Soil: mostly we ignore it — unless we're trying to kick it off our shoes. Yet soil is a "whole world of life eating life, a biological orgy," writes David Montgomery; it's the source of agriculture and, therefore, civilization.

Ignoring soil — letting it simply wash downstream — has been the downfall of more than one ancient civilization. And our own, Montgomery argues, faces this same threat.

Montgomery, professor of geomorphology at the University of Washington, will speak on "Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations," Tuesday, September 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the University of Vermont's Fleming Museum, Room 101.

The event, part of UVM's Burack Lecture Series, is free and open to the public.

Soil solutions

Drawing on his second book, Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations (2007), Montgomery will speak on the role of soil in the evolution of ancient and modern societies — and offer a number of solutions to contemporary soil degradation worldwide.

Montgomery, selected as 2008 MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" winner, is one of the world's experts in understanding and communicating broadly about human-environment interactions.

"Dave is an unusual and dynamic environmental scientist," notes UVM geologist Paul Bierman, co-author of a forthcoming textbook with Montgomery, "who is similarly at ease communicating with the lay public and the most rigorous researcher."

Montgomery's first book, King of Fish, details the natural history of salmon and the impact that human actions have had on this all-important fish. His latest research takes him back in time to understand rates at which soil, the lifeblood of agriculture, is made and lost.

For more information, contact Paul Bierman, pbierman@uvm.edu, (802) 656-4411. Read more about UVM's Dan and Carole Burack President's Distinguished Lecture Series.