Workshop Themes:
§ Assessment of incidental, short, medium and long term rates of soil erosion by determining the concentrations and proportions of 7Be, 210Pb, and 137Cs in the soil, also sediment dating.
§ Assessment of water age dating and mean residence time, and characterization of water cycle by determining the concentrations of 2H, 18O, 13C, 3H and 14C… in water and rainfall.
§ Assessment of organic matter dating, past physiological plant types (C3 and C4), drought tolerance of plants, and the efficiency of biological Nitrogen fixation by plants and micro-organisms, by determining the concentrations and proportions of 14C, 13C/12C, and 15N in soil and biological material.
The Aim:
Promoting an integrated approach by making greater use of environmental isotopes for sustainable management of natural resources (water, plant, soil) to combat desertification, to mitigate climate change particularly in dry areas and to help decision makers to adopt suitable plans for sustainable development.
Dr. D.E. Walling
Professor, Department of Geography, University of Exeter, EXETER, UK.
E-mail: D.E.Walling@exeter.ac.uk
- Dr. Ian D.L. Foster
Emeritus Professor of Geomorphology, Coventry University, UK.
E-mail: gex002@coventry.ac.uk
- Dr. W George DARLING
Hydrogeochemist, British Geological Survey. E-mail: wgd@bgs.ac.uk
- Dr. Roland Bol
Physical Geograph&Soil Science specialist, North Wyke Research, Devon, EX20 2PT, UK.
E-mail: roland.bol@bbsrc.ac.uk
- Dr. Habil. Y. Kuzyakov
Professor of Agroecosystem Research, University of Bayreuth, Germany,
E-mail: kuzyakov@uni-bayreuth.de
Arab scientists who are working on the use of isotopes in the management of natural resources and related fields are invited to present short papers or case studies about their research work. Short papers (up to 10 pages) should be written in English and sent in electronic format (Microsoft Word) to the e-mail addresses asst@net.sy and agi.maher@gmail.com before the 1st August 2009. The short papers will be reviewed and evaluated by the scientific committee on the basis of their scientific content and compliance with the objectives and scope of the workshop. Authors will be notified of the decision of the committee no later than the 1st September 2009.
The name, complete mailing addresses, phone/fax number and e-mail of the author/authors must be submitted. In the case of several authors, a corresponding author should be designated.
1st August 2009: Submitting application forms
1st August 2009: Submitting short papers
20th August 2009: Acceptance of applications to participate
1st September 2009: Notification of accepted papers
All scientists and practitioners who are working in the fields of hydrology and land (soil, plant and water) management may apply to participate in this workshop and, if desired, to present a short paper by filling in the attached application form (No registration fees are required). All application forms should be submitted by fax to the ASST before the 1st August 2009. Applicants will be considered on the basis of their qualifications and experience in the fields of hydrology and land (soil, plant and water) management. Accepted applicants will be notified by 20th August 2009.
For more details, please refer to the attachment and to our website www.arabschool.org.sy
Dr Maher AGI
Secretary General, ASST
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Arab School for Science and Technology (ASST)
P.O.Box 7028
Damascus – Syria
Tel. +963 11 511 8904
Fax +963 11 511 1083
E-mail: asst@
Day 1 Monday, 28, 9, 2009
Opening session and registration
08:50- 09:20 Registration
09:20-09:25 Welcoming speech by Dr. Maher AGI – ASST secretary General
09:25-09:40 Welcoming speech by Dr. Ibrahim Osman – General Director of the Atomic Energy Commission - Syria
09:40-10:00 Introduction to the workshop by Prof. Des Walling – the workshop consultant
10:00-10:20 Coffee break
Use of environmental isotopes in water studies
10:20-11:20 The water cycle (Dr. George Darling)
11:20-12:20 Groundwater dating (Dr. George Darling)
12:20-13:30 Lunch break
13:30-14:30 Water in arid and semi-arid environments (Dr. George Darling)
14:30-14:50 Coffee break
Case studies by participants
14:50-15:50 Environmental isotopes as a tool for water management: some applications in Syria (Dr. Z. Kattan)
15:50-16:30 Discussion
Day 2 Tuesday, 29, 9, 2009
Use of environmental isotopes in Plants and Soil
09:00–10:00 Identification of drought tolerant plants using δ13C (Prof. Yakov Kuzyakov)
10:00 –11:00 15N techniques for identifying more efficient rhizobium strains and legumes for N2 fixation (Prof. Yakov Kuzyakov)
11:00-11:30 Coffee break
11:30-12:30 Using isotopes to study soil organic matter dynamics (Prof. Philip Ineson)
12:30-13:30 Lunch break
13:30-14:30 Use of stable isotopes in terrestrial ecology and global change studies (Prof. Philip Ineson)
14:30-14: 50 Coffee break
Case studies by participants
14:50-15:50 Carbon Isotope Discrimination for Six Durum Wheat and its Relation with Morpho- physiological Traits and Water Use Efficiency (Prof. Ammar Wahbi & Dr. Ahmad Shaaban).
15:50-16:30 Discussion
Day 3 Wednesday, 30, 9, 2009
Use of environmental isotopes in soil erosion and sediment budget investigations and in employing sediment deposits as archives of environmental change
09:00–10:00 Using Cs-137 to document rates of soil redistribution (Prof. Des Walling)
10:00 –11:00 Using other radionuclides to document soil redistribution and further isotope applications in sediment budget investigations (Prof. Des Walling)
11:00-11:30 Coffee break
11:30-12:30 Dating sediments over late Quaternary and Holocene timescales (Prof. Ian Foster)
12:30-13:30 Lunch break
13:30-14:30 Dating late Holocene sequences and some examples of environmental reconstruction (Prof. Ian Foster)
14:30-14:50 Coffee break
Case studies by participants
14:50-15:50 Trans-boundary Suspended Sediment Transport – Evidences from Remote Sensing and Sediment Core Dating (Dr. Abdul Nabi Al-Ghadban).
15:50-16:30 Discussion
Day 4 Thursday, 1, October, 2009:
Integration of isotopes’ studies for sustainable management of natural resources
0 9:00–10:00 An Integrated Approach for the Use of Environmental Isotopes to Sustain the Environment and Mitigate Climate Change (Dr. A. F. Asfary).
10:00 –11:00 Integrated Assessment of Land Resources for Sustainable Development in Syria (Dr. A. F. Asfary).
11:00-12:00 Panel discussion with participants
12:00-16:00 Visit & tour + lunch
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