ISRIC - World Soil Information Database

Proximal Soil Sensing

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 06:45:00 +0000

This book reports on developments in Proximal Soil Sensing (PSS) and high resolution digital soil mapping. PSS has become a multidisciplinary area of study that aims to develop field-based techniques for collecting information on the soil from close by, or within, the soil. Amongst others, PSS involves the use of optical, geophysical, electrochemical, mathematical and statistical methods. The book in particular covers soil sensor sampling, proximal soil sensor development and use, sensor calibrations, prediction methods for large data sets, applications of proximal soil sensing, and high-resolution digital soil mapping.

Tree Species Effects on Soils: Implications for Global Change

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:55:00 +0000

This book examines the state of knowledge of the effects of tree species on soils, considering evidence from broad natural gradients in species distributions, and from "common garden" experiments where several species have been planted on the same site. Topics include the influence of the chemistry of forest litter on soil biogeochemistry, the dependence of soil biotic communities on tree species, and the interactions of physical, chemical and biological factors in determining the overall effects of different species. Case studies from across North America, Europe, Russia, South America and Australia illustrate the key role played by tree species in determining long-term development and sustainability of soils.

Guidelines for Surveying Soil and Land Resources

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 11:09:00 +0000

Guidelines for Surveying Soil and Land Resources promotes the development and implementation of consistent methods and standards for conducting soil and land resource surveys in Australia. These surveys are primarily field operations that aim to identify, describe, map and evaluate the various kinds of soil or land resources in specific areas. The advent of geographic information systems, global positioning systems, airborne gamma radiometric remote sensing, digital terrain analysis, simulation modeling, efficient statistical analysis and internet-based delivery of information has dramatically changed the scene in the past two decades. As successor to the Australian Soil and Land Survey Handbook: Guidelines for Conducting Surveys, this authoritative guide incorporates these new methods and techniques for supporting natural resource management.

Notes from the Ground: Science, Soil, and Society in the American Countryside

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:22:00 +0000

Notes from the Ground examines the cultural conditions that brought agriculture and science together in nineteenth-century America. Integrating the history of science, environmental history, and science studies, the book shows how and why agrarian Americans—yeoman farmers, gentleman planters, politicians, and policy makers alike—accepted, resisted, and shaped scientific ways of knowing the land. By detailing the changing perceptions of soil treatment, Benjamin Cohen shows that the credibility of new soil practices grew not from the arrival of professional chemists, but out of an existing ideology of work, knowledge, and citizenship.

Soil Heavy Metals

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Tue, 11 May 2010 12:37:00 +0000

The topics presented include: the general role of heavy metals in biological soil systems; the relation of inorganic and organic pollutions; heavy metal, salt tolerance and combined effects with salinity; effects on abuscular mycorrhizal and on saprophytic soil fungi; heavy metal resistance by streptomycetes; trace element determination of environmental samples; the use of microbiological communities as indicators; phytostabilization of lead polluted sites by native plants; effects of soil earthworms on removal of heavy metals and the remediation of heavy metal contaminated tropical land.

Manual of Methods for Soil and Land Evaluation

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 11:26:00 +0000

The goal of the manual is to supply an operational tool for pedologists, agronomists, environmentalists, and all of the other specialists who carry out land evaluation for agriculture and forestry or, more generally, stakeholders and policy makers who make decisions at the local level based on the knowledge of the nature of soil.

The Use of Nutrients in Crop Plants

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:07:00 +0000

"… comprehensive coverage of each of the 14 essential mineral nutrients required by plants. Its focus is different from other books on plant nutrition, in that there is a strong practical bent towards understanding and managing the efficiency of applied nutrient use. …very useful coverage of each of the mineral nutrients … contains many figures and tables of experimental data involving a wide range of soil and plant measurements. The content is fully referenced, with a list of references at the end of each chapter

Soil Ecology and Management

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 13:14:00 +0000

Soil Ecology and Management describes the organisms inhabiting the soil, their functions and interactions and the dimensions of human impact on the activity of soil organisms and soil ecological function. Chapters discuss basic soil characteristics and biogeochemical cycling, key soil flora and fauna as well as community-level dynamics (soil food webs). Unlike other soil biology and ecology textbooks, this text also conveys a better understanding of how human activities impact upon soil ecology in a section on ecosystem management and its effects on soil biota. The authors provide a unique perspective on the utility of soil organisms by exploring the biodiversity of soil food webs, how they are impacted by human activities and intervention and their management. more

Mycorrhizal Symbiosis, Third Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:00:00 +0000

The roots of most plants are colonized by symbiotic fungi to form mycorrhiza, which play a critical role in the capture of nutrients from the soil and therefore in plant nutrition. Mycorrhizal Symbiosis is recognized as the definitive work in this area. Since the last edition was published there have been major advances in the field, particularly in the area of molecular biology, and the new edition has been fully revised and updated to incorporate these exciting new developments.

