the International Training Centre for
Post-Graduate Soil Scientists, Ghent University (1966). He
was a consultant in many projects funded by UNDP, ADB,
etc. and expert/consultant for FAO.
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SOILS AND MAPS
WOSSAC (World Soil Survey Archive and
Catalogue)
information. There are currently many thousand volumes in
store in the process of being classified and archived.
WOSSAC in Use
The WOSSAC Archive can be of enormous assistance for
a range of applications and activities, from national and
regional strategic land planning, to managing development
and relief efforts, to the conduct of academic research.
WOSSAC contains a huge wealth of unique reports, maps,
manuscripts, photographs and albums covering scores of
countries around the world over a period of many decades.
It is clear that the services provided by WOSSAC have the
potential to secure extremely costly data from loss, and
thereby to ensure that the intended benefits of soil studies
are realised. This is especially the case for studies in less
developed countries where the data storage infrastructure
and data maintenance may be unsuited for the long term
storing of large quantities of data.
Mission
The mission of the World Soil Surveys Archive and
Catalogue (WOSSAC) is to provide a secure home for soil
survey reports and maps produced by British companies
and surveyors overseas in the last 80 years in 250
countries, with a view to ensuring their enduring
availability and protection.
Background
Large numbers of substantial soil surveys have been made
worldwide by British companies over the past 80 years,
mainly funded by development assistance donors,
representing some 250 countries. A rough estimate, almost
certainly on the low side, is that such surveys number many
thousand and by today's prices would have cost well over
£200 million. This is an extremely valuable bank of
international data about soils, their nature, properties and
potential use.
This large body of information about world soils is now in
grave danger of becoming lost, destroyed or generally
unavailable as the original donor funding agencies have
been subject to reorganisation, and the companies that
produced the surveys have been acquired, merged,
downsized or closed down, and the soil surveyors
themselves are now retiring or deceased.
There is no current organised resource-base detailing what
exists, in what state or how available it is. Therefore at the
behest of the British Society of Soil Sciences (BSSS) and
with the full support of the International Union of Soil
Sciences (IUSS) and the Tropical Agriculture Association
(TAA), the National Soil Resources Institute (NSRI)
located at Cranfield University has undertaken to
catalogue, archive and manage this important body of
These services are extremely important for academics,
researchers, development organisation, and ultimately for
those people living in studied areas. WOSSAC therefore
offers a excellent example or model for data security and
sharing and is clearly the most important Internet resources
for soil survey data.
Longer Term Developments
It is known that significant archives of soil survey reports
stimulated by other countries exist within the USA, the
Netherlands, France and the Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO). A future long-term aim of WOSSAC
is therefore to establish links with these other world
databases to create a World Database of Soil Surveys. To
achieve this aim funding will be sought from the major
funding agencies to support the ongoing development of
WOSSAC and to establish its links with other such major
databases.
Publicising WOSSAC
It is very important to draw the WOSSAC project to the
attention of the soil science community. We would
welcome any assistance in this matter that can be offered.
One practical means to achieve this is to print off copies of
the WOSSAC poster :
(http://www.wossac.com/downloads/wossac_poster.pdf)
and to display it. Also, if there are individuals or
organisations who you think would be interested in our
work – please let us (wossac@cranfield.ac.uk), or them
know.
E. Van Ranst
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SOILS AND MAPS
THE SOIL MAPS OF AFRICA
European Digital Archive of Soil Maps -
EuDASM
http://eusoils.jrc.it/esdb_archive/EuDASM/Africa.index.ht
m
Soil maps are the building blocks of most current soil
information. The user of present-day, derived information
should have easy access to the source material, if only to
assess the reliability of the derived material.
But, in many countries, soil maps are being lost because of
lack of proper attention to storage and retrieval, often
compounded by a loss of institutions that have been
responsible for the acquisition and maintenance of soil and
land resources data. This problem is acute in developing
and transitional countries where valuable data, currently
only available on paper, must be digitized before they are
lost forever.
In Africa, though not only in Africa, this type of
information is rapidly being lost; much is already lost. The
digitization of the African maps will enable the African
countries to recover and re-use their soil information.
Translation of soil information from paper maps and
reports into digital format is a prerequisite of the next step
- the development of a digital information system on soil
and terrain that may be drawn upon for manifold
applications.
The maps (1920s-1990s) have been scanned and are
available at the European Digital Archive of soil maps
(EuDASM). They can be searched by country, year, scale
or keyword. The maps can be viewed and downloaded as
JPG.
