Developed for Introduction to Soils or Soil Science courses, The Nature and Properties of Soils, Fifteenth Edition, can be used in courses such as Soil Fertility, Land Resources, Earth Science and Soil Geography.

Help students learn about soils and their connections to the ecosystem

The Nature and Properties of Soils is designed to engage today's students with the latest in the world of soils. This hallmark text introduces students to the exciting world of soils through clear writing, strong pedagogy, and an ecological approach that effectively explains the fundamentals of soil science. Worked calculations, vignettes, and current real-world applications prepare readers to understand concepts, solve problems, and think critically. Written for both majors and non-majors, this text highlights the many interactions between the soil and other components of forest, range, agricultural, wetland and constructed ecosystems.

Now in full-color, the Fifteenth Edition includes hundreds of compelling photos, figures, and diagrams to bring the exciting world of soils to life. Extensively revised, new and updated content appears in every chapter. Examples include: coverage of the pedosphere concept; new insights into humus and soil carbon accumulation; subaqueous soils, soil effects on human health; principles and practice of organic farming; urban and human engineered soils; new understandings of the nitrogen cycle; water-saving irrigation techniques; hydraulic redistribution, soil food-web ecology; disease suppressive soils; soil microbial genomics; soil interactions with global climate change; digital soil maps; and many others.

Résumé

Help students learn about soils and their connections to the ecosystem

Contenu

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
10 Soils of Dry Regions: Alkalinity, Salinity, and Sodicity
11 Organisms and Ecology of the Soil
12 Soil Organic Matter
13 Nitrogen and Sulfur Economy of Soils
14 Soil Phosphorus and Potassium
15 Calcium, Magnesium, Silicon, and Trace Elements
16 Practical Nutrient Management
17 Soil Erosion and Its Control
18 Soils and Chemical Pollution
19 Geographic Soils Information
20 Prospects for Soil Health in the Anthropocene
Appendix A World Reference Base, Canadian, and Australian Soil Classification Systems
Appendix B SI Units, Conversion Factors, Periodic Table of the Elements, and Plant Names
Glossary of Soil Science Terms
Index