DBG-Conference 2025 in Tübingen

Under the motto “#HealthySoilsClimateProtection”, this year’s Annual Meeting of the German Soil Science Society (DBG) took place from 13 to 18 September 2025 in Tübingen. A total of 692 participants attended a diverse scientific program featuring 24 sessions, 9 keynote lectures, 300 oral presentations, 208 posters, and a range of engaging events organized by the Young Professionals in Soil Science (YPSS). With spacious facilities, short distances between venues, and excellent catering, Tübingen provided ideal conditions for a successful conference that fostered exchange, networking, and lively discussion.

 

Impressions from Tübingen (Photo: K.-H. Feger)

 

At the beginning of this report, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Tübingen organizing team—Thomas Scholten, Michaela Dippold, Yvonne Oelmann, Callum Banfield, Harald Neidhardt, and Peter Kühn—as well as to the numerous volunteers whose great commitment and excellent organization ensured a smooth and successful event.

As is tradition, the conference was framed by a diverse excursion program, which this year offered an exceptionally broad range of topics. The 17 excursions, all very well attended, covered a wide spectrum of soil science themes across the varied landscapes between the Swabian Alb and the Black Forest—from geological and geomorphological questions to forest and agroecological issues, as well as urban and cultural-historical perspectives.
The excursion guide, including detailed descriptions and background information, is available online in the “Mitteilungen” section of the DBG website at www.dbges.de.

 

The Tübingen organizing team: from left to right Thomas Scholten, Peter Kühn, Yvonne Oelmann, Michaela Dippold, Harald Neidhardt and Callum Banfield at the Icebreaker (Photo: D. Schwindt)

 

After a brief rain shower, the Icebreaker could take place under perfect late-summer weather. With Franconian beer and a delicious, varied buffet and barbecue, participants enjoyed a relaxed start to the week. Following the welcome address by Thomas Scholten, Yvonne Oelmann delighted the audience with an impressive three-ball juggling act—a fitting symbol for how skillfully the organizing team had managed the many logistical challenges of the conference preparation.

Great atmosphere and excellent catering at the Icebreaker in front of the Geo- and Environmental Research Center (Photo: D. Schwindt)

As part of the evening program, the “DBG Soil Profile Cake Contest”—organized by Svenja Stock—took place for the second time. The expert and culinary jury, consisting of Einar Eberhardt, Albrecht Bauriegel, and Peter Schad, awarded first prize to Sascha Scherer for his cake followed by cakes from Thomas Wassermann and Snježana Pejdanović. The recipe and construction guide can be found on the DBG website.

Einar Eberhardt, Peter Schad and Albrecht Bauriegel (from left to right) during the expert tasting of the soil profile cakes. In the foreground, the winning cake by Sascha Scherer (Photo: D. Schwindt)

The Young Professionals in Soil Science (YPSS) once again made a significant contribution, offering numerous activities for early-career researchers and conference newcomers. Already at the Icebreaker, the YPSS team was on hand to welcome new participants and help them get started. YPSS organized an inspiring program focused on career development, networking, and research, including “Meet the Editors” with PD Dr. Else Bünemann-König, Dr. Moritz Laub, and Prof. Hermann Jungkunst (JPNSS), the Monday evening Get-together, and “Meet the Professionals”, which offered insights into various career paths. A highlight was the session on “Generative AI in Soil Science” led by PD Dr. Harald Neidhardt, followed by the Early Career Network Lunch, where ideas for future workshops and activities were discussed. Once again, YPSS played a key role in fostering young scientists and strengthening the soil science community.

Special thanks go to the commissions of the DBG for curating a diverse and high-quality lecture program and for inviting outstanding keynote speakers. The contributions impressively reflected the thematic breadth and scientific depth of soil science research. Numerous presentations addressed key questions on soil chemistry, physical processes, biodiversity, land use, soil protection, and pedogenesis. Particular interest was shown in topics such as spatial processes in soil chemistry, soil biodiversity, nutrient dynamics, and organic contamination. Further focal points included soil classification, agricultural soil evaluation, and the development and application of modern measurement and modeling techniques—from microscopic and spectroscopic methods to large-scale remote sensing and data modeling.

Contributions on the history of soil science, soil mapping, and soil in education and society provided exciting insights into historical and didactic aspects of the discipline. With its thematic diversity and high scientific quality, the conference once again proved to be a central platform for scientific exchange and advancement in soil research.