E. Van Ranst
PROJECT PROFILES
ENVASSO – ENVironmental ASsessment
of Soil for mOnitoring
March, 2006 – March, 2008
Funded by : European Commission DG RTD Framework Programme 6
Project collaborators: Marc KIBBLEWHITE, Robert JONES (Cranfield
University, United Kingdom); Sigi HUBER (Umweltbundesamt GMBH,
Austria); D. ARROUAYS (INRA, France); Rainer BARITZ
(Bundesanstalt fuer Geowisschenschaften und Rohstoffe, Germany);
Erika MICHELI (Szent Istvan University, Hungary) supported by 32
additional partners drawn from all 25 EU member states among which
Eric VAN RANST and Ann VERDOODT (Laboratory of Soil Science,
UGent, Belgium)
Soil is a vital non-renewable resource essential to human
life and the ecosystems that support this. It represents
much of the natural capital available to European Citizens.
Increasingly, soil is recognised as a habitat in its own right
as well as a foundation to others. Living soil systems
sustain delivery of hugely valuable ecosystem services
(biodiversity, clean air and water, food security and
cultural heritage, etc).
European policy is that soil protection should be brought
up to the same level as that for air and water. Better
scientific information about soil systems and their
distribution is needed to ensure that soil is managed well at
all levels (local, regional and continental) as part of the
sustainable achievement of strategic European goals (c.f.
Lisbon Objectives). The “Soil Thematic Strategy” focuses
on the characterisation and monitoring of different soil
threats recognized within Europe as a basis for soil policies
ensuring soil protection. There is a strong demand for a set
of well-founded principles and theory, processes and tools
for establishing and maintaining common criteria and
indicators for the characterisation of European soils.
ENVASSO – ENVironmental ASsessment of Soil for
monitoring project applies a holistic approach to soil
protection through the robust and defensible selection of
criteria, thresholds and indicators based on harmonised
approaches to soil information. This approach is
encompassed through the consideration of real, existing
data and approaches to soil monitoring, and data storage
and interpretation across all Member States. The main
objectives of the project are the design and testing of a
single, integrated, EU-wide and operational set of
measurable criteria and indicators. They will provide the
scientific basis to populate a harmonised comprehensive
European soil and land information system. These
objectives will be realised by 5 core partners supported by
32 additional partners ensuring the maximum impact to
enhance soil protection at the European level.
New scientific understanding of soil functionality will be
combined with expertise on the characterisation and
assessment of soil profiles, leading to recommendations
that are operationally feasible and robust. Taking full
account of existing, modified or new survey and database
initiatives, formal protocols, procedures, tools and
implementation recommendations will be developed for
the collection, collation and reporting of harmonised soil
European-wide information. ENVASSO will distil this
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PROJECT PROFILES
knowledge and expertise into testable methodologies, a
tested prototype of a working database, and of Procedures
and Protocols for Harmonised Soil Assessment.
resources database for Rwanda enable us to develop a
scientifically sound Great Lakes Area SOTER database
from the detailed, semi-detailed and reconnaissance soil
maps and the abundant morphological and analytical soil
profile data.
SOTER mapping is similar to land systems or
physiographic soil mapping but with stronger emphasis on
the terrain-soil relationship. A SOTER unit represents a
unique combination of terrain and soil characteristics; the
methodology identifies areas of land with a distinctive
pattern of landform, lithology, surface form, slope, parent
material and soil. The work will consist of :
Establishing pilot zones to test the proposed approaches to monitoring
and indicators and the efficacy of the database specification
A. Verdoodt
SOIL AND TERRAIN DATABASE OF
CENTRAL AFRICA (THE GREAT LAKES
AREA : D.R. CONGO, BURUNDI AND
RWANDA)
Oct 1, 2005 – Jun 1, 2006
Funded by : Food and Agricultural Organisation
Project collaborators: Eric VAN RANST, Ann VERDOODT, Johan VAN
DE WAUW, Clémence GOYENS (Laboratory of Soil Science, UGent,
Belgium); Geert BAERT (Hogeschool Gent, Belgium); David DENT,
Vincent VAN ENGELEN (ISRIC, The Netherlands); Max Alonso
FERNANDEZ, Johan LAVREAU (Royal Museum for Central Africa,
Belgium)
This project will result in a standardized soil and terrain
(SOTER) database for the central part of the African
continent, i.e. the Great Lakes Area comprising the
Democratic Republic Congo (scale 1:2 M), and Rwanda
and Burundi (scale 1:1 M).
