In Cambodia, ORCaSa explored the soil of Southeast Asia

Organised by the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris (iEES Paris) and the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC), the ‘Sustainable Soil Use and Management in Degraded agro-ecosystems (SUMO)’ training was held in the provinces of Kampong Chhnang and Battambang (Cambodia), from 18 to 22 March 2024.

The training brought together 21 scientists, students, and development actors from Cambodia (ITC, CARDI, DALRM from GDA), Laos (DALAM), Vietnam (SFI) and France (IRD and CIRAD). These days were an opportunity to train scientists in the description of different soil types (Nitisol, Luvisol, Gleysol, Stagnosol, Planosol, Vertisol, Kastanozem and Cambisol) from 9 soil profiles, to the concept of pedogenesis and evolution, and their impact on soil geochemistry in cultivated and non-cultivated environments.

Funded by the ‘Structural Training Project : Sustainable Soil Use and Management in Degraded agro-ecosystems’ (PSF SUMO, IRD), and supported by the ORCASA and REASOL projects, the training focused on how to describe different soil profiles and discuss their pedogenesis and classification on the basis of the World Reference Base (WRB, 2022) of the International Union of Soil Science. It also aimed to strengthen teaching and research on soil, and to facilitate collaborations between research units in Southeast Asia.