Australian Soil and Land Survey Field Handbook

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:11:00 +0000

The Australian Soil and Land Survey Field Handbook specifies methods, standards and terminology used in soil and land surveys. It has been widely used throughout Australia, providing one reference set of definitions for the characterization of landform, vegetation, land surface, soil and substrate.The third edition contains revised chapters on location and vegetation as well as some new landform elements.

A Handbook of Soil Terminology, Correlation and Classification

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:53:00 +0000

Soil classification and terminology are fundamental issues for the clear understanding and communication of the subject. However, while there are many national soil classification systems, these do not directly correlate with each other. This book clarifies this position by describing and comparing different systems and evaluating them in the context of the World Reference Base (WRB) for Soil Resources. The latter was set up to resolve these problems by creating an international “umbrella” system for soil correlation. All soil scientists should then classify soils using the WRB as well as their national systems.

Les principaux sols du monde - Voyage à travers l'épiderme vivant de la planète Terre

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:35:00 +0000

Increasing food production to meet the requirements of 9 billion people in 2050 commands to better adjust soil use to soil properties. This book by Clément Mathieu not only describes the many soil types encountered on planet Earth, but, more importantly, gives the rational of their distribution. It is thus a key document to better tailor soil use. The reader feels that he can understand the reasons for soil spatial variability in each particular ecosystem. What makes the book fascinating is the 388 colour photographs, mainly from soil profiles, that allow the reader to visualize the different soil types described in the text. Clément Mathieu travelled extensively the world during his career, so he knows by himself what he is talking about. The last chapter of the book gives a good overview of the many dangers threatening the soil in a very comprehensive way. Throughout the book the author refers to both the old French classification (CPCS) and the WRB.

Integrated Soil Fertility Management in Africa : Principles, Practices and Developmental Process

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:29:00 +0000

This manual prepared by TSBF - CIAT/Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Institute of the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture improves understanding and increases application of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) in Africa. It combines current knowledge of soil fertility management by African smallholders with recent breakthroughs in the state- of-the-art and is intended to strenghthen ISFM practise among land managers, agriculturalists, and rural development specialist. This book is addressing the underlying principles, field practices, developmental processes and social demensions of advancing ISFM in Africa. For more info TSBF-CIAT. Email: tsbfinfo@cgiar.org

Environmental Soil Science, Third Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:27:00 +0000

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. 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.

Trace Elements in Soil Pore Water

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:59:00 +0000

the study assessed whether Rhizon™ samplers, centrifugation, high pressure squeezing and soil suspensions in simulated pore water can be viable approaches for obtaining representative samples of equilibrated soil pore water. Results for metal solubility and speciation were interpreted in terms of both soil morphological effects on trace metal dynamics and artefacts introduced at various stages during sample preparation and handling. Pore waters showed different ranges of concentration between the various methods. Different mechanisms and/or chemical reactions were involved during the different extractions.

Spatial Modeling of Soil Salinity Using Remote Sensing, GIS, and Field Data

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:45:00 +0000

This study has shown the benefit of using satellite images in generating accurate soil salinity maps. Corn and alfalfa crops were selected as indicators of soil salinity. Five images were acquired from Aster, Ikonos, and Landsat to check the correlation between measured soil salinity and remote sensing data. Observed data was used in conjunction with satellite images. Three models were applied to predict soil salinity from remote sensing: the ordinary least squares model (OLS), spatial autoregressive model (SAR), and modified kriging model.

Soil Science: Box Set (Earthscan Reference Collections)

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:06:00 +0000

This four-volume set, 1800 pages, edited by leading experts in soil science, brings together in one collection a series of papers that have been fundamental to the development of soil science as a defined discipline. Some of the papers were first published many years ago, but they remain classics in their fields and retain their relevance to the understanding of current issues. The papers have been selected with the assistance of an eminent international editorial board. The set includes a general introduction and each volume is introduced by a new overview essay, placing the selected papers in context. The book includes traditional subjects such as soil genesis, physics and mineralogy, applied disciplines such as soils and hydrology, land degradation and plant nutrition, as well as more contemporary topics such as soil pollution, land use and environmental change.

