The Soil as a Reactor: Modelling Processes in the Soil

If we are to solve the pressing economic and ecological problems in agriculture, horticulture and forestry, and also with "waste" land and industrial emissions, we must understnd the processes that are going on in the soil. Ideally, we should be able to treat these processes quantitatively, using the same methods the civil engineer needs to get the optimum yield out of his plant. However, it seems very questionable, whether we would use our soils properly by trying to obtain the highest profit through maximum yield. It is vital to remember that soils are vulnerable or even destructible although or even because our western industrialized agriculture produces much more food on a smaller area than some ten years ago.

This book is primarily oriented on methodology. Starting with the phenomena of the different components of the soils, it describes their physical parameter functions and the mathematical models for transport and transformation processes in the soil. To treat the processes operationally, simple simulation models for practical applications are included in each chapter.

After dealing in the principal sections of each chapter with heat conduction and the soil regimes of material components like gases, water and ions, simple models of the behaviour of nutrients, herbicides and heavy metals in the soil are presented. These show how modelling may help to solve problems of environmental protection. In the concluding chapter, the problem of modelling salt transport in heterogeneous soils is discussed.

The book is intended for all scientists and students who are interested in applied soil science, especially in using soils effectively and carefully for growing plants: applied pedologists, land reclamation and improvement specialists, ecologists and environmentalists, agriculturalists, horticulturists, foresters, biologists (especially microbiologists), landscape planers and all kinds of geoscientists. (Jörg Richter)

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German