From the Desk of Rattan Lal

A collection of monthly and quarterly letters
to soil scientists worldwide

Vertical Soils

QUARTERLY VIEWPOINTS 2024

Winter 2024: Conference of the Parties (COP28) Viewpoint

QUARTERLY VIEWPOINTS 2023

Winter 2023: Conference of the Parties (COP27) Viewpoint
Spring 2023: Science Without Humanity
Summer 2023: Soil Health Act and the Farm Bill 2024
Fall 2023: Guest Viewpoint from Professor Jim Ippolito, Dr. Rattan Lal Endowed Professor

QUARTERLY VIEWPOINTS 2022

Spring 2022: Returning Land to Nature and Re-Carbonizing the Biosphere
Summer 2022: War and Soil
Fall 2022: Flooding in Pakistan: Mother Nature Has No Mercy 

QUARTERLY VIEWPOINTS 2021

Spring 2021: Sparing Land for Nature I 
Spring 2021: Assistant Director Viewpoint with Dr. Klaus Lorenz
Summer 2021: Guest Viewpoint with Dr. Jaqueline Wilkins, Director of Extension
Summer 2021: Program Coordinator Viewpoint with Maggie Willis
Fall 2021: Sparing Land For Nature II
Fall 2021: Visiting Scholar Viewpoint with Dr. Nour El-Houda Abed
Winter 2021: Enhancing Awareness about the Important of Soil to Addressing Global Issues 
Winter 2021: Graduate Student Viewpoint with Anna Kolganova

QUARTERLY VIEWPOINTS 2020

Spring 2020: COVID-19: The World is One Family 
Spring 2020: Visiting Scholar Viewpoint with Vladimir Ivezic
Summer 2020: Tenets of Regenerative Agriculture in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Summer 2020: Visiting Scholar Viewpoint with Gurmeet Singh Dheri
Fall 2020: Seizing the Moment
Fall 2020: Visiting Scholar Viewpoint with Karabi Pathak
Winter 2020: Mother Nature Knows Best
Winter 2020: Visiting Scholar Viewpoint with Mah-Noor Azad 

QUARTERLY VIEWPOINTS 2019

Fall 2019: Global Carbon Sink Capacity
Fall 2019: Visiting Scholar Viewpoint with Fengkui Qian
Winter 2019: Soil Organic Matter and Water Retention
Winter 2019: Visiting Scholar Viewpoint with Xiaodan Gao

IUSS LETTERS MONTHLY 2018

January 2018: Ex Nihilo Nihil Fit 
February 2018: Soil: The Hidden Treasure of Nature
March 2018: We Are A Soil
April 2018: The Glamour of Soil Science
May 2018: Soil Degradation: The Case of Human Parasitism
June 2018: The Urbanization Challenge
July 2018: Drylands
August 2018: Did the Stone Age End Because the World Ran Out of Stones?
August 2018 (Special Issue): Beyond Food and Fuel: The Power of Soil to Address Global Issues
September 2018: Drought and Ancient Civilizations
October 2018: Global Food and Nutritional Security
November 2018: The Soil-Centric Agricultural Reformation
December 2018: Soil Pollution
December 2018 (Special Issue): Farewell and Goodbye: Making Soils of Agro-ecosystems Emissions Negative

IUSS LETTERS MONTHLY 2017

January 2017: Best Wishes for 2017 and Beyond
February 2017: Soils and Global Issues I
March 2017: Soils and Global Issues II  
April 2017: Building Soil Bridges Across Nations: Soil Science Without Borders 
May 2017: Sustainable Intensification: Producing Mohttps://orapps.osu.edu/piportal/homere From Less 
June 2017: Soil: The Global Icon 
July 2017: Soil and Peace 
August 2017: The Anthropocentrism and Soil Health 
September 2017: The Ecological Costs of Soil Management Practices 
October 2017: In Soil We Trust 
November 2017: The Solutions Underfoot
December 2017: Medical Pedology: An Emerging Discipline in Soil Science