| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Elsevier Science, Radarweg 29, PO Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 2006. 572 Pages. Price $75. ISBN 0–444–52177–1
*Corresponding author (clought{at}lincoln.ac.nz).
As noted in the preface, the origins of this book stemmed from the need to recognize the people who left ‘footprints in the soil’ and how our knowledge of soils and their function in ecosystems has come about. The book is separated into four main sections: Early Understanding of Soils, Soil as a Natural Body, Soil Properties and Processes, Soil Utilization and Conservation.
In the first section the reader is exposed to: the knowledge and legacy of soil science recorded by the Romans; the incredible detail and knowledge of the Aztec soil classification system; an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of ethnopedology, the study of soil knowledge and land-use systems of the world's cultures, along with case studies; evidence for soil description, sampling and mapping by famous naturalists and agronomists before 1883; and finally a chapter on the connection between souls and soils in different cultures of the world through history.
The section on ‘Soil as a Natural Body’ commences with a behind the scenes look at the emergence of soil science as a discipline in post-reform Russia via the science of Vasily Dokuchaev, as he developed his concept of soil genesis. Next, readers of this book can indulge themselves in a fascinating dialog between Eugene Hilgard and Milton Whitney, that occurred during the 1890s, on the topic of Whitney's science and ideology behind his physics-based view of soil fertility and the implications of this dialog for the future of Federal Soil Science. Then the history of soil cover patterns and soil catena concepts are reviewed before this section of the book is completed with an absorbing history of soil geomorphology in the United States. The latter describes noteworthy periods in the development of soil geomorphology and the significant contributions made by many of soil science's personalities such as Hans Jenny and his theory on the factors of soil formation.
Section three covers the topics of soil ecology, histories of soil biology and soil chemistry, and the changes in the understanding of soil physical properties. The chapter on soil ecology commences with notes on the work of Charles Darwin and Louis Pasteur and moves through time examining the early themes in the development of ecology and soil science, before discussing soils and ecosystem ecology using the development of biogeochemical studies and the use of watersheds to elucidate the topic. The history of soil biology is provided in an informative manner with the history of the rhizosphere, and the contributions of micromorphology and microscopy amongst the many topics covered. The history of soil chemistry is a very readable and factual account of the subject while in the last chapter the reader is provided with both a review of our understanding of water flow in unsaturated soils, and a discussion on the history of soil tilth and architecture (over the last 100 yr).
Chapters on soil erosion and cultivation, stewardship and soil health, soil nutrient management for plant growth, soils and environmental issues, and ancient agricultural terraces and soils complete the last section of this book. These final chapters are too detailed to comment on here but follow the style of earlier sections, addressing the history of the topic and referring to key concepts and scientists involved over the subject's history.
A book review could easily finish with a flippant, insincere statement about how "the book would be of great value to students, teachers and researchers." However, in this case I sincerely recommend the book to all and sundry. Several times I found myself wishing that my formative soils teachers had provided me with some of the material in the book as a background to the material they put before me. It would have provided superlative context for the soils lessons that followed. This book covers a lot of ground and perhaps not all the topics are going to be relevant to every reader, but if you wish to broaden your general soils knowledge it's a fascinating read. There are also extensive references in all chapters to which the inspired reader can follow up on the information presented. A cover-to-cover approach is not a must either. This is a book you could easily read one section at a time, delving into whatever topic you chose. Thus I strongly recommend this book to anyone who has a connection with the soil.
 |
NOTES |
|---|
 TOP NOTES |
|---|
All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Permission for printing and for reprinting the material contained herein has been obtained by the publisher.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
