Editorial Humusica 3

Humusica 3 corresponds to a supplementary collection of specific information. It collects 74 short reviews, case studies, research articles, examples of field/laboratory tools and of soil management practices. The overall goal is to further point out the crucial role of soil biodiversity in sustaining the functionality of natural or anthropogenic ecosystems. The authors of the articles are professors, researchers or students working on soil-related topics, and colleagues contacted in occasion of congresses or workshops or even authors of articles or books related to topsoil functioning and litter biodegradation. The target of these contributions is to furnish supplemental information involving a large number of scientific fields related to the soil considered as a mankind resource. Two main topics remained uncovered soil erosion, only touched in some articles (scheduled contributions were never provided), and soil education at elementary school level (examples of soil-based education, for teachers). Generally, authors were asked for a paper at half way between poster and short review: “After a brief introduction, some figures illustrating your main results to students, farmers or soil lovers in general. Please report scientific references for more specialized information. Personal points of view/meanings are very appreciated”. These articles are addressed to people wanting to rapidly be informed about recent practical discoveries in the field of ecological soil management. Scientifically, the articles complete and support the information reported in Humusica 1 and 2; they consist in practical material for field or laboratory investigations; they illustrate examples of humipedon classification; they open new horizons of research and try to promote a sustainable use of the soil. The articles are summarized and grouped in five main topics: Humus system and 1) biodiversity, 2) soil functioning, 3) chemical/physical properties, 4) functional classification principles, and 5) sustainable crop production. We suggest a) to scroll through the titles of the articles and select the one you are most interested in; b) open the article and search for the main information as in a scientific poster presentation; c) eventually, pass through the article as a scientific paper; d) select another paper or search for basic information and field practice in Humusica 1 or 2 articles.