The Department of Soil Science (DOSS) is currently staffed by 17 members, including 4 professors, 6 associate professors, 1 senior experimentalist and 4 lecturers. Among whom Professor Yongtao Li was honored the Distinguished Professor of Guangdong Province. 12 people hold a doctor’s degree, and 60 % of them have studied or trained abroad.

It has been more than 70 years since the DOSS started to educate postgraduate students in 1935. the DOSS was authorised to offer master degree in 1981, and to offer doctorate degree in 2003, including a first-level discipline in Agricultural Resources and Environment. The DOSS was authorised to establish a post-doctoral research station in 2007, and to establish the Key Laboratory of South China Farm Land Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture in 2012. In 2013, Agricultural Resources and Environment of the department was awarded as Guangdong key discipline. The DOSS is featured multiple talent training system including undergraduates, master, Ph.D. students and post doctors. There are currently 200 undergraduate students, 48 postgraduate students, and 4 post doctors. We have published several textbooks, including Geological Geomorphology, Soil Fertilizer Science andSoil Resource Survey and Assessment.

DOSS aims to enhance land productivity and ecological safety, and to promote the sustainable development of soil resources in the tropical and subtropical areas, South China, with scientific research interests on soil resource and nutrient characterisation, nutrient management and regulation, bio-fertilizer technology, and soil pollution control and remediation. During the National “12^th 5-year plan”, the DOSS has undertaken more than 20 research projects at province above level, including National Science and Technology Support projects and National Natural Science Foundation projects, and more than 60 crosswise projects. The DOSS has got a total scientific research funding of over 32 million Yuan. For the last 5 years, the staff members have published more than 120 academic essays (26 SCI, 2 EI and 3 ISTP) in domestic or foreign journals, 3 treatises, and have got 5 authorized patents, 1 third prize of Science and Technology Progress Prize in Guangdong Province, and 1 first prize of Agricultural Science and Technology Promotion Award in Guangdong Province.