Hydropedology: Fundamental issues and practical applications

This special issue of Catena publishes selected papers from the Hydropedology Symposium held at the 18th World Congress of Soil Science in July 9-15, 2006 in Philadelphia, PA, USA. This symposium, entitled Hydropedology: Fundamental Issues and Practical Applications, recognized growing professional interests and publication activities related to hydropedology. The emerging interdisciplinary field of hydropedology promotes synergistic integration of pedology with hydrology to enhance the holistic study of soil-water interactions and landscape-soil-hydrology relationships across space and time, aiming to understand pedologic controls on hydrologic processes and properties, and hydrologic impacts on soil formation, variability, and functions (our working definition of hydropedology). Hydropedology emphasizes in situ soils in the landscape where distinct pedogenic features (e.g., structure, horizonation, and heterogeneity), environmental variables (e.g., climate, landforms, and organisms), and anthropogenic impacts (e.g., land use and management) prevail and interact. This Hydropedology Symposium attracted a total of 58 oral and poster papers, from which eight papers were selected for publication after peer-review. The symposium papers were grouped into four categories: Field Techniques and Methods; Soil Structure and Soils Information; Landscape and Catchment Studies; and Models and Modeling. The oral session at the symposium included speakers from the US, Australia, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and UK. The poster session included three poster theaters where authors gave a 5-minute highlight of their posters. Interesting discussions followed, including a well-attended panel discussion with panelists Daniel Hillel, Mirek Kutilek, and Henk Wösten.