In these countries, natural resources information is not
easily accessible, sometimes missing and often not in a
standard format. This is a constraint on national, regional
and international planning and decision making on
development and the environment.
The currently available, harmonised, digital soils
information covering the area is the Soil Map of the World
(FAO-Unesco 1974) at a scale of 1:5 M. Of the total area
of the three countries - 2.3 million km 2 - only 0.4 million
has been surveyed. Now, less than 1 per cent of the area
has soil information in digital format but this will expand
to 15 per cent over the coming years by joint Belgian-DRC
digitising activities.
The ongoing checking of existing natural resources data of
DR Congo and the recent finalisation of a digital natural
. Gathering the relevant, existing soil and terrain data
. Creation of physiographic maps of the region based
on satellite data (SRTM)
. Creation of lithological maps of the region using
existing geological maps at different scales
. Generalising the spatial soil data at 1:1 M or 1:2 M
scale and selecting relevant soil profiles
. Harmonising the soil data using the SOTER
guidelines
. Compilation of the SOTER database comprising the
harmonised spatial and tabular data
A. Verdoodt
A STRATEGY FOR REVIVING
THE VITAL BREADBASKET OF THE
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
THROUGH INTEGRATED SOIL
FERTILITY MANAGEMENT COUPLED TO
RESILIENT GERMPLASM
IN CASSAVA-BASED SYSTEMS
01/09/2005-31/08/2010
Funded by VLIR-UDC
Promoter(s) : Prof. R. Merckx (KULeuven) and Prof. P. Boeckx (UGent)
The project aims primarily at improving food security in
the DRC by introducing improved soil fertility
management systems that also sustain the natural resource
base. While a significant amount of research in this area is
part of the proposal, a strong emphasis is on restoring the
communication channels between research community and
extension agents and/or farmers and on enhancing the
capacity to carry out state-of-the-art and relevant research
by the Congolese research community. The chosen
approach relies on adaptation of proven solutions to the
problem of degraded soil fertility and at the same time
rebuilds capacity in DRC to revamp research in these
areas. Finally, the project implementation builds on longestablished
partnerships and proven working relations
between the project initiators and aims at capitalizing on
earlier investments i.e. by VLIR.
P. Boeckx
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COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED
NOMINATIONS-APPOINTMENTS
Prof. Dr. E. Van Ranst is elected as Vice-Chairman of the
Class of Natural and Medical Sciences of the Royal
Academy for Overseas Sciences for 2006. In 2007, he will
be Chairman.
PROMOTIONS-AWARDS
Ph.D promotions
Dr. A. Arivin Rivaie (M.Sc. Soil Science
and Eremology, 1998) obtained a Ph.Ddegree
in Soil Science from Massey
University, New Zealand, with a
dissertation on Phosphorous fertilizer
response of second-rotation Pinus radiata
Stands on an Allophanic soil and a Pumice soil. Following
his Ph.D. promotion, Dr. A. Arivin Rivaie resumed his
work at the Indonesian Centre for Estate Crop Research
and Development (ICECRD) in Bogor, Indonesia.
Soil Science, 1975), Prof. Dr. Zulkifli Hj. Shamsuddin,
Prof. Dr. Hj. Shamshuddin Jusop (M.Sc. Soil Science,
1981, Ph.D., 1982), Dr. Ghulam Mohammed Bin Hashim,
and Dr. Sharifuddin Bin Abdul Hamid. These awards were
given in view of their passion and contribution to the
society and soil science.
OBITUARY
Ms. Baeyens-Claessens conveyed to us the news of the
death of her husband Lode Baeyens. Mr. Lode Baeyens
was born in Antwerp (Belgium) on March 5, 1921. He
obtained a degree in agriculture from the KULeuven in
1952 and the M.Sc. in Soil Science at the ITC-Ghent in
1970. At the blessed age of almost 85 years, following a
courageously carried disease, Mr. Baeyens died on
February 13, 2005.
Dr. Shahla Mahmoodi informed us about the death of Dr.
Mohamad Hassan Banaei. Mr. Banaei was born in Iran
on June 5, 1938. He obtained a B.Sc. degree in Geology
from the University of Teheran. In 1970, he obtained the
M.Sc. degree (Lic. Soil Suvey) at the ITC-Ghent. He was
the deputy director of the Soil and Water Research Institute
in Iran. Mr. Banaei died on February 7, 2006
CAREER MOVES
Dr. Mvondo Ze (M.Sc. Soil Science, 1979, and Ph.D.,
1990) has been appointed as the Vice-Dean of Academic
Affairs in the Faculty of Science, Dschang University,
Cameroon.
