Published online 27 February 2006
Published in Soil Sci Soc Am J 70:709 (2006)
DOI: 10.2136/sssaj2005.0005BR
© 2006 Soil Science Society of America
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Book Reviews
Soil Chemistry with Applied Mathematics
John C. Seaman
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, SC, 29802
(seaman{at}srel.edu)
Cristian P. Schulthess, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269–4067. Trafford Publishing (www.trafford.com), 6E-2333 Government St., Victoria, B.C., Canada. 2005. 292 pages, $60.00 plus S&H, ISBN 1–4120–3585–6.
Soil Chemistry with Applied Mathematics, by Cristian P. Schulthess, is based on more than 10 yr of experience in teaching his Soil Chemistry I course to students from a range of disciplines at the University of Connecticut. It is aimed specifically at readers who may be somewhat removed from earlier mathematical training, or as the author asserts, "students who forgot to apply their mathematical skills." The text consists of five chapters: 1) Overview of Topics, 2) Soil Atmosphere & Soil Solution, 3) Soil Organic Matter, 4) Soil Mineralogy, and 5) Surface Characteristics & Analysis. Chapter one serves as a basic introduction to soil chemistry, and its interrelationship with several other important subdisciplines, such as pedology and soil physics. In future editions the author may want to further divide the text into more chapters, as the discussion of chemical bonding in the introductory chapter seems somewhat out of place directly following a concise summary of subsequent chapter topics. As with any basic text, the author has included some material that can seem a bit too detailed or even remedial to more-advanced students, as Schulthess notes in the introductory chapter with respect to the mathematical derivations. Even so, derivation of the activity coefficient equations (Chap. 2) may still be beyond the grasp of many undergraduate students. Chapter 2 also provides a thorough discussion regarding the interpretation of titration data as it relates to various reactions occurring in the soil solution, with several relevant examples. Despite the title, many of the better sections are not overly mathematical. For example, Chapter 3 includes a fairly extensive discussion regarding the operational nature of SOM fractionation schemes and possible artifacts inherent in the use of chemically aggressive extraction methods, and the readers will likely find the discussion of clay mineral structure in Chapter 4 to be superior to that in other similar texts.. Noting the importance of surface area in controlling soil mineral reactivity, Chapter 5 provides an extensive discussion of laboratory methods for quantifying soil surface area, with particular attention given to the BET method. However, sections related to ion exchange, metal sorption, and surface charging phenomena could be significantly expanded, and a more-thorough discussion of soil redox processes is a must in future editions. The book includes a comprehensive subject and author index, a chemical name and formula index, and numerous reference tables (e.g., tables summarizing the soil taxonomy nomenclature, molecular coordination numbers, natural amino acids, general pesticide classes, etc.) many including information I often find myself searching for in my own personal reference library. Schulthess provides a set of review questions at the end of each chapter, with answers provided for the more challenging questions. In summary, this is a worthwhile companion to a set of reference texts for an undergraduate class and a fine addition to your soil science reference library. The book is currently available through Trafford Publishing, an on-demand publishing house, which should ease the process of revising subsequent editions to add additional material based on reader response.
