Cultural Understanding of Soils

Dr Nikola Patzel received his doctorate in 2002 at the ETH Zurich for his research on "Soil Science and the Unconscious". As a second major research project, he published a book in 2015 on "Symbols in Agriculture". He is interested in the questions of nature relationships and soil communication. Patzel heads the working group on "Cultural Patterns in Soil Understanding" in the International Soil Science Union (IUSS) and is deputy head of Commission VIII "Soil in Education and Society" at the German Soil Science Society (DBG). Dr. Eric Brevik teaches courses in geology and soil science at Dickinson State University, coordinates the Environmental Science degree program, and advises undergraduate research. He has taught at Valdosta State University (Georgia) and Dickinson State University during his faculty career. Dr. Brevik's research interests include combining information from soil science and geology, soil genesis, and the impact of humans on soil properties and processes, as well as soil science history, education, and links between soil science and culture. He is an active member of the European Geoscience Union, International Union of Soil Sciences, and Soil Science Society of America. Sabine Grunwald leads the UF Mindfulness Project. She earned a Ph.D. in environmental sciences from Giessen University, Germany and is Professor in the Soil and Water Science Department at UF with research expertise in soil-ecosystem modeling, environmental sciences, pedometrics, proximal and remote sensing, environmental quality assessment, and geospatial analysis. She has published over 145 peer-reviewed publications and is actively engaged in the national and global soil science community. Dr Christian Feller is an Emeritus Soil Scientist and the former Director of Research at the "Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement" (IRD) in Montpellier, France. He earned his MS (1969) and PhD degrees in organic chemistry (1972) from the Sorbonne University (Faculty of Sciences) in Paris, and his Doctorate of Science (1994) in Soil Science from the Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg. His research focuses on soil organic matter studies applied to soil fertility and environmental services-in particular, the impact of agroecological practices on soil-plant carbon sequestration in tropical and subtropical areas; he has worked extensively in Senegal, French West Indies (Martinique), Brazil, and most recently, Madagascar. Christian is a member of the French Academy of Agriculture, and was the first recipient of the Soil Science Society of America's Nyle C. Brady Frontiers of Soil Science Lectureship in 2006. He serves as Vice Chair (2006- 2010) of the Commission on the History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Soil Science of the International Union of Soil Sciences.

A. Introduction to Cultural Soil Dimensions.- 1.  Which soil and which cultural approach? All editors, in preparation.- B. World Cultures: Religious, Spiritual and Other Worldviews on Soils.- 2. Cultural patterns of soil cultivation in Europe (3 parts) Nikola Patzel. Chapters in revision.- 2.1 Polytheistic context.- 2.2 Monotheistic context.- 2.3 Scientific context, and organic notions.- 3. Soil in the shamanism mythology and rituals in Northern Eurasia Pavel Krasilnikov. Completed.- 4. From Native American tradition to modern day America, Native origin legends that involve soil and Earth Jeffrey Homburg, Sabine Grunwald, and Eric Brevik. (Sample chapter available below).- 5. The Dogon: The creation of consciousness through agriculture Eva Wertenschlag-Birkhäuser. Completed.- 6. The Yoruba pedosphere: The tale of Onilé Guilherme Sobrinho and Nilton Silva. In revision.- 7. Importance of soil in Islam, a study based on statements in the Quran Mohsen Makki and Jérôme Juilleret. In revision.- 8. Soil in Rumi's thoughts Seyed Kazem Alavipanah, Jafar Jafarzadeh, and Kolsoum Ghazanfari. In revision.- 9. Cultural understanding of soil in China Sylvia Xiaorui Wen. Completed.- 10. Cultural understanding of soil from a Japanese perspective Hideaki Hirai and Katsuyuki Minami. Completed.- 11. Ecosattvas and Ecodharma - Modern Buddhist perspectives of soil and the environment Sabine Grunwald. Completed.- 12.Technosol cultures: New cultural understandings of urban soils Germain Meulemans. Completed.- C. Politics on Soil.- 13. Sacred soil, divine labor: Economic theology and the agrarian political in Eastern India Milinda Banerjee. In revision.- 14. A deity we belong to or a property to own? Land & people relations in Buryat communities of the Sayan mountains Tatiana Intigrinova. Completed.- D. Case Studies on the Inner Soil of Individual Scientists.- 15. The salt of the earth": Bernard Palissy (1510-1590) between soil science and religion Christian Feller, Jean-Paul Aeschlimann, and Nikola Patzel. Chapter in revision.- 16. Darwin and the earthworm: From God the father to mother earth Christian Feller, Laurence Feller Giraud, and Nikola Patzel. Chapter in revision.- E. Conceptual approaches and ethical perspectives.- 17. Inner and Outer soil. Nikola Patzel. In revision.- 18. Soil care: From intention to action Anna Krzywoszynska. Chapter completed.- 19. Soil care, culture and eco-identities Sabine Grunwald and Kay R. Kastner-Wilcox. Completed.- 20. Take care of soils: Toward a pluralistic integral soil ethics Sabine Grunwald. Completed.- F. Soil Education and Cultural Language of the Soil.- 21. Roots of soil perceptions by university and secondary school's students in Minas Gerais, Brazil Cristine C. Muggler, Arthur S. Gasparini and Débora C.L. dos Santos. Chapter in revision.- 22.  Degrees pursued by students in different countries to train for careers in soil science Eric C. Brevik, Damien Field, Jacqueline Hannam, Maja Krzic, Rainer Horn, Cristine Muggler, Jude Odhiambo, Yoshitaka Uchida, Danny Itkin, Hong-sheng Wu, Liana Pozza, Laura Bertha Reyes Sánchez, and Thomas Scholten. Chapter completed.- 23. Proverbs on soils Jay E. Yang, H.S. Kim, P. Borrelli and M.B. Kirkham. Chapter completed.- G. Concluding Remarks and Outlook.- 24. Conclusions Nikola Patzel, Eric Brevik, Sabine Grunwald, and Christian Feller. Chapter in preparation.