VISITORS
Prof. Em. Keith Smith of the School of Geosciences,
University of Edingburgh, UK. An evening of discussion
and reflection of climate change.
NEWS FROM THE MALAYSIAN
SOCIETY OF SOIL SCIENCE (MSSS)
The Malaysian Society of Soil Science recently awarded
six persons to the MSSS Fellow Award, which carries the
title "FMSoil". They are : Prof. Dr. Wan Sulaiman Bin
Wan Harun, Dr. E. Pushparajah (Ph.D., 1977), Mr. Chew
Poh Soon, Dr. Wan Mohamed Noordin Wan Daud (M.Sc.
Dr. Hari Eswaran brings the news of the
decease of Dr. Jawahar Lal Sehgal. Dr.
Sehgal was born in 1937 in Ludhiana,
India. Dr. Sehgal obtained an M.Sc. degree
in Agriculture from Punjab. In 1967, he
obtained an M.Sc. degree at ITC-Ghent.
Also in Ghent, he accomplished his Ph.D.
research in 1970. Dr. Sehgal was active as
a soil specialist, noteably in Iraq as well as
in his native country at the Department of
Soils at Punjab University and as Director
of the National Bureau of Soil Survey and
Land Use Planning (Indian Council of
Agricultural Research) in Nagpur. Dr.
Sehgal passed away on April 11, 2006.
LETTER FROM AFRICA
Dear Professors, former and actual students,
In September 2005 my son, wife and me left
Belgium for Uganda. One year after graduating from the
MSc course PLR, I have found the job I was hoping for.
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COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED
The Belgian NGO "Broederlijk Delen" is sending me out to
enforce the Ugandan ngo Kiima Foods.
Kiima Foods is a local NGO based in Kasese that
supports 17 farmer groups, which compromise around 400
house holds, throughout the Kasese District. Our farmers
are situated at the footslope of the Southern end of the
Rwenzori Mountains. The main cash crops are pineapple,
in the valley, and coffee on the mountain slopes. Untill
present, Kiima Foods has been active in strengthening the
farmers into functional groups and secondly, the groups
into cooperatives, where farmers can sell their products at
more stable prices. Cooperation between farmers, recording
and market orientation has been the mayor focus of Kiima
Foods. Now they have reached a turning point at which
they need to increase yields to commercial and stable
figures and try to manufacture some products, like wet
coffee processing and drying – canning pineapple. For
several years now, some of the pineapple farmers are
facing yield decreases due to a kind of fungus infection. If
cooperation proceeds well, we hope to identify the fungus
with the help of a Belgian student of the Hogeschool
Ghent who is comming in August – September 2006 for
her Master-thesis.
Besides supporting farmers, Kiima Foods also
setted up a secondary farmers school and a bussiness
school for farmer children who cannot pay (higher) school
fees. Starting from March I will teach the subject Soil
Science for two hours per week. The farmers school also
contains farmland, that is used for own food supply and
some experimental fields. On one field we are installing a
drip-irrigation system in the hope to bridge the dry season
in Kasese. If the system performs well, we can introduce
irrigation techniques at some farmers groups. In May –
August the farmers school will be equiped with a small soil
laboratory and climatic station. The British High
Commission in Kampala agreed to support our laboratory -
climatic station and we will be able to analyse pH(H 2O),
pH(KCl), EC, soil texture, soil water content (general) and
soil water content at wilting point. The climatic station
will record rainfall, humidity, max. and min. temperature
and water transpiration from a class-A evaporation pan.
At this stage, the laboratory will mainly function as a
learning tool for the students. At a later stage we hope to
expand the laboratory so we can provide farmers (and if
possible plantation managers) with detailed soil advises.
Next time I hope to inform you whether the
installation of the lab and climatic station proceeded well
and if we managed to find a solution of the fungus
infections. I wish everybody good luck with their carreers
or study time.
Best regards,
Nikolas Bosscher, M.Sc. Physical Land Resources, 2004
ALUMNI SAY GOODBYE TO PROF.
LANGOHR
Some people always stay young, and as many
know Roger Langohr is one of them. Nevertheless he
reached the DOOR which separates what he likes from
what he is supposed to do : he officially retired on 1 st of
October 2005. A small group of former ITC students
decided in August 2004 to mark this milestone.
