From the 1980s to the 2000s: The Golden Years of the Italian Soil Science

There is no doubt that the years from 1980 to 2000 saw an extraordinary development of soil science starting from its huge opening to the outside world. A significant increase in the publication of soil sciences in the most prestigious international journals in the field dates back to that period. At the same time, the participation of Italian scientists in international events and conferences has enlarged, and training courses for young Italian researchers have increased in the most prestigious scientific institutions in the world. This internationalization of scientific research paved the way not only for international collaborations but also for a new way of tackling research problems in Italy. Essentially, there has been a transition from a type of research based on individual programmes or small groups, mostly belonging to a single institution, to collegial research groups working on national projects, the so-called finalized projects. This new approach to the major research issues has led to the involvement not only of purely research structures but also of other public and private institutions. The National Pedological and Soil Quality Observatory was an example of this collaboration involving, among other institutions, regional authorities, and their staff. The great technological innovations of that time and the still acceptable financial resources have also made available to soil science researchers a considerable stock of equipment that has enabled cutting-edge research. In addition, in those years, many activities of development of analytical manuals and methodologies have been planned that have had the advantage of being able to compare the scientific results of different laboratories.