News » 23th International CIEC Symposium - Oslo, Norway, 8-10.09.2015

23rd INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OF THE INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CENTRE FOR FERTILIZERS, dedicated to the "Plant nutrition and fertilizer issues for the cold climates" will be held in Oslo (Son), Norway, on September 8-10, 2015.

Scope of the conference and research subjects welcomed: This is the northernmost venue of a CIEC symposium and thus it is thematic dedicated to plant nutrition and fertilizer issues for the cold climates. Plant production in northern latitudes is characterized by a number of limiting factors such as short vegetation periods with harsh temperature conditions, and often also extreme soils, high in clay and organic matter. All these factors impede the efforts of plants to acquire water and nutrients and the utilization efficiency of fertilizers, particularly phosphorus fertilizers. Thus contributions on research about stress alleviating plant nutrition and technologies to improve fertilizer efficiency are highly welcome.

The conference will concentrate on four major topics of global interest though the presentation of innovative data in fertilizer research is appreciated explicitly. These are:

• Climate change and its impact on nutrient cycling in soils
• Soil organic matter and fertilizer issues
• Phosphorus recycling through fertilizers and
• Marine protection and fertilizer strategies (e.g. balanced fertilization and nutrient bookkeeping).

In invited lectures Dr. Peter Dörsch (University of Life Sciences, Institute for Plant and Environment, ?s, Norway), Prof. Dr. Bal Ram Singh (Agricultural University of Norway, Department of Soil and Water Sciences, ?s, Norway), Dr. Andrea Ulrich (Federal Office for Agriculture FOAG, Bern, Switzerland) and Dmitri Frank-Kamenetsky (HELCOM, Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, Helsinki, Finland) will present cutting-edge research and state-of-the-art facts for each of the themes.The region where the 23th CIEC symposium will be held in one of the marine environments most affected by agricultural activities which makes the conference to an important platform to present and discuss research on issues for identifying and limiting the diffuse contamination of water bodies with nutrients from agriculture, in particular phosphorus and nitrogen. The reduction of diffuse phosphorus losses is of prime relevance and closing the agricultural phosphorus cycle is the key to solve the problem. The negative impacts of climate change are well-known, however, beneficial effects on agricultural production in the cold climates are less often addressed. Degradation ofsoils is regularly accompanied by losses in soil organic matter. A site-specific fertilizer management needs to preserve the natural status of the organic matter content in soils. On bog soils fertilization needs to overcome effectively for example severe copper deficiency.

The symposium brings scientists together from all over the world who are interested in the specifics of nurturing plants in the cold climates. Delegates will leave the symposium having shared ideas, having contributed to the body of knowledge concerning fertilizer use, and having made friends and contacts for future research.

The symposium will be held at Water & Quality Resort Son in Son, Norway (https://www.nordicchoicehotels.com/quality-resort/quality-spa--resort-son/). Quality Spa & Resort Son is located in the idyllic town of Son in the Oslofjord, only 40 minutes from Oslo. The maritime history of the hotel makes it a charming environment for the symposium. Closest airports are Oslo-Gardermoen and Oslo, Moss-Rygge.