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Pedological Cooperation between Russia and the USA, Past to Present

Faculty of Geography, Moscow State Univ., Moscow, 119899, Russia

K. R. Olson^*

Dep. of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of Illinois, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801

*Corresponding author(k-olsonl{at}uiuc.edu).

ABSTRACT

The American and Russian soil surveys have been influenced by their starting points and by the philosophy of pedology that appeared at the turn of the 20th century. The different initial approaches were a consequence of differences in purpose, scientific "environment", and the manner by which the soil surveys were conducted. Nevertheless, formation and progress of Russian and American schools of soil survey and pedology have advanced due to mutual exchange of ideas and concepts. Some new ideas have been rejected while others were assimilated and contributed to further progress. Past and present cooperation in the development of soil science has emphasized the concept of soil-forming factors, soil geography, classification and soil survey. For more than 100 yr, the linkage between Russian geography and soil science contributed to both the Russian tradition and to the soil survey in the USA. In the 1920s, the Russian scientific school influenced the Americans; now the influence of the American school on Russian concepts, approaches, and even terminology is evident. The agrarian reform that started in Russia in the 1980s resulted in a realistic consideration of the experience of foreign soil science in addition to the Russian national traditions. The convergence between the American and Russian schools of soil survey and pedology started in the 1980s and continues today. It is enhanced by an open exchange of ideas, which should be mutually beneficial. We think further advances in international scientific cooperation will occur as a consequence of the current willingness to cooperate and the rapidly improving means of electronic communication.

Presented as a keynote address at the symposium "National Cooperative Soil Survey: A Century in Retrospect", at the annual meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, Seattle, WA, November 1994.

Received for publication July 2, 1997.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. C. Brevik George Nelson Coffey, Early American Pedologist Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., November 1, 1999; 63(6): 1485 - 1493. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]