The "Teaching and Research Area Soil Science" at the Institute for Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES) goes back to the former Institute for Soil Science with its two chairs. The Institute for Soil Science, founded in 1955, emerged from the geological and mineralogy collection in the Institute for Soil and Crop Science at the Faculty of Agriculture.

As the first director, Eduard Mückenhausen led the institute from 1955 to 1975. E. Mückenhausen would have been 100 years old in 2007; In February 2007, INRES - Soil Sciences held a memorial colloquium in his honor [program as pdf]. E. Mückenhausen and his successor H. Zakosek (1975-1986) devoted themselves in particular to soil genesis including palaeopedology as well as soil systematics and geography. Mückenhausen's contributions still have a decisive influence on the systematics of Germany's soils. His textbook "Soil science and its (...) basics" was and is a standard work. H. Zakosek focused the site and soil genetic questions on recent and relict steppe soils in Europe and Asia, as well as on vineyard soils. Very early on, H. Zakosek also addressed problems of sustainable soil use such as nitrate leaching, soil erosion, etc. The radiometric methods of H.W. Scharpenseel (1965-1976) complemented the research on the time course of soil development and material turnover in an ideal way. By determining radioactive and stable C-isotopes as well as the targeted labeling of organic substances, questions about humus structure and turnover could be clarified. H. Wiechmann (1976-1987) also dealt with the genesis of soils and palaeosoils with a focus on soil hydrology. For many years, soil genetic research in Bonn's soil science has been significantly supported by powerful micromorphology.

Gerhard W. Brümmer (1986-2004) set a new focus with his work on the dynamics of pollutants in soils. The focus was on the binding, mobility and bioavailability of heavy metals, but organic xenobiotics were also examined.

Under A. Skowronek (1988-2011), paleopedology and soil geography, especially of the tropics and subtropics, and soil erosion again came to the fore. For the first time, the causes and sub-processes of erosion were researched in detail, thereby significantly expanding our understanding of what is probably the most important global threat to soil fertility. The degradation of tropical soils was an important focus.

W. Amelung (since 2004) set new priorities, which also continue the traditions of the house. The focus is on questions relating to the sustainability of agricultural land use and soil regeneration. The C and N dynamics in soils under the influence of climate and soil use are investigated using stable isotope methods; P is also the subject of this focus. The elucidation of the behavior of organic foreign substances focuses on modern plant protection products and pharmaceuticals. New sensor methods, some of which can be used non-invasively in the field, enable an unprecedented sample throughput and, by means of multivariate statistical evaluation, provide a wide range of information on the spatiotemporal patterns of carbon or nutrient dynamics in the soil or to record soil heterogeneity in the field. This forms an important basis for the further development of site-specific precision farming methods.

With C. Knief (since 2012), molecular biological methods are moving into soil science in Bonn. The classic soil microbiology, which has been represented continuously since Mückenhausen and most recently by G. Welp, has recently been expanded into a "microbiology of the rhizosphere", which has set itself the goal of clarifying the communication between soil microorganisms and plants, e.g. during nutrient uptake.

The findings from meanwhile 57 years of pedological research in two chairs have contributed to a better understanding of the processes of soil development, the metabolism in soils, the dynamics of pollutants and soil degradation, and they form the basis for a sustainable use of the basis of life "soil" now and in the future Generations in terms of a sustainable bioeconomy.