Elements of the Nature and Properties of Soils (3rd Edition)

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:56:00 +0000

Fully updated in this edition, it includes the latest information on soil colloids; nutrient cycles and soil fertility; and soils and chemical pollution. This edition continues to use examples from many fields, including agriculture, forestry, and natural resources. Updated information in this edition includes: Engineering properties of soils; Expanded treatment of soil quality, soil degradation and soil resilience; A new section on septic tank drain fields; Expanded section on irrigation management; A new section on wetlands and their poorly aerated soils

Remote Sensing Application in Agriculture

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:09:00 +0000

This book describes methods to detect soil salinity levels in agricultural lands based on crop conditions and Evapotranspiration (ET) using satellite imagery. This book describes the development of a surface energy balance-based model (Remove Sensing of ET - ReSET) that handles the spatial variability in ET, the model estimates ET based on remotely sensed data using satellite imagery. ET is estimated for each pixel in the image therefore displaying the spatial variability of ET even within fields. Relationships between ET and soil salinity levels in agriculture fields were developed for several crops.

Criminal and Environmental Soil Forensics

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:35:00 +0000

Soils have important roles to play in criminal and environmental forensic science. Since the initial concept of using soil in forensic investigations was mooted by Conan Doyle in his Sherlock Holmes stories prior to real-world applications, this branch of forensic science has become increasingly sophisticated and broad. New techniques in chemical, physical, biological, ecological and spatial analysis, coupled with informatics, are being applied to reducing areas of search by investigators, site identification, site comparison and measurement for the eventual use as evidence in court. Soils can provide intelligence, in assisting the determination of the provenance of samples from artifacts, victims or suspects, enabling their linkage to locations or other evidence. They also modulate change in surface or buried cadavers and hence affect the ability to estimate post-mortem or post-burial intervals, and locate clandestine graves.

Permafrost Soils (Soil Biology)

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:52:00 +0000

This volume summarizes recent knowledge on various aspects of permafrost and permafrost-affected soils, including typical properties of these soils, the distribution and biodiversity of permafrost microorganisms, examples for microbial activity in frozen soils and genomic and proteomic insights into cold adaptation of permafrost bacteria. The impact of global warming on microbial communities, carbon dynamics, geomorphology and frozen-ground engineering are further discussed. Other chapters describe the feasibility and limitations of methods for removing contaminants in frozen ground and consider terrestrial permafrost as a model for extraterrestrial habitats

World Soil Erosion and Conservation

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:21:00 +0000

At the time of the first publication of this book in 1993, estimates indicated that 10-15 million hectares of land were being lost each year through erosion and salinisation from irrigation and that at such a rate of loss, topsoil reserves on most sloping lands would be depleted within two hundred years. Since humankind's dependency on the land for food is almost total, soil erosion represents a real threat to the security of our food supply. The need for the immediate conservation of the world's soil resources is therefore clear. As part of the response to this need, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Commission on Ecology convened a special working group to consider the problem of world soil erosion and to propose practical solutions for soil conservation. This important book presents the outcome of their work.

Microbiological Methods for Assessing Soil Quality

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:58:00 +0000

With growing concern about the protection of soil quality and biodiversity many countries have established regional and national programmes to monitor soil quality. This book reviews the theory and practice of a range of the various microbiological methods used within these programmes. The first section gives an overview of approaches to monitoring, evaluating and managing soil quality. The second section provides a practical handbook with detailed descriptions of the methods. The methods are described in chapters on: soil microbial biomass and numbers, soil microbial activity, soil microbial diversity and community composition and plant-microbe interactions and soil quality. Finally, a census is given of the main methods used in over 30 European microbiological laboratories

Molecular Biological Studies of Soil Microbial Communities: Soil Microbial Communities under Different Management Practices in Forest Ecosystems of Su

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:46:00 +0000

Advances in microbial ecology are sometimes driven by new techniques. Over the past two decades, methods to analyzing soil microbial communities have changed dramatically. Many new methods and approaches are developed and now available, allowing our soil scientists to access to the uncultivated soil microorganisms and allowing for better assessments of soil microbial diversity. This book demonstrates the applications of some molecular biological methods in the studies of soil microbial communities, including soil microbial DNA extraction and purification, PCR amplification using 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA genes, TGGE, SSCP, cloning, sequencing and phylogenetic analyses. It shows the technical problems and solutions often faced by investigators in soil microbial ecology. It also gives two successful case studies of forest soils in subtropical Australia.

Regolith Science

noreply@blogger.com (Ger Naber) — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:10:00 +0000

This comprehensive reference on the fundamentals of regolith science describes how regolith is developed from parental rocks and emphasises the importance of chemical, physical, water and biological processes in regolith formation. It provides details for mapping regolith landforms, as well as objective information on applications in mineral exploration and natural resource management. Regolith Science also provides a concise history of weathering through time in Australia. It includes previously unpublished information on elemental abundances in regolith materials along with detailed information on soil degradation processes such as in acid sulfate soils.