soil: References & Edit History
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Assorted References
- deforestation
- desertification
- influence on microclimates
- In microclimate
- plant nutrition
agriculture
- alfisol
- In Alfisol
- cereal production
- crop rotation
- cultivation and preparation
- fruit farming
- gardening and horticulture
- geological generation
- importance of trees
- irrigation
- land reclamation
- seed propagation
- tea growing
- tobacco production
- vegetable farming
composition
solar system
- adjustment of pH
- In pH
- classification of duricrust
- In duricrust
- clay minerals
- components of garden and landscape design
- desert region types and variations
- foundation of landscape design
- geochemical distribution of elements on earth
- grassland types
- hydrologic cycle
- ion exchange with fertilizers
- microbiology
- mountain lands
- permafrost
- permeability and sediment yield
- phosphorous cycle
- phyllosilicates
- physical influence on forests
- protective covering of forest
- rainforests
- In rainforest
- savannas
- scrubland
- taiga
- In taiga: Soils
- tundras
- use in dams
effect of
- acid rain
- In acid rain: History
- In acid rain
- cryoseism
- In cryoseism
- volcanism
effect on
- building foundations
- land pollution
- pavements
Additional Reading
Perhaps the finest book on soils for the layperson is Milo I. Harpstead, Thomas J. Sauer, and William F. Bennett, Soil Science Simplified, 3rd ed. (1997). An in-depth introductory treatment is given by Frederick R. Troeh and Louis M. Thompson, Soils and Soil Fertility, 5th ed. (1993). A holistic account of soils in their ecological setting is presented in Hans Jenny, The Soil Resource (1980, reprinted with corrections, 1983). Technical terms are defined in Glossary of Soil Science Terms (1997), published by the Soil Science Society of America.
An excellent technical discussion of pedology in an ecological context is Stanley W. Buol et al., Soil Genesis and Classification, 4th ed. (1997). Guides to soil classification are Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 8th ed. (1998), published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and Soil Map of the World: Revised Legend (1990, reprinted with corrections, 1994), published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UNESCO.
The modern classic on soil formation is Hans Jenny, Factors of Soil Formation (1941, reissued 1994). See also the commentary volume, Factors of Soil Formation: A Fiftieth Anniversary Retrospective (1994), published by the Soil Science Society of America. The geomorphic processes related to soil formation and erosion are discussed by Cliff Ollier, Weathering (1984). Erosion is considered in more technical detail in Frederick R. Troeh, James Arthur Hobbs, and Roy L. Donahue, Soil and Water Conservation, 3rd ed. (1999). The special problems of soil loss in the humid tropics are brought out in R. Lal and Pedro A. Sánchez (eds.), Myths and Science of Soils of the Tropics (1992); and, on a practical level, in Ted C. Sheng, Soil Conservation for Small Farmers in the Humid Tropics (1989).
Soil pollution issues are given modern treatment in Garrison Sposito, The Chemistry of Soils (1989); Murray B. McBride, Environmental Chemistry of Soils (1994); Eldor A. Paul and Francis E. Clark (eds.) Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry, 2nd ed. (1996); and F.J. Stevenson and M.A. Cole, Cycles of Soil, 2nd ed. (1999). The last four texts also discuss biogeochemical cycling in soils at a technical level.
Garrison SpositoArticle Contributors
Primary Contributors
Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors
Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Sustainable soil use and management: An interdisciplinary and systematic approach. | Dec 20, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Royal Society of Chemistry Publishing - Pilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B - The role of soils in habitat creation, maintenance and restoration. | Nov 08, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Tulane University - Weathering and Soils. | May 01, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: CORE - Soils and weathering. | Mar 14, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: University of Hawaiʻi Pressbooks - Biology - The Soil. | Dec 07, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Royal Horticultural Society - Soil types. | Oct 20, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Energy.gov - Soil. | Sep 08, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Soil Science Society of America - Soil Basics. | May 04, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Geology.com - Expansive Soil and Expansive Clay. | Mar 25, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Nature - Scitable - What are Soils? | Feb 06, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Biology LibreTexts - Soil. | Nov 21, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Agriculture Victoria - Soil. | Sep 08, 2022 | ||
| Top Questions updated. | Oct 22, 2021 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Jun 08, 2021 | ||
| Added cross-references throughout. | Nov 10, 2020 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Spruce - What Is Soil? Get the Dirt on Dirt. | Nov 20, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: Soil Society of America - What is Soil? | Jul 26, 2018 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Jun 13, 2018 | ||
| Add new Web site: Idaho Public Television - Science Trek - Soil. | May 10, 2018 | ||
| Add new Web site: University of Illinois Extension - The Great Plant Escape - Soiled Again! | Jul 05, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: IndiaNetzone - Gardening - Types of Soil. | Jul 05, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: Easy Science for Kids - All About Soil. | Dec 28, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Scottish Environment and Protection Agency - Soil. | May 05, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Facts about Soil. | May 05, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Department of Biodiversity & Conservation Biology - University of Western Cape - Soil. | May 05, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Quatr.us Study Guides - Soil Types. | Mar 20, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: Indianetzone - Types of Soil. | Sep 18, 2011 | ||
| Add new Web site: ThinkQuest - Types of Soil. | Sep 18, 2011 | ||
| Add new Web site: New Georgia Encyclopedia - Geography and Environment - Soils. | May 31, 2011 | ||
| Added video discussing the formation of soil and the organisms that inhabit it. | Feb 09, 2011 | ||
| Added new Web site: Enchanted Learning - Soil. | Apr 14, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Kalispell Public Schools - How Are Soils Classified? | Mar 19, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Kalispell Public Schools - How Are Soils Classified? | Mar 19, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: International Center for Leadership in Education - Gold Seal Lesson - Soil Study. | Mar 18, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: International Center for Leadership in Education - Gold Seal Lesson - Soil Study. | Mar 18, 2009 | ||
| Media added. | Feb 20, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Banglapedia - Soil Mineralogy. | Feb 16, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: IndiaNetzone - Gardening - Types of Soil. | Nov 18, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: ThinkQuest - Soil Composition. | Nov 18, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: krishi World - Soil. | Nov 17, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Soil Erosion - Soil Erosion. | Aug 11, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Physical Geography.Net - Lithosphere. | Apr 28, 2008 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Mar 13, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: GreenHouse Gas Online - Tropical Soils. | Jan 18, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: ThinkQuest - Soils. | Jan 15, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Cornell University - Gardening Resources. | Jun 14, 2006 | ||
| Article revised. | Dec 07, 2000 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 26, 1999 |