The Soils Of Spain

This book provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of the soils of Spain gathered by a variety of Spanish experts in the field. It presents soils in this country as particularly conditioned by the naturally diverse and drastic distribution of the Spanish landscape, characterized by mountainous ranges in the North, and arid areas in the South and the East. The first chapter sets the agricultural scenario in Spain as influenced by the Arabic culture and American agricultural products; the second chapter provides a classification and distribution of Spanish soils; the third chapter approaches the topic of soils in the characteristically humid Northern Iberia area as prone to diversity and soil evolution; the fourth focuses on the soils of the South and East of Spain as affected by lack of rainfall and abundance in calcic soil horizons; the fifth chapter deals with Mediterranean soils, having as a particular characteristic the dominance of red colors; and the last chapter discusses the challenges and future issues of Spanish soils.

This book describes the soils of Israel, offering details of their distribution, chemical, physical, and mineralogical characteristics and agricultural attributes. The pathways to the formation of each soil type are discussed against the background of such soil-forming factors as climate, lithology and physiography. The distribution of the different soil types is explained, based on the relationships between soils and soil-forming factors. This the first reference on the topic since 1948.

A number of excellent textbooks on general ecology are currently available but‚ to date‚ none have been dedicated to the study of soil ecology. This is important because the soil‚ as the ‘epidermis’ of our planet‚ is the major component of the terrestrial biosphere. In the present age‚ it is difficult to understand how one could be interested in general ecology without having some knowledge of the soil and further‚ to study the soil without taking into account its biological components and ecological setting. It is this deficiency that the two authors‚ Patrick Lavelle and Alister Spain‚ have wished to address in writing their text. A reading of this work‚ entitled ‘Soil Ecology’‚ shows it to be very complete and extremely innovative in its conceptual plan. In addition‚ it follows straightforwardly through a development which unfolds over four substantial chapters. Firstly‚ the authors consider the soil as a porous and finely divided medium of b- organomineral origin‚ whose physical structure and organisation foster the development of a multitude of specifically adapted organisms (microbial communities‚ roots of higher plants‚ macro-invertebrates).

Gypsiferous soils in the world; Characteristics of gypsiferous soils; Fertility of gypsiferous soils; Effect gypsum and calcium carbonate on plants; improvement of productivity of gypsiferous soils; Laboratory methods for analysing gypsifeous soils.

The first soil survey in the Philippines was done by Mr. Clarence Dorsey, an American soil scientist in the province of Batangas in 1903. The Soils of the Philippines, however, is the first comprehensive summary of more than a century of soil-survey work in this country. It integrates the soil concepts of the reconnaissance soil-survey results, which commenced as early as 1934 and continued until the mid 1960s, with the semi-detailed soil surveys that continue to this day. The result is the first-ever genetic key for classifying Philippine soils at soil series level; thus, making it possible for any newcomers to the soil survey field to confidently produce their own soil map, at a more detailed map scale, to suit the project requirements. This book brings together discussions on soils and soil mapping units and up-to-date international techniques and technologies. It makes soils relevant to current political realities and national issues. As soil survey moves from a reductionist agricultural-development planning tool to a more holistic and integrated approach, to enable us to understand our dynamic and complex environment, The Soils of the Philippines will be the only source of authoritative and updated data on soil resources for macro-level resource management planning for decades to come. With a vanishing breed of experienced soil surveyors, not only in the Philippines but also worldwide, it may remain the only book on Philippine soils for the next hundred years or more. Since soils follow a geological and not a human time frame, the contents of this volume will stay relevant for soil surveyors even in a fast changing world. As the country leaps from an agricultural economy towards modernization and a more diversified economic base, some of the soil series in the Philippines, for example the Guadalupe series underlying the skyscrapers of Makati City, are becoming extinct as a result of urban development. Therefore, this book serves as the repository for the soils that we possess, the soils that have been lost through decades of urbanization while, at the same time, it creates a soil classification system for the soils we are yet to discover.

This book compiles information gained by an EU research network over six years of research on European volcanic soils. It gives comprehensive coverage of soils in volcanic regions within Europe, dealing with most aspects of modern day soil science. New methodology is introduced and the synthesis of the research casts a new light on soils with andic soil properties.

Mexico is an extensive country with an extremely complex mosaic of landscapes. The soils of Mexico have still not been completely studied, and there are few publications available on this subject. This book provides a state-of-the-art view on Mexican soils, their geographical distribution, their use and degradation. This is a first attempt to give a systematized characteristic of the soil resources of Mexico. Land resources of the second-biggest economy in Latin America are critical for its sustainable development, and a demand for adequate soil information is high. The information contained within can be used for any soil-related research done in Mexico and in neighboring countries. The book includes detailed characteristics of soils of all the physiographic regions of Mexico with maps, photos and explanatory schemes. The book is based on the experiences of the authors in research and soil survey, as well as on the existent, mainly ‘grey’ literature on Mexican soils. The book is recommended for researchers and university readers, students of all levels and decision-makers, working in the area of soil science, environmental issues, Earth sciences, land management and nature conservation.

In recent decades the development of unsaturated soil mechanics has been remarkable, resulting in momentous advances in fundamental knowledge, testing techniques, computational procedures, prediction methodologies and geotechnical practice. The advances have spanned the full spectrum of theory and practice. In addition, unsaturated materials exhibiting complex behaviour such as residual soils, swelling soils, compacted soils, collapsing soils, tropical soils and solid wastes have been integrated in a common understanding of shared behaviour features. It is also noteworthy that unsaturated soil mechanics has proved surprisingly fruitful in expanding to other neighbouring areas such as swelling rocks, rockfill mechanics, and freezing soils. As a consequence, geotechnical engineering involving unsaturated soils can be now approached from a more rational and systematic perspective leading towards an improved and more effective practice. Unsaturated Soils contains the papers presented at the 5th International Conference on Unsaturated Soil (Barcelona, Spain, 6-8 September 2010). They report significant advances in the areas of unsaturated soil behaviour, testing techniques, constitutive and numerical modelling and applications. The areas of application include soil-atmosphere interaction, foundations, slopes, embankments, pavements, geoenviromental problems and emerging topics. They are complemented by three keynote lectures and three general reports covering general issues of modelling, testing and applications. Unsaturated Soils is a comprehensive record of the state-of-the art in unsaturated soil mechanics and a sound basis for further progress in the future. The two volumes will serve as an essential reference for academics, researchers and practitioners interested in unsaturated soils.