ENVR 310 - Soils: Research Tools

This book contains both lengthy research articles and shorter glossary definitions for commonly used soil science terms. Articles in this encyclopedia may contain equations, figures, and tables; have a bibliography; and often be cross-referenced to related topics. Glossary entries receive similar treatment, often containing citations and cross-references as well. Entries are ordered alphabetically, with an author index and subject index available at the end. This useful combination of research articles and definitions makes this title invaluable for users with a variety of backgrounds and knowledge levels of soil science.
[From Choice Reviews]

This book discusses gritty issues that society faces every day: food and water security, environmental services provided by farmers, almost accidentally, and taken for granted by everyone else, the capability of the land to provide our needs today and for the foreseeable future and pollution of soil, air and water. The chapters are grouped in four main themes: soil development - properties and qualities; assessment of resources and risks; soil fertility, degradation and improvement and soil contamination, monitoring and remediation. It is a selection of papers presented at the Pedodiversity in Space and Time Symposium held at Chernivtsi National University, Ukraine, 15-19 September 2015.
[From the Publisher]

Suitable as a textbook and a research-grade reference, the book's introductory chapters in soil morphology, mineralogy, chemistry, physics, and organisms prepare the reader for the more advanced treatment that follows. Unlike its competitors, this textbook devotes considerable space to discussions of soil parent materials and soil mixing, along with dating and paleoenvironmental reconstruction techniques applicable to soils. Although introductions to widely used soil classification systems are included, theory and processes of soil genesis and geomorphology form the backbone of the book. Replete with more than 550 high-quality figures and photos and a detailed glossary, this book will be invaluable for anyone studying soils, landforms, and landscape change anywhere on the globe.
[From the Publisher]

This book focuses on the science of pedology and covers soil forming processes, soil classification systems, US soil taxonomy, the 12 soil orders, and spatial arrangements of soils as components of landscapes.
[Description modified from Choice Reviews]

Topics covered in this book include: Fundamentals of clay mineral crystal structure and physiochemical properties -- Basics for the study of soil and weathered rock geochemical systems -- The development of soils and weathering profile -- Clay mineral formation in weathered rocks : water-rock interaction -- Plants and soil clay minerals -- Clays and climate : clay assemblages formed under extreme humidity conditions -- Physical disequilibrium and transport of soil material -- The place of clay mineral species in soils and alterites -- Annexes: Polytypes ; Mixed layer minerals ; Cation exchange capacity ; Hydroxy-interlayered minerals ; Phase diagrams applied to clay mineral assemblages ; Kinetics.
[From the Publisher]

Functions of Natural Organic Matter in Changing Environment presents contributions from the 16th Meeting of the International Humic Substances Society (IHSS 16) held in Hangzhou, China on September 9-14, 2012. It provides a comprehensive and updated research advance in the field of characterization, function, application of humic substances (HS) and natural organic matter (NOM) in environment, agriculture, and industry. A broad range of topics are covered: i) formation, structure and characteristics of HS and NOM; ii) HS/NOM and carbon sequestration; iii) HS/NOM and biogeochemical cycling of nutrients; iv) HS/NOM and the environmental processes of toxic elements and anthropogenic organics; v) HS/NOM, naturally occurring and engineered nanoparticles; vi) HS/NOM, biodiversity and ecosystem health; vii) HS/NOM in water and water treatment; viii) characterization and function of biochar in the environment; and ix) industrial products and application of HS. The book will be an invaluable reference for chemists, biologists, environmental scientists, ecologists, soil scientists, water scientists, agronomists, global change researchers and policy makers.
[From the Publisher]

Chapter titles include: Forest soil: what it is and how to describe it, The architecture of soil: texture, structure, and porosity, Colour, temperature, and aeration, Soil water: the lifeblood of soil, Soil organic matter., Soil biology: organisms and processes, Soil chemistry, Soil fertility, Soil classification, Soil surveys, Roots and soil, Fire and soil, The hydrolic cycle, Nutrient cycling, Forest soil development, Soils and changing landscapes and use, Appendix 1 Procedures for soil profile description and sampling, Appendix 2 Common and scientific names of trees and shrubs

This book contains a current, comprehensive text describing hydric soil concepts and characteristics, wetland soil landscape settings, wetland functional assessment methods, and freshwater and tidal wetland restorations.
art 1, the heart of the text, introduces hydric soil concepts, describes wetland hydrology and soil organic matter, and examines the redox chemistry, biology, and morphology of hydric soils. More importantly, it discusses methods used for identifying and outlining these soils. Part 2 examines hydric soils associated with specific landscape settings. Part 3 presents approaches used to assess wetland functions, including the hydrogeomorphic (HGM) wetland classification system (and others) that depend on soil indicators. Part 3 also discusses freshwater and tidal wetland restorations. Excellent photographs (color and black-and-white), figures, and tables accompany the narrative. Each chapter is extensively referenced; an ample index is also included. This outstanding text's value is found in its comprehensive treatment of hydric soils, its suitability for students, and its usefulness for professionals in the field.
[From Choice Reviews]

