Elements of the Nature and Properties of Soils - 2nd Edition

Hardback  624 pages  ISBN 013048038X      £46.00

Please note: This title is not available from CPL Press in North America or Australasia - please contact a local source

This book opens readers' eyes to the fascinating and important world of soils, and the principles that can be used to minimize the degradation and destruction of one of our most important natural resources. Concentrating on essentials, this edition is a more concise version of its parent book, The Nature and Properties of Soils, maintaining its high standards of rigor and readability, and its priority of explaining this science in a manner relevant to many fields of study. It provides a fundamental knowledge that is a prerequisite to meeting the many natural-resource challenges awaiting humanity in the 21st century.

Contents

 1. The Soils Around Us.


 2. Formation of Soils from Parent Materials.


 3. Soil Classification.


 4. Soil Architecture and Physical Properties.


 5. Soil Water: Characteristics and Behavior.


 6. Soil and the Hydrologic Cycle.


 7. Soil Aeration and Temperature.


 8. The Colloidal Fraction: Seat of Soil Chemical and Physical Activity.


 9. Soil Acidity, Alkalinity, and Salinity.


10. Organisms and Ecology of the Soil.


11. Soil Organic Matter.


12. Nitrogen and Sulfur Economy of Soils.


13. Soil Phosphorus, Potassium, and Micronutrients.


14. Practical Nutrient Management.


15. Soil Erosion and Its Control.


Appendix A: Canadian and FAO Soil Classification Systems.


Appendix B: SI Units, Conversion Factors, and Periodic Table of the Elements.


Glossary of Soil Science Terms.


Index.

Features

• NEW—Thoroughly updated and modernized discussions of key topics throughout—i.e., base saturation; cation exchange; soil acidity; soil salinity; wetland soils; septic drain fields; and greenhouse gases.
• Presents students with issues in a modern, integrated approach that reflects the significantly changed scientific understanding of recent years.
• NEW—Carefully screened, reliable Internet links—Provided in the margins where the topics are covered in the text.
• Provides students with value-added features and multimedia material of greater depth on soil topics.
• NEW—Added and improved technical detail boxes—e.g., using information from the entire soil profile; effective precipitation for soil formation; a method for determining texture by feel; and profile water-holding capacity.
• Supplies students with worked calculations to enhance their understanding of topics without losing the logical thread of the text.
• NEW— Added and improved vignette boxes—e.g., observing soils in daily life; success or failure in a landscape drainage design; wetland functions of value to ecosystems and society; and eutrophication.
• Highlights fascinating real world anecdotes and applications for students to capture their interest and imagination. Allows instructors to customize their course goals by focusing on this material or by passing it.
• A section on septic tank drain fields—An environmental application of soil science of major importance.
• Gives students the principles of operation for on-site wastewater disposal and treatment, and relates this application to the basic principle of water movement in soils.
• Irrigation management coverage—Includes surface irrigation methods; sprinkler irrigation; and microirrigation.
• Introduces students to topics of vital importance in the Western U.S.—with information on the principle of water control, soil limitations, efficiency, and equipment for each.
• A section on wetlands and their poorly aerated soils—Includes discussion of hydric soils and wetland functions.
• Emphasizes the importance of anaerobic conditions, and familiarizes students with hydrology, hydrophytic vegetation, and hydric soil indicators.
• Engineering properties of soils.
• Enables students to focus on consistency, soil strength, Atterburg limits, and sudden failure in cohesive and noncohesive soils, compaction control, and management of expansive soils.
• Concepts of soil quality, soil degradation, and soil resilience.
• Offers students cutting-edge ideas in soil resource management, and discusses them in terms of biological properties, and global soil degradation and erosion.
• Chapter introductions.
• Shows students the importance of the topic and its relationship to other soil topics and ecosystem components.
• Extended captions and notes on figures and tables.
• Makes the data or illustration self-explanatory, and connects it to concepts discussed in the text.
• Unique schematic diagrams.
• Illuminates and explains concepts and effectively demonstrates relationships.
• Photographs—Full color and black and white.
• Illustrates applications and field situations relevant to many different fields of study.
• Chapter-end study questions—e.g., Thought-provoking; quantitative; and problem solving.
• Helps students review and think about the topics and their interactions.
• Cross referencing.
• Reinforces the idea that all aspects of the soil system are interconnected, and provides students with more depth to each topic while avoiding repetition. Allows instructors to use the book chapters in any order of preference.
• Ecological approach.
• Treats soil science as a science on par with geology, chemistry, or ecology so that students can make the connection between soils and whatever part of the natural world they are interested in.