From September 1st to 6th, the first European Soil Classification Contest was held in Alcoi, Spain. Eight four-person teams from France, Spain, Latvia, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Hungary, and Italy competed in the event.
Poland was represented by:
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Marzena Kaźmierczak (University of Agriculture in Kraków)
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Damian Murach (Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW)
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Maria Różak (Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences)
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Bartłomiej Zawadzki (student of environmental geoinformation, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń)
The team coach was Prof. Cezary Kabała (Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences).
The participants’ task was to classify soils using two systems: WRB (World Reference Base for Soil Resources) and Soil Taxonomy. Each profile had to be described within 70 minutes. Competitors had to demonstrate precise identification of soil parameters such as texture, color, presence of secondary carbonates, clay illuviation, or slickenslides. Additionally, they were required to provide information about the surrounding environment, land use, and the site’s suitability for cereal production, forestry, and camping tourism.
The first days of the contest included lectures on Spanish soils and landscapes, followed by afternoon classification training on specially prepared soil profiles.
The main competition began on Thursday, September 4th, with teams classifying two soil profiles. On Friday, September 5th, the individual part took place, where each participant described another two profiles.
Contest Results
Team classification (2 profiles classified on Thursday):
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Germany
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Poland
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Hungary
Individual classification (2 profiles classified on Friday):
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Damian Murach (Poland)
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Madara Brasava (Latvia)
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João Francisco dos Santos (Portugal)
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Bartłomiej Zawadzki (student of environmental geoinformation from our faculty)
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Simon Stalin (France)
Additionally, Maria Różak placed in the top ten, taking 9th place.
However, the most important ranking was the overall classification, combining both team and individual results. Thanks to their second place in the team competition and outstanding individual performances—especially Bartłomiej Zawadzki’s 4th place—Poland made up for the initial gap to Germany and took the lead, winning the inaugural edition of the contest!
Final standings:
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Poland
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Portugal
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Germany
Bartosz Zawadzki became interested in soil science and soil classification during his second year of a Bachelor's degree in Geography, when he had the opportunity to participate in lectures, exercises, and field classes during the spring semester. A pivotal moment was his participation in the international workshop “In The Name of Soil” in Toruń in June 2023, coordinated by Dr. hab. M. Świtoniak and Dr. hab. P. Charzyński, where he was first introduced to the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) classification. The opportunity to work in the field, develop his language skills, and interact with people from across Poland and Europe proved very inspiring for him. Since then, his interest in this subject has grown steadily.
The result achieved in Spain is the outcome of knowledge and skills he gained during numerous field trips and camps he participated in while studying at the Faculty of Earth Sciences & Spatial Management (WNoZiGP) at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń:
- International workshop “In The Name of Soil” – Toruń, 2023
- Soil camp SKNG UMK and KGUJ “Glebory” – Wdecki Landscape Park, 2023
- Soil camp SKNG UMK and KGUJ “Gleboczady” – Bieszczady National Park, 2024
- International workshop “Know Your Landscape, Know Your Soil” – Slovenia, 2025
- Soil camp SKNG UMK and KGUJ “Glebolin” – Woliński National Park, 2025
More information about camp can be found: https://www.facebook.com/SKNGUMK
Photos: Organizers, B. Zawadzki, C. Kabała, Ł. Uzarowicz
