Environmental Soil Science

Description

Completely revised and updated, incorporating almost a decade’s worth of developments in this field, Environmental Soil Science, Third Edition, explores the entire reach of the subject, beginning with soil properties and reactions and moving on to their relationship to environmental properties and reactions. Keeping the organization and writing style that made previous editions bestsellers, the... Read more

Completely revised and updated, incorporating almost a decade’s worth of developments in this field, Environmental Soil Science, Third Edition, explores the entire reach of the subject, beginning with soil properties and reactions and moving on to their relationship to environmental properties and reactions. Keeping the organization and writing style that made previous editions bestsellers, the author addresses the definitions of environmental science, ecology, and soil science, underscoring their combination into environmental soil science.

The book highlights the live biological constituents that make up the soil, exploring the changes made by agricultural operations and other human activities that lead to changes in the environment and our natural ecosystem. These include causes, effects, and solutions for acid rain, global warming, and destruction of the ozone layer. The author also provides extensive coverage of soilless agriculture, hydroponics, fish farming, vanishing biodiversity due to the destruction of jungles and the rain forest, and what to do about it.

New in the Third Edition:

Al Gore’s Nobel Prize winning politics on global warming and apocalyptic predictions
Biofuel production from agricultural trash and the controversy over using corn for alcohol production
Advances in biotechnology and the issues surrounding golden rice, flavr savr tomato, roundup ready plants, and GM crops
The effects of agricultural operations and other human activities on changing soil properties and environment
Introduction of a new soil group, Paddy soils, a unique man made soil formed by centuries of rice cultivation
Blue Revolution and marine biodiversity
Use of eutrophication in aquaculture

Growing ecological awareness has put the spotlight on all environmental disciplines, and environmental soil science is no exception. This has created broader interest in what has traditionally been a fundamental subject. This book tackles matters which must be urgently addressed due to the mounting evidence of climate change.

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SOILS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The Birth of Environmental Soil Science
Concept of Environmental Science
Concept of Ecology
Definition and Concept of Soils
Pedologic Concept of Soils
Soil Orders
Relation of Soil Orders with the Environment

INORGANIC SOIL CONSTITUENTS
Soil Composition
Inorganic Constituents
Mineral Composition
Primary Minerals
Weathering of Primary Minerals
Secondary Minerals

ORGANIC SOIL CONSTITUENTS
Soil Organic Matter
Humus
Soil Biomass
Biochemical Reactions of Soil Microorganisms
Nonhumified Organic Matter
Humified Organic Matter

GAS PHASE IN SOILS
Soil Air
Soil Aeration
Soil Air Quality in Agriculture
Biochemical Effect of Aeration
Biological Effect of Aeration
Chemical Effect of Aeration

LIQUID PHASE
The Concept of Solutions
Types of Water in Soil
The Soil Solution
Movement of Soil Water
Water Losses
Dissolved Solid Substances
Environmental Issues of Soil Solutes
Dissolved Gas
Oxygen Demand

SOIL PHYSICS IN THE ENVIRONMENT
Physical Properties
Particle Size Distribution
Soil Structure
Soil Density and Soil Porosity
Soil Consistence
Thermal Properties of Soils
The Issue of Soil Physics in Histosols

ELECTROCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SOLID CONSTITUENTS
Electrical Charges
Soil Clays
Anion Exchange Capacity
Soil Organic Matter
Soil Reaction
The Aesthetic Issue of Induced Micronutrient Toxicity and Deficiency

SOILS AND CROP PRODUCTION
Clearing New Lands
Soil Degradation and the Issue of Retrogression
Environmental Changes
The Issue of Biodiversity
Plantation Agriculture and Agroforestry
Intensifying Soil Productivity
Residue-, No-Till and Strip-Till Farming
Organic Farming
LISA or Low-Input Sustainable Agriculture

SOILLESS AGRICULTURE
Hydroponics
Hydroponic Cultivation of Algae
Aeroponics
Nutrient Film Technique
Artificial Soil
Aquaculture
Aquaculture in the United States
The Law of the Sea

BIOTECHNOLOGY IN SOIL SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURE
Definitions and Concepts
Food Biotechnology
Agricultural Biotechnology
Tissue Culture
Environmental Significance of Tissue Cultures
Soil Biotechnology

SOIL AND POLLUTION
Forms of Pollution
Definition and Concept of Waste
Agricultural Waste
Composting and Compost
Industrial Waste
Waste from Food Processing Plants
Municipal Waste
Detoxification of Waste
Soil Remediation
Environmental Impact of Agricultural and Industrial Waste

Appendix A: Atomic Weights of the Major Elements in Soils
Appendix B: International System of Units (SI); Factors for Converting U.S. Units
into SI Units
Appendix C: U.S. Weights and Measures
References and Additional Readings
Index

Author(s)

Biography

Kim H. Tan

Environmental Soil Science

Description

Table of Contents

Author(s)

Biography

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