Encouraged by the enthusiasm of the fellows contacted
and with the precious help of Viviane, Roger Langohr’s
wife, they managed to schedule a surprise week-end for the
23-25 September 2005 in the Ardennes, only 10 km from
one of Roger’s favourite ITC excursion points : the raised
bogs with their pingo traces close to Eupen in SE
Belgium. Believe it or not, for once they managed to get
Roger speechless when he found 11
alumni and familiy that had come
from as far as France, Hungary,
Ireland, Norway, Portugal,
Switzerland and obviously
Belgium. Each of them learned to
read the book of nature, and found
out that soil sections have to be
deep and large and that a good study has to go from field
to micro scale, without ignoring the meso scale. They were
also told that small is beautiful, and realised that when
Roger becomes enthusiastic the definition of SMALL
takes a new meaning! Last but not least in that
microenvironment, where FREEDOM was more than
important, they benefited from an incomparable scientific
and human altruism radiated from Roger. As a
consequence they felt that this last week-end of September
2005 was a modest attempt to express their sincere
gratitude for the time they could gravitate around him and
for sharing his scientific and human experience.
On Saturday evening Roger Langohr’s scientific
“children” formed a commission to evaluate his
professional activities and decide if he was allowed to
retire or not.
- 26 -

COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED
First of all an overview was given of Roger’s
curriculum vitae with several of the anecdotes and a good
highlight of many things he has done and also of those
that he has not (yet) accomplished! This was followed by a
slideshow illustrating Roger in several aspects of his career
such as teaching, student excursions, conferences, parties
etc.
were willing to travel with their family up to 2000 km to
celebrate his retirement.
To avoid any misunderstanding Roger had partly
retired from Ghent University at the date of 1 st of October
2005, but he will certainly not retire as a SCIENTIST. As
we expected he will continue with following up his many
projects and the ideas he has launched with passion.
We hope Roger will keep this enthusiasm for
many more years and we are looking forward to the many
more meetings, discussions and field visits to come!
Roger’s Scientific Children
(communicated by J. Becze-Deák)
Those who wish to see a few images of this meeting can
visit the following Internet page :
http://fr.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/juditbd/my_photos
"The Commission": Anne Gebhardt (France), Kai Fechner (Belgium),
Carole Ampe (Belgium), Yannick Devos (Belgium), Jari
Hinsch Mikkelsen (Belgium), Tore Sveistrup (Norway), Diego
Angelucci (Portugal), Judit Becze-Deák (Switzerland), Ersébet
Horváth (Hungary) and not on the picture : Geertrui Louwagie (Ireland),
Hans Mestdagh (Belgium)
Finally, the commission raised a number of pedoquestions.
Some examples are :
1) How do you know if a new student has entered in The
Corridor Correct answer: Rogers coffee cup has been
cleaned (background information: Roger’s cup is always
black on the inside from years of coffee drinking).
2) What is the easiest way to catch Roger Correct
answer: You dig a profile and he will surely jump into it.
(NO background information needed).
3) How do you know if an undisturbed sample for soil
micromorphology is sufficiently wrapped up Correct
answer: you can play football with it.
After a short deliberation, the international
scientific jury agreed that Roger Langohr may retire with
the degree of summa cum laude as the most sympathetic
promoter, testified in the GOLDEN KNIFE diploma he
received. The proclamation was followed by an European
surprise buffet.
After two memorable days in the Ardennes, Roger
could return home knowing that his presence at the Ghent
University over more than 3 decades meant more than just
scientific supervision. It also created friendships across
international borders, valued to such an extent that people
- 27 -

MEETINGS
FUTURE MEETINGS
May 8-11, 2006 : ISPRS Mid-term Symposium 2006 :
"Remote Sensing : From Pixels to Processes", Enschede,
THE NETHERLANDS. Information : website :
http://www.itc.nl/isprsc7/symposium2006/; e-mail :
isprsc7@itc.nl
May 14-19, 2006 : 14th Conference of ISCO of
International Soil Conservation Organisation (ISCO),
Marrakech, MOROCCO. Information : website :
http://www.swcs.org/en/international/isco/isco_2006.cfm;
e-mail : isco2006@wanadoo.net.ma
May 18-22, 2006 : 2 nd International Training Workshop
Towards the Integration of Biosaline Irrigated Agriculture,
Matarey-Cairo, EGYPT. Information : http://www.drcegypt.com;
e-mail : saai54@hotmail.com
May 22-26, 2006 : International Soil Meeting on Soils
Sustaining Life on Earth (Managing Soil and Technology),
Urfa, TURKEY. Information : website :
http://www.toprak.org.tr; e-mail : info@toprak.org.tr.
