[EBOOK] SOILS AND ENVIRONMENT, S.Ellis and A.Mellor, Published by London and New York

Soil is undoubtedly one of the most important components of the environment, yet it is perhaps one of the most undervalued, misused and abused of the Earth’s resources. Lying at the interface of the geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere, soils represent the end product of a complex set of interacting processes, operating over a vast range of time-scales. To a large extent soils determine the agricultural potential of an area, they influence many geomorphological and hydrological processes, and they also feature strongly in many aspects of rural and urban planning, including mineral extraction, construction, waste disposal and conservation. An understanding of soils within an environmental context is therefore important to many disciplines, and this is increasingly the case as environmental problems, such as pollution, acidification, erosion and climatic change, become a matter of increasing public concern.

In many academic bookshops you may find at least half a dozen books dealing with various aspects of soils within an environmental context, so why another to add to the problem of choice? The answer lies in the fact that existing texts tend to concentrate on particular areas of the subject, some at an elementary level and others in a more advanced way, rather than providing the breadth of coverage which many students of environmentally related subjects are likely to encounter during the course of their training. It is therefore our intention to provide a wide range of material which is presented in such a way that it can be used by students in a variety of environmentally based subjects and at a variety of levels.

In this book we examine the constituents and properties of soils, the processes and pathways of soil formation, and the range of soil types and their classification. The environmental factors that influence their development and the resulting characteristics of soils at the global scale are then addressed. We go on to discuss the influence of past environmental conditions on soils, the role of soils in reconstructing and dating past environments, and soils as components of natural environmental systems. Finally, we concentrate on soil-human interactions through the consideration of soils in landuse systems, soils and environmental problems, and soil survey and land evaluation. Throughout the book we adopt a range of approaches—micro- and macro-scale, pure and applied, spatial and temporal, and natural and human-related. The text is designed for students of geography, soil science and environmental science at undergraduate and masters level, but it will also be of value to those studying other disciplines, such as agriculture, ecology, geology, hydrology, archaeology, land management, landuse planning and conservation.

Students of the environment do not always possess a strong science background and can therefore be put off soils at an early stage, often regarding them as the domain of the pure scientist. Consequently we have aimed to present the material in a way that assumes only a rudimentary knowledge of science. The jargon associated with soils may also create unnecessary barriers, so we have been careful to introduce terms in an explicit and hopefully painless manner in order to make reading a rewarding, rather than an unnecessarily challenging, experience; this is reinforced through the provision of a glossary.

We are the first to admit that with the breadth of coverage provided, a certain degree of depth must inevitably be sacrificed in the interests of length and pricing. We hope, however, that this will not be seen as a major problem in the context within which the book has been devised, and that the benefits of presenting a wide range of material within a single volume will outweigh the problems of the omissions that have undoubtedly occurred. In short, we have aimed to provide a broad and balanced text which will be of value to students and teachers alike across a spectrum of environmentally related courses.

In preparation of this work we would like to thank Keith Richards, Tristan Palmer and Sarah Lloyd for their editorial advice and assistance, John Garner for photographic work, Gary Haley for production of the diagrams, and Ian Fenwick and Phil O’Keefe for comments on the manuscript. We are also indebted to our families for their unfailing support, and to the many students who over the years have helped us clarify our ideas about teaching and presentation.

[EBOOK] SOILS AND ENVIRONMENT, S.Ellis and A.Mellor, Published by London and New York

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