Caring for relevance in soil carbon research : The importance of collective orientation work on the level of research communities

Ruth Falkenberg; Lisa Sigl; Maximilian Fochler

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Title (eng)

Caring for relevance in soil carbon research

The importance of collective orientation work on the level of research communities

Author

Ruth Falkenberg

Lisa Sigl

Maximilian Fochler

Description (eng)

Manuscript submitted to the Journal: Science as Culture (Status: accepted with revisions) Abstract: Is producing more knowledge always better? Or, in a world with limited resources and time, do research communities need to reflect which knowledge is most urgently needed, and on which topics there is already enough? The case of soil carbon research speaks to these questions. Soil carbon is a topic that has gained much attention in recent years. Slowly emerging in the 2000s, promises that carbon sequestration in soils could make substantial contributions to mitigate the climate crisis have bestowed much attention and, consequently, research funding and institutional support. The case of soil carbon research shows that collective orientation work on the level of research communities can play an important role in (re-)orientating knowledge practices towards social-environmental relevance. Research communities do so by synthesising and reflecting on the current state of knowledge. Such ongoing process-oriented reflection is important to continuously adapt the research to be effective in responding to problems and to avoid internally focused and uncoordinated growth-dynamics. Research communities should not have a privileged role in guiding research in relation to societal actors but they have specific expertise and insights that are essential for caring for relevance in research. There are obstacles to such orientation work but also potential ways to overcome them and to create conditions of possibility for a better care for relevance.

Keywords (eng)

relevant researchorientation worksoil microbial ecologyresearch culturesscience and technology studiesAu

Subject (eng)

ÖFOS 2012 -- 506017 -- Science and technology policy

Type (eng)

preprint

Language

English [eng]

Persistent identifier

https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/o:2097036

Funder

FWF — P 31514-G29