June 3-7, 2006 : 43 rd Annual Meeting of the Clay Minerals
Society, Oleron Island, FRANCE. Information :
http://www.c2s-organisation.com/gfacms06; e-mail :
sabine.petit@hydrasa.univ-poitiers
June 13-16, 2006 : 5 th European Congress on Regional
Geoscientific Cartography and Information Systems,
Barcelona, SPAIN. Information : website :
http://www.icc.es/econgeo2006/home.html; e-mail :
econgeo2006@icc.es
June 19-22, 2006 : 11 th International Conference on
Ground Penetrating Radar, Columbus, OH, USA.
Information : website : http://gpr.osu.edu/
June 25-30, 2006 : Biogeomon 2006 on Biogechemistry,
ecosystems, isotopen, monitoring, Santa Cruz, CA, USA.
Information : website :
http://www3.villanova.edu/conferences/biogeomon2006
June 26-29, 2006 : BIOCOMP 06 : International
Conference on Bio-Informatics and Computational
Biology, Las Vegas, NV, USA. Information : e-mail :
budak@sabanciuniv.edu
June 26-30, 2006 : 5 th International Congress on
Environmental Geotechnics, Cardiff, Wales, UK.
Information : website : http://www.grc.cf.ac.uk/5iceg/
July 1-8, 2006 : IVth International Symposium on
Deteriorated Volcanic Soils, Morelia, MEXICO.
Information : website : http://www.isvo06.org/
July 4-7, 2006 : Second Global Workshop on Digital Soil
Mapping, Rio De Janeiro, BRAZIL. Information :
website :
http://www.digitalsoilmapping.org/DSM_2006_Brazil.html
; e-mail : mendonca@cnps.embrapa.br
July 5-7, 2006 : Accuracy 2006, 7 th International
Symposium on Spatial Accuracy Assessment in Natural
Resources and Environmental Science, Lisbon,
PORTUGAL. Information : website : http://2006.spatialaccuracy.org;
e-mail : mcpereira@igeo.pt
July 9-15, 2006 : 18 th World Congress of Soil Science,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Information : website :
http://www.18wcss.org; e-mail : suttech@soils.org
July 14-21, 2006 : XXVI International
Workshop/Symposium on Rapid Methods and Automation
in Microbiology, Manhattan, KS, USA. Information :
website :
http://www.dce.ksu.edu/dce/cl/rapidmethods/2006; e-mail :
dfung@ksu.edu
July 16-21, 2006 : Zeolite '06, 7th International
Conference on the Occurrence, Properties, and Utilization
of Natural Zeolites, Socorro, NM, USA. Information :
http://www.ees.nmt.edu/Zeolite06
July 22-26, 2006 : SWCS International Conference on
Environmental Management, Colorado, USA. Information
: website :
http://www.SWCS.org/en/SWCS_international_conference
s/
July 23-26, 2006 : 8th International Conference on
Precision Agriculture and Other Precision Resources
Management, Minneapolis, MN, USA. Information :
website : http://www.precision.agri.umn.edu/Conference;
e-mail : conferences3@cce.umn.edu
July 24-26, 2006 : 4 th world Congress of Computers in
Agriculture, Orlando, FL, USA, Information :
http://www.wcca2006.org/index.htm; e-mail :
mcknight@asabe.org.
July 31-August 2, 2006 : Modeling Phosphorus Transport
in Agroecosystems : Joining Users, Developers, and
Scientists, Ithaca, NY, USA. Information :
http://www.sera17.ext.vt.edu/P_Modeling/; e-mail :
nonelson@ksu.edu
August 4-6, 2006 : International Conference on Physical
Modeling in Geotechnics, HONGKONG. Information :
website : http://www.icpmg2006.ust.hk; e-mail :
stse@ust.hk
August 7-9, 2006 : International Confrence on the Future
of Agriculture : Science, Stewardship, and Sustainability,
Sacramento, CA, USA. Information :
- 28 -

MEETINGS
http://www.dce.ksu.edu/dce/conf/ag&environment/; e-mail
: ellen@ksu.edu
August 28-September 3, 2006 : 17 th Triennial Conference
on International Soil Tillage Research Organisation
(ISTRO), Kiel, GERMANY. Information : website :
http://www.istro.org and http://www.soils.unikiel.de/istro.htm;
e-mail : b.vogt@soils.uni-kiel.de
September 3-8, 2006 : IAMG06 –International Congress
for Mathematical Geology "Quantitative Geology from
Multiple Sources", Liège, BELGIUM. Information :
website : http://www.geomac.ulg.ac.be/iamg06; e-mail :
geomac@ulg.ac.be
September 4-7, 2006 : Agroenviron 2006 : 5th
International Symposium on the Agricultural Environment,
Ghent, BELGIUM. Information : website :
http://users.ugent.be/~jvdestee/agroenviron/index.html; e-
mail : joke.vandesteene@UGent.be
September 6-10, 2006 : 10 th International Congress of the
International Association of Engineering Geologist and the
Environment, Nottingham, UK. Information : website :
http://ww.iaeg2006.com
September 12-15, 2006 : ESSC 2006 International
Conference on "Soil and Water Conservation under
Changing Land Use", Lleida, Catalonia, SPAIN.