A special focus this year was the historical examination of soil science during the National Socialist era. In the session on the history of soil science, PD Dr. Jan Arend (University of Tübingen) presented his keynote “Fritz Scheffer – Historical Context and Assessment of His Past during the Nazi Era”, summarizing initial findings of his ongoing research commissioned by the DBG. The goal of this investigation is to provide a scholarly reappraisal of the role of DBG members during that period. The presentation drew great interest and was followed by a panel discussion with Jan Arend, Karl-Heinz Feger, Christian Ahl, and Armin Skowronek. The key points were also presented to and discussed by the general assembly, marking an important step toward critically reflecting on the society’s own history—a process to be continued in the coming years.

The poster sessions, held on Monday and Wednesday, were equally rich and diverse. Thanks to the generous space available in Tübingen, all posters could be displayed throughout the conference, offering participants ample opportunity for discussion. Poster prizes were awarded by the eight commissions of the DBG to Daria Vdovenko, Elisa Diaz Garcia, Christina Marburger, Maximilian Zimmermann, Sean Adam, Franziska Lüth, Emma Harlow, and Magdalena Sut-Lohmann.

Johannes Lehmann during his keynote lecture on “Soil in Climate Change Mitigation” (Photo: D. Schwindt)

The ceremonial event on Tuesday evening was the festive highlight of the conference. Following welcome addresses by Thomas Scholten, Samuel Wagner, Birgit Kimmig, Boris Palmer, and Daniela Sauer, two keynote lectures addressed the role of soils in global change.
Johannes Lehmann (Cornell University, USA) spoke on “Soil in Climate Change Mitigation”, emphasizing the importance of microbial processes for the stability of soil organic matter and showing that sustainable carbon preservation requires ongoing care and responsible management. Michaela Dippold and Kira Rehfeld then introduced the new Tübingen Excellence Cluster “TERRA”, which investigates the interactions between the geosphere and biosphere in a changing environment.

 

Recipients of the Fritz Scheffer Prize: Katrin Schiedung (left) and Katharina Lenhardt (right) (Photos: D. Schwindt)

 

Another highlight of the evening was the award ceremony. The Fritz Scheffer Prizes were awarded to Katrin Schiedung (2024) and Katharina Lenhardt (2025) in recognition of their outstanding doctoral theses in soil science. The Emil Ramann Medals, the most prestigious award of the DBG, were presented to Prof. Georg Guggenberger (Hannover) and Prof. Kai Uwe Totsche (Jena) for their exceptional scientific achievements. The laudations were delivered by Prof. Markus Kleber (Oregon State University) and Prof. Ingrid Kögel-Knabner (Technical University of Munich), respectively.

Recipients of the Emil Ramann Medal: Daniela Sauer, President of the German Soil Science Society,  presenting the Emil Ramann Medal to Georg Guggenberger (left). Kai Uwe Totsche during his acceptance speech upon receiving the Emil Ramann Medal (right) (Photos: D. Schwindt)

During the general assembly, several positive developments were announced, including the joint bid of the German, Polish, and Czech Soil Science Societies to host the World Congress of Soil Science (WCSS) 2034 in Leipzig. The DBG also presented new materials for interactive public outreach, such as earthworm boxes, rainfall experiment kits, and soil texture boxes, all of which can be borrowed in the future. Instructions and construction guides will be made available on the DBG website. The assembly concluded on a festive note with the appointment of two new honorary members, Heiner Flessa (Braunschweig) and Christian Ahl (Göttingen), celebrated in moving laudations by Georg Guggenberger and Karl-Heinz Feger.

 

The new honorary members of the DBG: Christian Ahl with the President Daniela Sauer and the former President of the German Soil Science Society Karl-Heinz Feger (left), and Heiner Flessa with Georg Guggenberger and Daniela Sauer (right) (Photo: D. Schwindt)

Looking ahead, the 2027 Annual Meeting in Hannover was presented by Georg Guggenberger, who ceremonially received the golden soil auger from Michaela Dippold and Peter Kühn on behalf of the Tübingen team. The 2027 meeting will be integrated into a large joint geoscientific conference organized together with DGGV and DMG—a collaboration that promises a rich program and fruitful exchange among the societies.
Plans for the 2029 Annual Meeting in Bayreuth are also already underway, as presented by Eva Lehndorf.

 

Peter Kühn and Michaela Dippold during the ceremonial handover of the golden soil auger to Georg Guggenberger, representative of the organizing team of the 2027 Annual Meeting in Hannover (Photo: D. Schwindt)

 

Following the general assembly, participants gathered for a festive networking dinner at the Neckawa on the edge of Tübingen’s old town, where they enjoyed a wonderful buffet and the opportunity to take a traditional “Stocherkahn” boat ride on the Neckar River.

Finally, we would like to once again extend our heartfelt thanks to all who participated in the Tübingen Annual Meeting—through their posters, talks, and scientific exchange—making this event such an outstanding success!