The Development of Soil Science in Campania

Soil science in Campania is strongly conditioned by the four volcanoes present in the region that have influenced the formation of soils, contributing to the beauty of Campania Felix. In this context, the regional offices, universities and research institutes that, over time, have dealt with soil sciences have operated. The Operational Programme for the Development of Agricultural Outreach is recalled, which provided for the training of agricultural popularizers specialized in “pedology and soil conservation” and described the Operational Program for the realization of soil maps in some Territorial Operational Units (UOT). After the realization of the soil map of the province of Naples (1:100,000), in 1997 the regional survey and soil mapping at semi-detailed scale was launched to provide technical support to optimize fertilization techniques, irrigation, tillage, and soil conservation. Moreover, the soil science activities developed in the University of Naples Federico II, in the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, and in the National Council of Research (CNR) dealing with different aspects as research, dissemination of information, soil protection and soil management for specific uses are reported.