Information : website :
http://www.udl.es/serveis/sedai/sigtel/ESSC2006.html; e-
mail : fundacio@700.udl.es
September 19-25, 2006 : highLAND2006-Symposium,
Mekelle, ETHIOPIA. Information : website :
http://www.kuleuven.be/lbh; e-mail :
jean.poesen@geo.kuleuven.be,
mekelle.university@ethionet.et,
seppe.deckers@biw.kuleuven.be
September 19-22, 2006 : XX Argentinean Congress of Soil
Science, Salta, ARGENTINA. Information : website :
http://www.suelos.org.ar; e-mail : fgarcia@inpofos.org
October 4-6, 2006 : Lysimeter-Workshop,
Neuherberg/München, GERMANY, Information : website
: http://www.gsf.de/lysimeter-workshop; e-mail :
sascha.reth@gsf.de
October 4-6, 2006 : IV International Conference on Soft
Soil Engineering, Vancouver, CANADA. Information :
website : http://ravenweb.civil.ualberta.ca/icsse
October 11-13, 2006 : A workshop organized by the Soil
and Water Conservation Society on Managing Agricultural
Landscapes for Environmental Quality, Westin Crown
Center Hotel, Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Information :
http://www.swcs.org/en/swcs_international_conferences/m
anaging_agricultural_landscapes
November 6-11, 2006 : X National and II International Soil
Science Congress on Soil : food security and poverty, La
Molina, Lima, PERU. Information : website :
http://www.lamolina.edu.pe/suelos/default2.htm
November 13-15, 2006 : IPI-ISSAS International
Workshop on Soil Potassium and K fertilizer Management,
Guandong Province, Zhuhai City, CHINA. Information :
website : http://www.ipipotash.org; e-mail :
Svetlana.Ivanova@uralkali.com
November 22-25, 2006 : International Symposium on
Balanced Fertilization for Sustainability of Crop,
Ludhiana, INDIA. Information : website :
http://www.ipipotash.org/IPI_India_2006/index.html; e-
mail : patricia.imas@iclfertilizers.com
January 8-19, 2007 : Intensive Training Course on Soil
Micromorphology. Micromorfologia de Sòls, Barcelona,
SPAIN. Information : website :
http://www.ub.edu/geologia/english/facultat/map.htm; e-
mail : rosa.poch@macs.udl.es, angelscanals@ub.edu
April 21-23, 2007 : III Asian Confrence on Unsaturated
Soils, Nanjing, CHINA. Information : website :
http://www.geohohai.com/english/unsat.htm.
June 3-8, 2007 : I North American Landslide Conference –
Landslides and Society : Integrated Science, Engineering,
Management, and Mitigation, Vail, Colorado, USA.
Information : website :
http://www.mines.edu/academic/geolgy/landslidevail2007/
June 25-28, 2007 : IV International Conference on
Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering, Thessaloniki,
GREECE. Information : website : http://4icege.org.
June 25-30, 2007 : 5 th International Congress of the
European Society for Soil Conservation, Palermo, ITALY.
Information : website : http://www.esscpalermocongress.it;
e-mail : congressi@bibatour.it
September 10-13, 2007 : 4 th International Confreences on
Debris-Flow Hazards Mitigation : Mechanics, Prediction
and Assessment (DFHM Conference), Chengdu, CHINA.
Information : website : http://4thdfhm.imde.ac.cn
October 21-24, 2007 : 10 th Australia New Zealand
Conference on Geomechanics. Brisbane, AUSTRALIA.
