SOILS AND ENVIRONMENT Soil Processes from Mineral to Landscape Scale

Auerswald, K., et al (Eds)

ISBN 10: 3923381417 / ISBN 13: 9783923381418

Published by Catena Verlag GMBH, 1997

About this Item

422 pp., Illus, Color Illus Hardback, Fine, no DJ, 1st ed.

Seller Inventory # 000759

Bibliographic Details

• Title: SOILS AND ENVIRONMENT Soil Processes from Mineral to Landscape Scale
• Publisher: Catena Verlag GMBH
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3923381417
• ISBN 13: 9783923381418
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • soils

About this title

Synopsis

Soils play an important role in the function of both natural and managed ecosystems. Understanding the impact of environmental factors on these ecosystems requires a knowledge of soil processes ranging from molecular to landscape in scale. The properties and spatial distributions of soils and their mineral constituents are especially useful as indicators of both present and past environmental conditions. Soils and soil minerals form or transform in direct response to biogeochemical factors that are driven by local, regional or global processes. Through a series of case studies, this text demonstrates that linkages can be made between measurable soil and mineral properties and the processes that shape the weathering environment. Examples include layer silicates, carbonates, sulfides, and both iron and aluminium oxides. Several papers also emphasize the role of biotic factors in soil systems, the sensitivity of these factors to management practices, and the frequently overlooked interactions that exist between organic and inorganic compartments of soils and surface waters. Finally, this text recognizes that spatial and temporal variability are inherent attributes of soils and landscapes that must be quantified and properly managed if ecological and environmental harmony are to be maintained. The buffering function of soils and the importance of this function to the release and flux of nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems are given special considertation.