Healthy soils are crucial for ensuring food and fiber productions, resilience, adaptation and mitigation
to climate change and variability. These challenges are more alarming in Afro-Mediterranean countries.
As global economic growth and demographic shifts increase in these countries, the demand for
vegetation in general and by products in particular (such as wood), animal feed, increases too, thus
putting soils under tremendous pressure and rising their risk of degradation. In fact, desertification and
soil degradation (erosion, salinization, etc.) are features of the landscape in these countries. Therefore,
it is of capital importance to shift these trends by developing a new vision, including recent
developments and technologies for managing soils to ensure a better fertility and environment
conservation, and respond to the Climate Smart Agriculture approach (CSA).
The 68th UN General Assembly has declared 2015 as the International Year of Soils (IYS). The Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been nominated to facilitate the
implementation of the IYS in collaboration with governments, relevant organizations, non-governmental
organizations and all other relevant stakeholders. The IYS aims to increase awareness and understanding
of the importance of soils for food security and essential ecosystem functions.
Therefore, the Fondation OCP and INRA Morocco in partnership with the FAO, will organize the first
Conference on Afro-Mediterranean soils, on December 18th and 19th 2015, in Marrakech, on the occasion
of the International Year of Soils.

This conference focuses on the theats to soils and remedies needed for durable soil management, use
and conservation.
High quality research papers on management and sustainable development of soils in order to enhance
food and nutrition security, mitigate and adapt to climate change, combat desertification and provide
income generating activities are especially welcomed. Aspects relevant to extension programs aiming to
develop and enhance soil fertility resilience through best management practices (BMP) are also
accepted.

Main topics

• Soil fertility and crop fertilization for sustainable productivity;
• Soil behaviour under climate change context;
• Soil carbon sequestration;
• Role of extension for better soil management;
• Soil contamination and decontamination;
• Soil salinity and management;
• Soil as component of organic farming in the Mediterranean context;
• Soil erosion and desertification studies;
• Remote Sensing and GIS for soil research and mapping;
• Management of soil information.

Oral and poster presentations
Interested participants should send their Extended Abstracts to the Scientific Committee of the conference.
Only those relevant to the topics of the conference will be allowed for presentation.
Instructions for preparation of Extended Abstracts:
Extended abstracts of both poster and oral presentations should not exceed five A4 size single spaced
and justified pages (including tables, figures, maps, and references), using Times New Roman font.
Left margins should be 3 cm while top, bottom and right margins should be 2,5 cm. They should
include: Title: size 14, capital letters, bold and centered/ Name(s) of author(s): size 12, capital letters,
bold and centered/ Author’s affiliation: department (section, unit), institution, full address, tel/fax, and
email, size 12, small letters, italics, normal and centered/ Summary: size 11, italics/ Introduction: size
12, bold/ Text of introduction: size 12, normal/ Materials and Methods: size 12, bold/ Text of Materials
and Methods: size 12, normal/ Results and Discussion: size 12, bold normal/ Results and Discussion:
size 12, bold/ Text of Results and Discussion: size 12, normal/ Conclusions : size 12, bold/ Text of
Conclusions: size 12, normal/ References Conclusions: size 12, bold/ Text of Conclusions: size 12,
normal/ References: size 12, bold/ Text of references: size 12, normal.
Extended Abstracts should be sent to afromedsoil2015@gmail.com.
The organizers will publish a special issue of selected papers of this conference in a peer-referred
journal. Selected authors will be notified to submit full papers by the organizer.

Thirty scholarships, including air tickets and accommodations, will be provided for the best extended
abstracts. As for the other selected abstracts, accommodation will be provided for participants.

Submission of extended abstracts: November 30th, 2015.

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