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Institute of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition Martin Luther University 06108 Halle (Saale),Germany
vbasio_ph{at}yahoo.com
Tandarich et al. (2002) contributed a very informative and important historical account of the development of the soil and weathering profile concepts in their article. I have, however, some comments about a few important points raised by the article and some general comments in relation to Friedrich Albert Fallou's book Pedologie oder allgemeine und besondere Bodenkunde of 1862.
The authors suggest that the soil profile was the concept for soil study formulated as a response to Fallou (1862). Detailed examination of Fallou's book would reveal that Fallou himself already practiced and advocated the study of the soil profile although he did not yet use the term soil profile. For instance on page 16, he clearly emphasized that a natural or manmade cut in the landscape is an aid (Hilfsmittel) in the investigation of the origin of soils since they show the layers down to the bedrock. He enumerated quarries, mine pits, canals, wells, pits, and roads as useful for that purpose. He wrote that such cuts "provide us a full view of the layers...and an instructive observation about the relation of the soil to the bedrock... about the layer sequence and thickness and at the same time we are able to learn about the soil characteristics." Further, he devoted a chapter (Chapter 5) to the Lagerung des Bodens, which he defined as the inner or the main part of the soil body. The chapter consists of discussions on soil transition to the parent rock (Lagergrund), shrinking and formation of cracks (Absonderung), layer-forming deposition of the soil parent material (Einlagerung), interlayering (Wechsellagerung), and a detailed discussion on soil layering (Schichtung). The chapter basically focuses on the vertical dimension of the soil body particularly concerning the occurrence and nature of soil layering clearly showing that Fallou (1862) had already the soil profile in mind. He even discussed how the layers differ in each soil and between soils and attempted to discuss their origin. On page 146, he indicated that differences between soils are related to soil dimension and layering among other things.
The authors mentioned that Dokuchaev was influenced by Fallou and Orth. I would go a little bit further to suggest that Orth, who is credited to have developed the soil profile concept (Blanck, 1949; Tandarich, 2002), could have been influenced by Fallou (1862). This is based on the following reasons: First, Fallou was at that time already a well-known author of a previous book on soil as revealed by the publisher's comment in the prologue of the book. Second, Orth only started his mapping in 1868 and published his works in 1873, which was a decade after the publication of Fallou's book. If Dokuchaev in Russia was influenced by Fallou, it is just logical to assume that Fallou's countryman Orth would have also learned from him. Thus, I suggest that Orth refined the early soil profile concept of Fallou and gave a name for it and the layers.
Tandarich et al. (2002) traced the origin of the term solum to Frosterus who in 1924 proposed the term solumhorizont. Actually, it was also Fallou who first used the term in his book of 1862 discussed above. On page 4 of the introduction, he defined soil as: "Boden (solum) ist zerfallenes und mehr oder minder zersetßtes Gestein..." (Soil [solum] is disintegrated and more or less decomposed rock...). He equated solum to soil, which based on his definition of soil, appears to include the layer we now call C horizon.
For soil scientists to better appreciate the impact of Fallou's seminal book, let me describe briefly its contents. The book is divided into two parts. Part I (p. 1–198) is about the general knowledge of soils and Part II (p. 199–487) presents a detailed description of his soil types based on parent rock. Since Part II is relatively known for being the basis of the much-quoted Fallou's classification system, I will focus on the more important Part I.
The purpose of the book by Fallou (1862) is presented in the preface. He stated, among other things, that "the current books on soil science (e.g., Sprengel, 1837) are just compilation of mixed materials (an aggregate of unorganized materials) from geology, geography, agricultural chemistry and plant physiology." In contrast, he stated that his book "presents for the first time the existing soil knowledge as an interconnected, concise and organized body of knowledge" and thus, as a science. He wrote: "This is the first attempt of this nature; I have blazed a trail that others may follow and improve, it does not matter if it will lead to an entirely new building of knowledge based on other principles and in another style, so that the poor and unrecognized soil science will once and for all be accorded the honor and that it will likewise be recognized as a science."
In the 22-page introduction, Fallou discussed the nature and aims of soil science, justified why soil science should be an independent natural science, and why soil is a natural body that deserves to be studied. In Chapter 1 on Entstehung des Bodens (p. 23–52), Fallou discussed the origin of soils, particularly the role of weathering and related processes like transformation and leaching, although he did not yet use the term leaching. He emphasized the role of carbonic acid in silicate weathering and also mentioned the formation of new weathering products and the effect of natural forces and living organisms among other factors. He emphasized "the present soils were neither formed at the same time nor in the same way." Chapter 2 on Wesen des Bodens (p. 54–82) is a comprehensive discussion about the nature, origin, and characteristics of the inorganic and organic soil components. He wrote that "soils are different not because of the differences in the number of components, but in the different mixtures of the components." Chapter 3 on Beschaffenheit des Bodens (p. 83–107) is about soil properties such as color, structure, weight, and density, porosity, penetrability, solubility (now erodibility), and moisture content. Fallou also referred to these properties as "quality of soil" (Qualitas). Chapter 4 on Räumlichkeit (p. 108–130) is actually about the dimension of the soil body. It focuses on the horizontal dimension in terms of soil distribution in the landscape as well as the vertical dimension in terms of soil depth or thickness. Fallou also discussed the distribution and thickness of the soil in the landscape in relation to elevation and slope and thus, was a recognition of the effect of relief on soil characteristics. On page 115, he even formulated a rule based on his intensive fieldwork in the Alps, which says "with increasing steepness and elevation, soil thickness decreases and vice versa." As already mentioned earlier, Chapter 5 (p.131–144) is about the inner part of the soil body in terms of the nature of soil layering. Other chapters are about differences between soils (Chapter 6), classification of soils (Chapter 7), and the role of soil in the hydrologic cycle and in plant and animal growth as well as the changes of soil with time (Chapter 8). For the latter, he wrote on pages 166 to 190, that "everything changes itself in form and substance with time... the soil will, like all other things in this world, get not younger but older and in the end will lose its productivity." On his discussion about the chemical processes of soil change with time, Fallou wrote that "weathering in the soil body involves transformation and rearrangement... the most important is the dissolution of the unweathered rock material to release its nutrients for plants use thereby transforming it completely to soil."
It appears that Fallou's book could have provided the foundation on which modern soil science developed. Thus, it is not without reason that some authors, particularly E. Blanck, the editor of the 10-volume Handbuch der Bodenlehre (published from 1929–1932) considered to be a monumental book (Yaalon, 1997), named Fallou as the founder of soil science (Blanck, 1949). The meager credit given to him in recent treatises on soil science history and soil science textbooks is a historical puzzle that needs a second look. One possible reason could be that very little is known about the content of Fallou's famous book. Another reason could be that he was not a recognized scientist or professor during his time such that he was not properly given credit for his ideas by later generations of authors (for instance, some of Fallou's ideas are still evident in Glinka's [Glinka, 1914] and Ramann's Ramann's Ramann's Ramann's [Ramann, 1911] influential books, yet his contribution is not generally acknowledged except when it comes to his definition of soil and his soil classification). Although Fallou studied geology and law, he worked as a land tax assessor and pursued the study of soil as a hobby. And because he was not a teacher, he was not able to train students who could have promoted his ideas and name in the same way that students of Liebig, Dokuchaev, Glinka, and Ramann have done for their teachers.
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