Soil Formation

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Earth Sciences, Nature, Environment, Environmental Conservation & Protection
Cover of the book Soil Formation by Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen, Springer Netherlands
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen ISBN: 9780585317885
Publisher: Springer Netherlands Publication: August 20, 2007
Imprint: Springer Language: English
Author: Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen
ISBN: 9780585317885
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Publication: August 20, 2007
Imprint: Springer
Language: English

Soils form a unique and irreplaceable essential resource for all terrestrial organisms, including man. Soils form not only the very thin outer skin of the earth's crust that is exploited by plant roots for anchorage and supply of water and nutrients. Soils are complex natural bodies formed under the influence of plants, microorganisms and soil animals, water and air from their parent material, i.e. solid rock or unconsolidated sediments. Physically, chemically and mineralogically they usually differ strongly from the parent material, and normally are far more suitable as a rooting medium for plants. In addition to serving as a substrate for plant growth, including crops and pasture, soils play a dominant role in the biogeochemical cycling of water, carbon, nitrogen and other elements, influencing the chemical composition and turnover rates of substances in the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. Soils take decades to millennia to form. We tread on them and do not usually see their interior, so we tend to take them for granted. But improper and abusive agricultural management, careless land- clearing and reclamation, man-induced erosion, salinisation and acidification, desertification, air- and water pollution, and withdrawal of land for housing, industry and transportation now destroy soils more rapidly than they can be formed.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Soils form a unique and irreplaceable essential resource for all terrestrial organisms, including man. Soils form not only the very thin outer skin of the earth's crust that is exploited by plant roots for anchorage and supply of water and nutrients. Soils are complex natural bodies formed under the influence of plants, microorganisms and soil animals, water and air from their parent material, i.e. solid rock or unconsolidated sediments. Physically, chemically and mineralogically they usually differ strongly from the parent material, and normally are far more suitable as a rooting medium for plants. In addition to serving as a substrate for plant growth, including crops and pasture, soils play a dominant role in the biogeochemical cycling of water, carbon, nitrogen and other elements, influencing the chemical composition and turnover rates of substances in the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. Soils take decades to millennia to form. We tread on them and do not usually see their interior, so we tend to take them for granted. But improper and abusive agricultural management, careless land- clearing and reclamation, man-induced erosion, salinisation and acidification, desertification, air- and water pollution, and withdrawal of land for housing, industry and transportation now destroy soils more rapidly than they can be formed.

More books from Springer Netherlands

Cover of the book The Lvov-Warsaw School and Contemporary Philosophy by Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen
Cover of the book Freedom and Serfdom by Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen
Cover of the book Agriculture and the Environment by Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen
Cover of the book Atrial Fibrillation, a Treatable Disease? by Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen
Cover of the book The Chemistry of the Non-Metals by Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen
Cover of the book A Systems Theoretic Approach to Systems and Synthetic Biology II: Analysis and Design of Cellular Systems by Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen
Cover of the book WiMAX Networks by Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen
Cover of the book Principals in Succession by Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen
Cover of the book Explanation: New Directions in Philosophy by Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen
Cover of the book Who Marries Whom? by Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen
Cover of the book The Application of Economic Techniques in Environmental Impact Assessment by Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen
Cover of the book Epistemology II by Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen
Cover of the book Classification, Disease and Evidence by Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen
Cover of the book Controlling Automated Manufacturing Systems by Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen
Cover of the book Catalysis by Unique Metal Ion Structures in Solid Matrices by Peter Buurman, Nico van Breemen
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy