I am not so sure that we will ever be able to understand and predict accurately complex systems (ecosystems, stuff involving interactions of multiple living beings, let alone human behaviour).
Let me explain:

------ Sorry, this got longer than intended 😅

TL;DR The scientific method is awesome, but specialized scientists struggle to get the pieces again together to understand complex systems.
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The scientific method was developed around testable hypotheses. For this, either you need experiments (usually in the lab) or large observational studies.

While I agree that the scientific method is probably the best way to explain things we have so far, sometimes dout crawls up my back and makes itself comfortable.

See, I am a soil scientist working on agricultural systems. Soil is an amazingly complex ecosystem due to its biological diversity and physical-chemical heterogeneity. When we add other factors that are completely common in nature (such as plants) and the plants exudate carbohydrates into the soil via their roots and the microbes use these substrates as energy source and mobilize nutrients from the soil, but meanwhile produce some signalling compounds that give information to the plants and the plants interact in every moment differently with the soil depending on the availability of water (affects soil chemistry and sorption on particle surfaces) and the plant and some other microbes start competing for some nutrients and ...
We are still only in the soil. Around one single plant root. No other plants, no animals, no farmers, no economy, ...
We need an entire research group including chemists, biochemists, multiple soil microbiologists, botanists, physicists, geologists et al. to try to decipher still rather basic processes.

What I want to show here is that, although science is amazing and our tools are improving at an impressive pace, in practice I think that there is a frontier:
The human mind. Our capacity to understand things and to connect knowledge.

The times of the universalist scholars scholars that had knowledge of many fields is history. In academy, we are getting more and more specialized (this is a trend in the structure of universities and research areas). Every advance in research technology allows us a closer look on one single thing. But then, to bring all this knowledge back together to understand the whole system is highly complex. It is also a matter of different scales (ok, here we could argue that some day we'll be able to deal with larger and larger datasets). Large research projects require a significant organizative effort organizing and moderating workshops to bring all the involved experts together and to relate the findings to the real world.
One of the main jobs of scientists is also to sell themselves. We need to convince the other folks (and ourselves?) that our research is important (and deserves funding).

So, sometimes I see an indigenous farmer having a deep understanding about their soil and environment feel... humble and insignificant? A product of my society with its ideological baggage and biases?
(Of course, no need to be overly romantic, humans have shown to be perfectly capable of destroying their can local ecosystems without science).

So, I still go with the scientific method. I like being a scientist and sometimes we really can do useful stuff. 🧑‍🔬🤓🦠🔬
(e.g. blocking some private jets :praxis_100: )

Also, it is sad that it is difficult to have a public discussion about its limitations, as there are legions of anti-scientific trolls out there waiting to take single statement of doubt in their propaganda ("scientists are not 100% sure about climate change") or whatever.
Maybe I have too much of the impostor's syndrome? 🤣

@mrillig , have you another opinion on this issue?

#AcademicChatter #ScientificTheory #Science #SoilScience #SoilMicrobiology #Agriculture

This message was intended as a contribution in the discussion at https://syzito.xyz/@selzero/110943380457364143
, but I thought it would be more polite to start a subthread. (Thanks to @Radical_EgoCom for being prolific in bringing up interesting topics :anarchoheart3: ) 😘

@selzero @d10c4n3 @maxelcat

Sometimes the FAO does useful stuff:

The Global Soil Doctors Programme is a farmer-to-farmer training initiative that aims to build the capacity of farmers on sustainable soil management while supporting national governments and stakeholders in addressing the needs of their rural communities. This online platform provides support for farmers, policy makers, development planners, agricultural extension workers, NGOs, private sectors and any other practitioner/stakeholder interested in transmitting the importance of soil as a vital resource.

https://www.fao.org/global-soil-partnership/pillars-action/2-awareness-raising/soil-doctor/en/
#Agroecology #SoilScience #ExtensionServices #Farming #Fao #BurkinaFaso #FarmerToFarmer #SoilDoctorsProgramme #GlobalSoilDoctorsProgramme #Soil #SoilStewardship #SustainableAgriculture #Agriculture

The Impact Of Vegetation On Meandering Rivers
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-021-00249-6 <-- shared paper
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #hydrology #river #meanders #anthropocene #vegetation #processmodeling #model #modeling #plants #trees #carboncycle #Palaeozoic #evolution #fluvial #fluvialgeomorphology #geomorphology #channel #channelisation #rivergeomorphology #impact #humanimpact #climatechange #climate #carbondioxide #anthropogenic #changes #biodiversity #aridification #dynamics #geology #soilscience #riverbanks #erosion #sedimentation #floodplain #urbanisation #deforestation #pollution #ancient #landscape #watershed #biogeochemistry #morphometry #geomorphometry

Hey #SoilScience people!
The University of #Bozen #Bolzano (#UniBZ) (#SouthTyrol, #italy has two positions to offer within a #SoilMission project:

*Project manager:* https://www.unibz.it/en/home/position-calls/positions-for-academic-staff/6577-chimica-agraria-genetica-agraria-e-pedologia-prof-mimmo?group=70

*Fixed-time research assistant:* https://www.unibz.it/en/home/position-calls/positions-for-academic-staff/6576-chimica-agraria-prof-mimmo?group=18

Reading about soils is always a short-cut to anxiety. "If we extrapolate the current erosion rate of about 12 million metric tonnes per year over the next 40 years to the point when the population will reach 9 billion, only 20% of the arable land needed for adequate nutrition will be available."

https://doi.org/10.2113/gselements.3.5.307

#CriticalZone #SoilScience

How does the #ClimateEmergency impact the world's #forests? Find out in this new #JIPB paper that reveals the impact of #climate factors on forest #biomass allocation.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jipb.13545
@wileyplantsci
#PlantSci #PlantDevelopment #SoilScience #trees #plantscience

An unusual experiment

https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/south-cambridgeshire-farmer-buries-his-pants-and-is-amazed-9322750/

It gives a new slant on the phrase "soiled underwear""

#Cambridgeshire #SoilScience #biodiversity #farming #agriculture #Soil #experiment

Copper Distribution in European Topsoils. "Apart from geological sources and industrial pollution,… vineyards have the highest mean soil Cu concentration of all land use categories, followed by olive groves and orchards" #soil #soilscience #viticulture

I discovered these lovely little soil-based watercolors by The Art of Soil last week—I love the story behind them, and a soil scientist making soil paints is the epitome of #SciArt is it not?? 😍 Looking forward to trying them out, will report back!

#watercolor #watercolour #watercolorArt #Geology #SoilScience #soil #MastoArt #MastoArtists #FediArt #MakeTimeForArt

A $25,000 Award for Women Scientists Working to Improve Soil Health
The Story Exchange will award $5,000 incentive prizes to 5 women scientists addressing soil health and the changing climate. Deadline: July 31.

#SoilScience #Ecology
https://thestoryexchange.org/women-in-science-incentive-prize-2023/

Two species of #bacteria, Desulfovibrio aminophilus and Sporomusa sphaeroides, have been discovered to have the ability to digest some polyfluoroalkyl substances (#PFAS), specifically chlorinated PFAS.

https://e360.yale.edu/digest/bacteria-break-down-pfas-forever-chemicals

The article references this resesarch paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44221-023-00077-6

#pollution #remediation #EnvironmentalRemediation #environment #ForeverChemicals #contamination #bioremediation #groundwater #SoilScience #biodegradation

RT @SoilsAdvocate: I look forward to participating as a panellist in a Plenary Session of the @EUAgri #AgriResearch Conference in Brussels this week with @IsmahaneElouafi and others. Can research and innovation feed the world and save the planet? #SoilScience
Livestream: https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/events/2023-eu-agriresearch-conference-2023-05-31_en https://t.co/rIMIfS33TA

🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/EUAgri/status/1663473589876666369

Water Availability Creates Global Thresholds In Multidimensional Soil Biodiversity And Functions
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https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-02071-3 <-- shared paper
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#GIS #spatial #water #mapping #water #hydrology #biogeography #phylogeography #geography #global #environmental #biodiversity #productivity #agricultural #agriculture #farming #plant #microbe #soilscience #soilhealth #soil #soilfertility #soilconservation #soilmanagement #ecosystems #EnvironmentalThresholds #survey #fieldsurvey #climate #vegetation #watermanagement #waterconservation #rainfall #precipitation #EV #evaporation #evapotranspiration #biogeochemical #geochemical #bacteria #fungi #protists #invertebrates #model #modeling #soilcarbonsequestration #wateravailability #sustainable

With all this rain that the #FrontRange is getting, a lot of people are concerned about flooding. Here's a fun #SoilScience fact.
Bone-dry soil is terrible at absorbing moisture, while damp soil is great at it. You can see this in action when watering your plants.
A long slow drizzle like today means the soil can absorb water faster and retain water better (until it's saturated), meaning floods are much less likely to be flash floods.

#cowx

Mostly, my research is in the vadose zone. I spend a lot of time in the vadose zone. But
what is the vadose zone?

Thankfully there's a blog for that

http://ow.ly/y9rC50NCtB1

#science #environment #soilscience #groundwater #hydrology #soils #SciComms #environmentalscience #academia #vadosezone

A wip of the print I'm working on for my Patreon, including a wiggly earthworm🪱🌿✨️

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#science #sciart #illustration #art #painting #digitalpainting #nature #ScienceMastodon #ArtMasto #worms #earthworms #mosstodon #mushrooms #soilscience

My next One Thing About Soil essay will be out tomorrow and is all about how soils get their colors (by popular request)! You can check out my previous essays about soil science concepts, and subscribe to get the next one in your inbox here: https://open.substack.com/pub/wonderofsoil?r=1vim5o&utm_medium=ios

#soil #SoilScience #writing #science #nature

My next One Thing About Soil essay will float into inboxes tomorrow morning! This week, I took on a big topic (soil taxonomy) and tried to make it approachable. I am enjoying the challenge of writing these!

Subscribe here if you want to get the essay tomorrow morning: https://wonderofsoil.substack.com/

#writing #substack #SoilScience #education

Hey #PlantScience people. Can you suggest some #books to get back into the subject?

I completed two years of an undergrad degree in PlantSci at the start of the 90s, so I'm comfortable with #biochemistry at the level of the Calvin-Benson cycle, redox reactions, cytochromes and all that jazz.

Other stuff I'm interested in: #SoilScience, #PlantPathology, #PlantPhysiology, general #Microbiology and #PlantGenetics (transgenic toms were all the rage where I studied).

Rec me some reading! #BookRec

A short essay on a foundational concept in soil science: profiles and horizons

https://open.substack.com/pub/wonderofsoil/p/soils-form-in-profiles-and-horizons?r=1vim5o&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post

#soil #SoilScience #education #learning #writing