There are approximately 900 million hectares of sandy soils worldwide, particularly in arid or semi-arid regions. There are more than 22 million hectares of arable sands in southern and western Australia. These soils are often impacted by multiple constraints, such as, soil acidity, hardpans and soil water repellence while also have inherently poor fertility and a limited capacity to store water and nutrients.

These and other challenges associated with sands require multi-faceted research skills and strategies, diagnostic methods and management approaches to overcome. This conference will build and strengthen the international network of researchers with expertise on sandy soils. The conference theme ‘Shifting Sands to Sustainable Solutions’ is focused the challenges of managing and protecting the natural capital of sandy soils in the face of a changing climate.

Key aspects of the program include sessions on:

• Climate change and sandy landscapes

• Sand distribution and formation

• Monitoring, mapping and sensors

• Soil properties-analytical techniques

• Agricultural systems (irrigated and dryland)

• Natural systems

• Engineered systems

• Soil and water conservation

• Soil Fertility

• Overcoming constraints to plant growth