The Authors
Raymond Frederick Isbell (1928-2001)
Ray Isbell had a distinguished international career as a soil scientist, specialising in soil characterisation, distribution, genesis and classification. He was recognised overseas and at home as the Australian pedologist with the widest experience of Australian and world soils. He traveled extensively in the tropics and worked on comparative pedology, particularly in Africa and South America.
Ray graduated as a geologist and commenced his soil science career with the Queensland Bureau of Investigation where he was involved in soil surveys and soil assessment for proposed irrigation areas and other land development releases in southern and central Queensland. He joined CSIRO in 1958 and embarked upon a study of lands in eastern Australia dominated by brigalow (Acacia harpophylla). This sparked Ray's interest in cracking clay soils and led to an input into the development of the Ug classification in the Factual Key (Northcote 1979).
Ray was responsible for the compilation of the Atlas of Australian Soils for substantial parts of Queensland. These 1:250,000 compilation sheets have been widely used for extension and research purposes, and for large areas of Queensland remain as the best soil information available.
Ray was involved in the preparation of the CSIRO Division of Soils book Soils: An Australian Viewpoint, both as a contributor and in an editorial capacity. This was a benchmark publication in soil science, bringing together the accumulated knowledge of Australian soil science over the last 50 years. He was also involved in the preparation of the first edition of the Australian Soil and Land Survey Field Handbook, which established standardised methods for describing soil and land attributes in Australia. He was also co-editor and contributor to a book entitled Australian Soils - The Human Impact, which looked at the management of Australian soils over the last 40 000 years of human habitation. During the 1980s Ray was member of several international committees set up by the United States Department of Agriculture to advise on improvements to Soil Taxonomy in relation to oxic soils and cracking clays.
Since the mid to late 1980s, Ray's major research activity was development of the Australian Soil Classification. The decision to develop a new classification system was taken after a survey of members of the Australian Society of Soil Science and considerable discussion on alternative approaches. While it was to be the task of a Technical Committee under the auspices of the Standing Committee on Soil Conservation, Ray inherited sole responsibility for development of the new system with the support of many within the Australian soil science community.
Development of the Australian Soil Classification was grueling and technically demanding but Ray was a good listener, and he communicated regularly with pedologists not only in Australia and New Zealand but also across the world in his quest to devise the system. He built networks and established a rapport with a younger generation of pedologists as he tested the classification during its three approximations and after the official publication of the first edition in 1996. Always ready to share his knowledge, he inspired colleagues during his field visits to assess the many classification challenges presented. One of his golden rules was to describe and interpret the soil profile accurately so that it could be classified with a minimum of fuss. The result was a unique personal understanding of Australian soils and this knowledge, combined with his great diplomacy and excellent judgement, has produced the best and, to date, most widely accepted national classification of Australian soils. In retirement, but supported by CSIRO, Ray worked tirelessly to share his knowledge of Australian soils and landscapes. He continued to publish and maintained an active dialogue with soil scientists around the world. He continued to refine the Classification and, although clearly ill and almost totally dependent on his friends for personal help and transport, he actively contributed to the Australian Collaborative Land Evaluation Program. During this time he developed close links with the CSIRO Land & Water pedology group in Canberra, became a valued mentor, teacher and friend, and contributed significantly to the landmark book Australian soils and landscapes (McKenzie et al. 2004). After a long illness, Ray Isbell died in December 2001 at the age of 73.
National Committee on Soil and Terrain (NCST)
The NCST is the peak national committee overseeing national standards in soil characterisation and description. The NCST, through its subcommittee the Australian Soil Classification Working Group, is responsible for revisions of the Australian Soil Classification. The Australian Soil Classification Working Group comprises Bernie Powell (Chair, QLD), Noel Schoknecht (WA), Ted Griffin (WA), Ben Harms (QLD), Mark Imhof (VIC), James Hall (SA), Brian Lynch (NT), Mark Thomas (CSIRO), David Rees (VIC), David Morand (NSW) and Rob Moreton (TAS). More information about the history of the Australian Soil Classification is provided in appendix 6.