Introduction to the Biogeochemistry of Soils

The first process-based textbook on how soils form and function in biogeochemical cycles, for advanced undergraduate and graduate students.

Ronald Amundson (Author)

9781108932752, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 17 June 2021

230 pages
24.6 x 18.9 x 1.2 cm, 0.53 kg

'Finally, we have a textbook on soil that teaches us without overwhelming us. This book is a remarkable success in shedding light on concepts, observations, and perspectives, a rare balance that our precious soils deserve.' Kyungsoo Yoo, University of Minnesota, St. Paul

The first process-based textbook on how soils form and function in biogeochemical cycles, offering a self-contained and integrated overview of the field as it now stands for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in soil science, environmental science, and the wider Earth sciences. The jargon-free approach quickly familiarises students with the field's theoretical foundations before moving on to analyse chemical and other numerical data, building the necessary skills to develop questions and strategies for original research by the end of a single semester course. The field-based framework equips students with the essential tools for accessing and interpreting the vast USDA soil dataset, allowing them to establish a working knowledge of the most important modern developments in soil research. Complete with numerous end-of-chapter questions, figures and examples, students will find this textbook a multidisciplinary toolkit invaluable to their future careers.

1. Introduction to soils
2. An overview of the biogeochemistry of soils
3. The biology in soil biogeochemistry
4. Field based properties of soils
5. Soil biogeochemical measurements and data
6. Time and soil processes
7. The soil carbon cycle
8. Chemical and physical processes in soils
9. Soil processes on sloping landscapes
10. Humans and soil biogeochemistry.

Subject Areas: Environmental management [RNF], Geochemistry [RBGK], Soil science, sedimentology [RBGB], Geology & the lithosphere [RBG]