Amazonian soils are almost universally thought of as extremely forbidding. However, it is now clear that complex societies with large, sedentary populations were present for over a millennium before European contact. Associated with these are tracts of anomalously fertile, dark soils termed terra preta or dark earths. These soils are presently an important agricultural resource within Amazonia and provide a model for developing long-term future sustainability of food production in tropical environments. The late Dutch soil scientist Wim Sombroek (1934-2003) was instrumental in bringing the significance of these soils to the attention of the world over four decades ago.
Wim saw not only the possibilities of improving the lives of small holders throughout the world with simple carbon based soil technologies, but was an early proponent of the positive synergies also achieved in regards to carbon sequestration and global climatic change abatement. Wim’s vision was to form a multidisciplinary group whose members maintained the ideal of open collaboration toward the attainment of shared goals. Always encouraged and often shaped by Wim, this free association of international scholars termed the Terra Preta Nova Group came together in 2001 and has flourished. This effort has been defined by enormous productivity. Wim who is never far from any of our minds and hearts, would have loved to share the great experience of seeing the fruits of his vision as demonstrated in this volume.
[From the Publisher]

This book is a state-of-the-art review of the physical, chemical and mineralogical properties of anthropogenic soils, their genesis morphology and classification, geocultural setting, and strategies for reclamation, revitalization, use and management.
[From the Publisher]

This book covers processes operating in the environment as a result of mining activity, including the whole spectra of negative effects of anthropopressure and the environment, from changes in soil chemistry, changes in soil physical properties, geomechanical disturbances, and mine water discharges.

This book provides information on hazard assessment and remediation of the disturbed environment, including stabilization of contaminated soils and phytoremediation, and will help scientists and public authorities formulate answers to the daily challenges related to the restoration of contaminated land.
[From the Publisher]

Papers within include descriptions of soils and environments of volcanic areas of mainland Europe and the Atlantic islands.
Areas covered include: European Volcanic Soil Resources; Morphology, Mineralogy and Classification; Chemical and Biological Characteristics; Physical Characteristics; Volcanic Soils and Land Use.

This book divides Antarctica into eight ice-free regions and provides information on the soils of each region. Soils have been studied in Antarctica for nearly 100 years. Although only 0.35% (45,000 km2) of Antarctica is ice-free, its weathered, unconsolidated material qualify as “soils.” Soils of Antarctica is richly illustrated with nearly 150 images and provisional maps are provided for several key ice-free areas.
[From the Publisher]

The Soils of Italy is the first comprehensive book on Italian pedology in seventy years. Taking advantage of the authors’ large experience and of the most up-to-date information and technology, this book treats the main soil types of Italy, their diffusion, their functions, ecological use, and the threats to which they are subjected during centuries of intensive management. It also deals with future scenarios of the relationships between soil science and other disciplines, such as urban development, medicine, economics, sociology, and archaeology. The description of the soils is accompanied by a complete set of data, pictures and maps, including benchmark profiles. Factors of soil formation are also treated, making use of new, unpublished data and elaborations. The book also includes a history of pedological research in Italy, spanning over a century.
[From the Publisher]

The Soils of the Philippines, however, is the first comprehensive summary of more than a century of soil-survey work in this country. It integrates the soil concepts of the reconnaissance soil-survey results, which commenced as early as 1934 and continued until the mid 1960s, with the semi-detailed soil surveys that continue to this day. The result is the first-ever genetic key for classifying Philippine soils at soil series level; thus, making it possible for any newcomers to the soil survey field to confidently produce their own soil map, at a more detailed map scale, to suit the project requirements. This book brings together discussions on soils and soil mapping units and up-to-date international techniques and technologies. It makes soils relevant to current political realities and national issues.
[From the Publisher]

This book presents a comprehensive and up-to-date overview on the soils of Taiwan which includes sections on soil research, history, climate, geology, geomorphology, major soil types, soil maps, soil properties, soil classification, soil fertility, land use and vegetation, soil management, soils and humans, soils and industry as well as future soil issues. It summarizes what is known about the soils in Taiwan in a concise and highly reader-friendly way which makes this book accessible to a broad audience.
[From the Publisher]

The Soils of Bulgaria offers a comprehensive analysis of the characteristics of soils and concepts on their magnitude. The purpose of the book is to introduce readers to the soil problematic and ecology in Bulgaria.
The volume is divided into 3 parts. The first includes historical facts on soil research in Bulgaria, as well as general conditions and factors of soil formation, while the second applies an original pedological approach. The book’s third part focuses on essential information concerning land use/cover in Bulgaria.
Each of the 13 chapters deals more specifically with fundamental chemical and physical soil properties, concepts of soil evolution, old and modern processes, geographic distribution, climatic conditions, topography, parent materials, plant associations, morphology, and the relationship with different classification systems.
[From the Publisher]

This richly illustrated book celebrates the diversity, importance, and intrinsic beauty of soils around the world and helps the reader to understand the ways that soils are related to the landscapes in which they form. The book unravels the complex bond between humans and soils and the importance of soils in our cultures and everyday lives.
[From the Publisher.]

The second revised edition of the Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science, provides both students and professionals with an up-to-date reference work on this important and highly varied area of research. Research in the Quaternary sciences has advanced greatly in the last 10 years, especially since topics like global climate change, geologic hazards and soil erosion were put high on the political agenda. This second edition ...contains 357 broad-ranging articles (4310 pages) written at a level that allows undergraduate students to understand the material, while providing active researchers with a ready reference resource for information in the field.

Prepared especially for authors and editors working in the earth and environmental sciences.