Information : website : http://www.ccm.com.au/anzgeo/
2008 : 20 th International Congress of Irrigation and
Drainage (ICID), Lahore, PAKISTAN. Information :
website : http://www.icid.org; e-mail :
pakfloodcommission@hotmail.com
April 13-18, 2008 : 5 th International Crop Science
Congress, Jeju, KOREA. Information : website :
http://www.cropscience2008.com
- 29 -

MEETINGS
August 23-31, 2008 : Eurosoil Congress, Vienna,
AUSTRIA. Information : website :
http://www.ecsss.net/events.htm
October 5-9, 2009 : XVII International Conference on Soil
Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Alexandria,
EGYPT. Information : website : http://www.2009icsmgeegypt.org
2010 : 19 th World Congress of Soil Science, AUSTRALIA
1st announcement, April 2006
Intensive Training Course on Soil Micromorphology
Micromorfologia de Sòls
(Curs de Postgrau i d‟Extensió Universitària)
Barcelona, 8-19 January 2007
Universitat de Lleida Universitat de Barcelona Universiteit Gent
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Venue:
Dpt.Cristal·lografia, Mineralogia i Dipòsits Minerals, Facultat de Geologia
Martí i Franquès s/n , 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain)
Fax : +34934021340; Phone: + 34934021345
http://www.ub.edu/geologia/english/facultat/map.htm
Organizing committee
Prof. Dr. Rosa M. Poch UdL (co-director) rosa.poch@macs.udl.es
Prof. Dr. Àngels Canals UB (co-director) angelscanals@ub.edu
Prof. Dr. Georges Stoops UG
Duration
6 credits (60 lecture-hours)
Themes
Principles of mineralogy and petrography, optical mineralogy
Submicroscopical and special techniques
Making thin sections
Guidelines for the description of thin sections of soils and regoliths
Micromorphology of soil materials and identification of soil formation processes: carbonate-, gypsum- , and salt
affected soils, volcanic soils, clay accumulation, hydromorphic soils, tropical and highly weathered soils, glacial and
periglacial processes.
Micromorphometry and image processing.
Applications of micromorphology:
Soil genesis and classification
Agronomy: sealing and crusting, structure and porosity
Archaeology
Geomorphology and sedimentology
Mineral weathering
Optional weekend excursion: Mediterranean soilscapes, soil genesis, sampling techniques
Inscription fees
420 €, including course material. Accomodation and weekend excursion are not included.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ask the organizing committee for more information
- 30 -

ADVANCED TRAINING AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
UN INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE
PLANET EARTH
UNESCO is designated to organize activities to be
undertaken during the year, in collaboration with UNEP
and other relevant United Nations bodies, the International
Union of Geological Sciences and other Earth sciences
societies and groups throughout the world. Member States
are encouraged to use the Year to increase awareness of
the importance of Earth sciences in achieving sustainable
development and promoting local, national, regional and
international action.
- South America (without preference);
The potential Belgian host units are those which are
involved in the research programmes and actions of the
Federal Science Policy Office (http://www.belspo.be,
rubriek "FEDRA").
Applications are sent to the Federal Science Policy Office
by the Belgian project leaders. The selection takes place
once a year. Only complete and duly signed applications
will be taken into consideration.
Check also links at our webpage : http://www.plr.ugent.be
The International Year of Planet Earth aims to demonstrate
the great achievements made in the geosciences and to urge
politicians and decision-makers to apply such knowledge
for the benefit of humankind.
The International Year of Planet Earth is in fact the core
year of a triennium, starting in 2007 and closing by the end
of 2009.
National implementation of the Year of Planet Earth is
essential for its success. Suggestions for developing
national committees for the Year of Planet Earth can be
downloaded from the Year's website :
www.yearofplanetearth.org.
Calls are open now for now for submitting international
project proposals on the outreach programme and on
selected science themes.
POSTDOC FELLOWSHIPS
TO NON-EU RESEARCHERS
The stimulation of international mobility and the attraction
of researcher from abroad is one of the priorities of the
European Research Area.
In this context and intending to stimulate the S&T
cooperation, the Federal Science Policy Office does
implement a fellowship scheme for highly qualified
researcher (i.e. postdoctoral level or equivalent experience)
from specific regions, granting them an opportunity to
work during 6 to 12 months in a Belgian research team.
- Eastern Europe (non-EU members), Caucasia and
Central Asia (New Independent States of the Former
Soviet Union);
- The non-European Mediterranean Region : Egypt,
Jordan, Morocco, Tunesia, Turkey;
- Central Africa : Burundi, Congo, Rwanda;
- 31 -

INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR PHYSICAL LAND RESOURCES
Ghent University
Krijgslaan 281/S8
B-9000 Gent
Tel. : +32-9/2644618
Fax : +32-9/2644991
E-mail : PLRprog.adm@UGent.be
Website : http://www.plr.ugent.be