Soil & Water Management & Conservation Division
Welcome! You can get involved with the Soil & Water Management & Conservation Division on the Discussion Board. On this page you'll find award information, business meeting minutes, additional links of interest, and more.
Graduate Mentoring Committee
The SWMC division has established a graduate mentoring committee to best prepare student members for their academic and professional careers. Committee members are Asim Biswas, Elia Scudiero, Matt Yost, Upendra Sainju, Hero Gollany, and Arnab Bhowmik (committee chair). The SWMC mentoring committee has developed a graduate mentoring program to connect student members with experienced society professionals at the SSSA 2023 meetings at St. Louis, MO.
Interested mentees (students) are requested to fill out the google form and submit it by Oct 10, 2021. https://forms.gle/vNYkK22RGt51BBs86
Professional Awards
Soil and Water Management and Conservation Young Scholar Award
The SWMC Young Scholar Award serves to recognize young scientists who have made outstanding contributions to soil and water management and conservation within seven years of completing their Ph.D. Young Scholar Award. Plaque from division. Apply Today!
Past Recipients
- 2018: Asim Biswas, Univ. of Guelph
- 2015: Mike Castellano, Iowa State Univ.
- 2014: DeAnn Pressley, Kansas State Univ.
- 2013: Bianca Moebius-Clune, Cornell Univ.
- 2012: Tony Buda, USDA-ARS
- 2011: Josh McGrath, Univ. of Maryland
- 2010: Jason Warren, Oklahoma State Univ.
- 2009: Cristine Morgan, Texas A&M Univ.
- 2008: Humberto Blanco, Kansas State Univ.
- 2007: Christian Renschler, State Univ. of New York
- 2006: David Robinson, Stanford Univ.
- 2005: Kristofor R. Brye, Univ. of Arkansas
- 2004: Mark Liebig, USDA-ARS
- 2003: Raj Khosla, Colorado State Univ.
- 2002: Peter J.A. Kleinman, USDA-ARS
- 2001: David Lobb, Univ. of Manitoba
- 2000: Clay A. Robinson, The Pennsylvania State Univ. & Thomas J. Sauer, USDA-ARS National Tilth Lab
- 1997: Alan Franzluebbers, Texas A&M Univ.
Award Committee: Hero Gollany (Chair), Jane Johnson, Humberto Blanco
Best Paper Award
The Division honors the authors of SSSAJ manuscripts published within the Division of SSSAJ during the last seven years that have had exceptional impact on the scientific community. Selection is based on a rigorous evaluation of how the manuscript has advanced knowledge in the profession, the effectiveness of communication, originality, and impact measured by number of citations and downloads.
Past Recipients
- 2018: Carlos Castillo, R. Pérez, M. R. James, J. N. Quinton, E. V. Taguas and J. A. Gómez. 2012. Comparing the Accuracy of Several Field Methods for Measuring Gully Erosion”. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 76:1319-1332 (2012)
- 2015: Alexandra N. Kravchenko and G. Phillips Robertson. Whole-profile soil carbon stocks: The danger of assuming too much from analyses of too little. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 75:235-240 (2011)
- 2014: Denis Angers and Nikita S. Eriksen-Hamel. Full-inversion tillage and organic carbon distribution in soil profiles; a meta-analysis. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 70:1569-1578 (2008)
- 2013: Emily Marriott and Michelle Wander. Total and labile soil organic matter in organic and conventional farming systems. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 70:950-959 (2006)
- 2012: Humberto Blanco-Canqui and Rattan Lal. No Tillage and Carbon Sequestration: An On-farm Assessment. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 72:693-701
- 2011: Keith E. Saxton and Walter J. Rawls. Soil Water Characteristic Estimates by Texture and Organic Matter for Hydrologic Solutions. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 70:1569-1578
- 2010: Karolien Denef, Johan Six, Roel Merckx, and Keith Paustian. Carbon Sequestration in Microaggregates of No-Tillage Soils with Different Clay Mineralogy. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 68:1935-1944 (2004)
- 2009: Ardell D. Halvorson, Brian J. Wienhold, and Alfred L. Black. Tillage, Nitrogen, and Cropping System Effects on Soil Carbon Sequestration. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 66:906-912 (2002)
- 2008: Tristram O. West and Wilfred M. Post. Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration Rates by Tillage and Crop Rotation: A Global Data Analysis. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 66:1930-1946 (2002)
- 2004: X.C. Zhang, M.A. Nearing, V.O. Polyakov, and J.M. Friedrich. Using Rare-Earth Oxide Tracers for Studying Soil Erosion Dynamics. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 67:279-288 (2003)
- 2003: James A. Entry, Robert E. Sljka, and Glenn E. Shewmaker. Management of Irrigated Agriculture to Increase Organic Carbon Storage in Soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 66:1957-1964 (2002)
- 2002: P.D. Hallett, T. Baumgartl, and I.M. Young. Subcritical Water Repellency of Aggregates from a Range of Soil Management Practices. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 65:184-190 (2001)
Award Committee: Hero Gollany (Chair), Mark Liebig, DeAnn Presley, Francisco Arriaga, Maria Lucia Silveira, Michael Castellano.
Howard M. Taylor Lectureship on Root-Soil Relationships
The Howard M. Taylor Lectureship was sponsored by the Division from 2001 to 2008, with funds provided by friends, colleagues, and former students of Howard Taylor. Taylor was generally regarded as one of the most important American root scientist of his time. From 1949 to 1991 Howard's research covered a broad range of topics involving root-soil relationships. His studies on root response to soil compaction and on root growth and water uptake in response to soil physical conditions provide the foundation for current understanding of these topics and the basis for many management strategies.
