THE 3RD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HYDROPEDELOGY: PROMOTING BREAKTHROUGH COLLABORATIONS AMONG AGRO-,HYDRO-,GEO-,AND BIO-SCIENCES

The International Union of Soil Sciences' Working Group on Hydropedology proposes to organize the 3rd International Conference on Hydropedology to be held on August 16-19, 2016 at Beijing Normal University in Beijing, China. As a promising interdiciplianry science emerged in recent years, hydropedology offers a renewed perspective and an integrated approach to understanding interactive soil and water processes and their properties in various ecosystems. Funds are requested to provide travel supports to young scientists (students, postdocs, and junior faculty) from the United States to attend this once-in-every-four-years conference. This will stimulate young people to pursue and advance this interdisciplinary science and its synergistic collaborations across scientific disciplines, including soil science, hydrology, ecology, agronomy, forestry, geology, biogeochemistry, and others. In particular, various sub-disciplines of soil science and hydrology will be linked across spatial and temporal scales to significantly advance our understanding and management of natural resources and the environment, including water for agriculture. The specific objectives of this conference are: 1) to take stock and analyze what has been accomplished since the 2nd conference held in 2012, to identify remaining knowledge gaps and key scientific and management issues, and to charter a roadmap for international and interdisciplinary collaborations for the next 4 to 10 years; and 2) to promote exciting breakthrough collaborations among soil science, hydrology, ecology, agronomy, forestry, geology, and other related agro-, bio-, and geo-sciences through the holistic studies of the Earth's Critical Zone (from the top of vegetation down to the bottom of aquifer, upon which nearly every life-sustaining resource and all human activities depend). We propose a 4-day meeting that will include invited and volunteer oral and poster presentations, plus a field trip. A wide range of cutting-edge issues from theories to practices are proposed, with eight main targeted sessions. Expected deliverables include a proceedings, a summary report, a dedicated web site, a book, and two special issues of scientific journals (Ecosystems and Vadose Zone Journal). We expect lasting impacts from this conference that will foster global sustainability as well as contributions to water in agriculture.