Each year a lecturer was selected to present research results, models, or retrospectives on root-soil relationships at the annual meetings of SSSA. Subjects covered related to any aspect of root-soil relations, with some emphasis placed on areas that Dr. Taylor worked on, including root-water relationships and root growth response to soil physical conditions and soil management practices. An annual stipend of $4000 to fund this lectureship was provided by the Howard M. Taylor Memorial Lectureship Fund of the Agronomic Science Foundation.
Lecturers
- 2008: David M. Eissenstat, Penn State University, University Park, PA. An Ecological Perspective on Root Physiology and Dynamics.
- 2007: Peter Gregory, Scottish Crop Research Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee, United Kingdom. Routes to Roots: Exploring the Growth and Activity of Roots in Soils.
- 2006: Meine van Noordwijk, ICRAF, Bogor, Indonesia. Root Distribution Effects on Tree and Crop Water Uptake in Agroforestry: Competition and Facilitation.
- 2005: Hans Lambers, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia. Root Respiration, Exudation and Nutrient Uptake: Carbon Costs of Nutrient Acquisition.
- 2004: Jonathan Lynch, Penn State University, University Park, PA. The Roots of the Second Green Revolution.
- 2003: Margaret McCully, Division of Plant Industry at CSIRO, Australia. Underground Explorations: A New Focus on Root/Soil/Microbial Interactions in the Field.
- 2002: Park Nobel, University of California at Los Angeles. General and Special Qualities of Roots for CAM Species.
- 2001: Francois Tardieu, INRA-ENSAM, Montpellier, France. Modeling the Contribution of Root Signaling to the Control of Stomatal Conductance and Leaf Growth.
Student Awards
SWMC Graduate Student Award
The SWMC Graduate Student Award is presented each year to a graduate student whose thesis research and graduate responsibilities utilize creative approaches to gain understanding and develop solutions for soil and water conservation and management problems. The recipient's research must be in soil and water management and conservation. The $350 award is designed to assist the student with travel expenses associated with attending the annual SSSA meeting. The recipient will be recognized at the Division Business Meeting. Apply Today!
Past Recipients
- 2018: Abdelmoneim Z. Mohamed, Washington State Univ.
- 2014: Maninder Walla, The Ohio State Univ.
- 2013: Hossein Sadeghi, Washington State Univ.
- 2012: Emma Witt, Univ. of Kentucky
- 2011: Asim Biswas, Univ. of Saskatchewan
- 2010: Josh Werts, Clemson Univ.
- 2009: Kendall DeJong, Colorado State Univ.
- 2008: Michael Mulvaney, Auburn Univ.
- 2007: Pingping Jiang, Univ. of Missouri
- 2006: Holly Dolliver, Univ. of Minnesota
- 2005: Krisztina Eleki, Iowa State Univ.
- 2004: Adriane Elliott, Colorado State Univ.
- 2003: Karolein Denef, Colorado State Univ.
- 2001: Stuart Grandy, Michigan State Univ.
- 2000: Martin Diaz-Zorita, Univ. of Kentucky
Award Committee: Humberto Blanco (Chair), Clark Gantzer, Alan Franzluebbers
Soil and Water Conservation Scholarship
The Soil and Water Management and Conservation Scholarship Fund is intended to nurture young scientists to become soil and water conservationists. The award is based on scholastic accomplishments, career goals in soil and water conservation, work experiences, and the major professor's support and acknowledgement of the student's activities.
Past Recipients
- 2018: Amber DiGerlando, Evergreen College
- 2016: Jeffrey Svedin, Brigham Young Univ.
- 2015: Dana Christel, Univ. of Vermont
- 2014: Heidi Dittmer, Iowa State Univ.
- 2013: Elizabeth Newell, West Texas A&M Univ.
Scholarship Committee: Jerry Lemunyon (Chair), Rajan Ghimire, Thorsten Knappenberger, April Leytem, Vimala Nair, DeAnn Ricks Presley, Hero Gollany
Graduate Student Poster Award
Awards will be given for a poster competition event at the annual meeting, with cash prizes of $200, $150, and $100 given for first, second, and third place winners, respectively. Funds will be provided from the ‘Program Enhancement Fund’ of the division. To enroll in the competition, a graduate student will submit an abstract online through the normal abstract submission process to one of the eligible topic sessions designated by the division. The Past Chair of the division will lead the judging team, typically composed of 3-5 members of the division. Posters will be judged based on the quality of presentation, originality of the work, and interpretation of the experimental results.
Past Recipients
- 2018: Hanxiao Feng, South Dakota State Univ.
- 2015: Sage Lee, Univ. of Redlands
- 2014: Brianna Wegner, South Dakota State Univ.
- 2013: Corey Lacey, Illinois State Univ.
Graduate Student Oral Competition
The Graduate Student Oral Competition will present awards for an oral competition event at the annual meetings, with cash prized of $250, $200, and $150 for first, second, and third place winners, respectively.
RELATED ORGANIZATIONS & LINKS
Bureau of Land Management
Canadian Society of Soil Science
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
International Union of Soil Sciences
Soil and Water Conservation Society
SSSA Consulting Soil Scientists Division
U.S. Geological Survey
USDA Agricultural Research Service
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
World Soil Information
Business Meeting Minutes and Posters
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