The Soil Underfoot
DOWNLOAD eBooks
Download The Soil Underfoot PDF/ePub or read online books in Mobi eBooks. Click Download or Read Online button to get The Soil Underfoot book now. This website allows unlimited access to, at the time of writing, more than 1.5 million titles, including hundreds of thousands of titles in various foreign languages. If the content not found or just blank you must refresh this page
The Soil Underfoot
DOWNLOAD eBooks
Author : G. Jock Churchman
language : en
Publisher: CRC Press
Release Date : 2014-04-21
The Soil Underfoot written by G. Jock Churchman and has been published by CRC Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2014-04-21 with Nature categories.
The largest part of the world’s food comes from its soils, either directly from plants, or via animals fed on pastures and crops. Thus, it is necessary to maintain, and if possible, improve the quality—and hence good health—of soils, while enabling them to support the growing world population. The Soil Underfoot: Infinite Possibilities for a Finite Resource arms readers with historical wisdom from various populations around the globe, along with current ideas and approaches for the wise management of soils. It covers the value of soils and their myriad uses viewed within human and societal contexts in the past, present, and supposed futures. In addition to addressing the technical means of maintaining soils, this book presents a culturally and geographically diverse collection of historical attitudes to soils, including philosophical and ethical frameworks, which have either sustained them or led to their degradation. Section I describes major challenges associated with climate change, feeding the increasing world population, chemical pollution and soil degradation, and technology. Section II discusses various ways in which soils are, or have been, valued—including in film and contemporary art as well as in religious and spiritual philosophies, such as Abrahamic religions, Maori traditions, and in Confucianism. Section III provides stories about soil in ancient and historic cultures including the Roman Empire, Greece, India, Japan, Korea, South America, New Zealand, the United States, and France. Section IV describes soil modification technologies, such as polymer membrane barriers, and soil uses outside commercial agriculture including the importance of soils for recreation and sports grounds. The final section addresses future strategies for more effective sustainable use of soils, emphasizing the biological nature of soils and enhancing the use of "green water" retained from rainfall.
Life In The Soil
DOWNLOAD eBooks
Author : James B. Nardi
language : en
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Release Date : 2009-09-15
Life In The Soil written by James B. Nardi and has been published by University of Chicago Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2009-09-15 with Science categories.
Leonardo da Vinci once mused that “we know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot,” an observation that is as apt today as it was five hundred years ago. The biological world under our toes is often unexplored and unappreciated, yet it teems with life. In one square meter of earth, there lives trillions of bacteria, millions of nematodes, hundreds of thousands of mites, thousands of insects and worms, and hundreds of snails and slugs. But because of their location and size, many of these creatures are as unfamiliar and bizarre to us as anything found at the bottom of the ocean. Lavishly illustrated with nearly three hundred color illustrations and masterfully-rendered black and white drawings throughout, Life in the Soil invites naturalists and gardeners alike to dig in and discover the diverse community of creatures living in the dirt below us. Biologist and acclaimed natural history artist James B. Nardibegins with an introduction to soil ecosystems, revealing the unseen labors of underground organisms maintaining the rich fertility of the earth as they recycle nutrients between the living and mineral worlds. He then introduces readers to a dazzling array of creatures: wolf spiders with glowing red eyes, snails with 120 rows of teeth, and 10,000-year-old fungi, among others. Organized by taxon, Life in the Soil covers everything from slime molds and roundworms to woodlice and dung beetles, as well as vertebrates from salamanders to shrews. The book ultimately explores the crucial role of soil ecosystems in conserving the worlds above and below ground. A unique and illustrative introduction to the many unheralded creatures that inhabit our soils and shape our environment aboveground, Life in the Soil will inform and enrich the naturalist in all of us.
Soil Clays
DOWNLOAD eBooks
Author : G. Jock Churchman
language : en
Publisher: CRC Press
Release Date : 2019-06-10
Soil Clays written by G. Jock Churchman and has been published by CRC Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2019-06-10 with Technology & Engineering categories.
As the human population grows from seven billion toward an inevitable nine or 10 billion, the demands on the limited supply of soils will grow and intensify. Soils are essential for the sustenance of almost all plants and animals, including humans, but soils are virtually infinitely variable. Clays are the most reactive and interactive inorganic compounds in soils. Clays in soils often differ from pure clay minerals of geological origin. They provide a template for most of the reactive organic matter in soils. They directly affect plant nutrients, soil temperature and pH, aggregate sizes and strength, porosity and water-holding capacities. This book aims to help improve predictions of important properties of soils through a modern understanding of their highly reactive clay minerals as they are formed and occur in soils worldwide. It examines how clays occur in soils and the role of soil clays in disparate applications including plant nutrition, soil structure, and water-holding capacity, soil quality, soil shrinkage and swelling, carbon sequestration, pollution control and remediation, medicine, forensic investigation, and deciphering human and environmental histories. Features: Provides information on the conditions that lead to the formation of clay minerals in soils Distinguishes soil clays and types of clay minerals Describes clay mineral structures and their origins Describes occurrences and associations of clays in soil Details roles of clays in applications of soils Heavily illustrated with photos, diagrams, and electron micrographs Includes user-friendly description of a new method of identification To know soil clays is to enable their use toward achieving improvements in the management of soils for enhancing their performance in one or more of their three main functions of enabling plant growth, regulating water flow to plants, and buffering environmental changes. This book provides an easily-read and extensively-illustrated description of the nature, formation, identification, occurrence and associations, measurement, reactivities, and applications of clays in soils.
Task Force Soil Matters
DOWNLOAD eBooks
Author : Stephen Nortcliff
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2015-12-01
Task Force Soil Matters written by Stephen Nortcliff and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2015-12-01 with categories.
In order to appreciate the diversity, functions and relevance of soils and to devise plans for future activities and research with regard to soils, a current "state of affairs" must be defined. Soil matters: Solutions Under Foot does just that by portraying and discussing our current understanding of the state, the role and importance of soils, from the viewpoints of agriculture, society and soil science. Edited on behalf of the International Union of Soil Sciences, thirty two short contributions highlight six key aspects of soils: soils as part of our (planetary) environment, threats to soils (erosion and anthropogenic abuse), the importance of soils as a carbon reservoir and source of biological diversity, soils and land use aspects, among them human health, the value we attribute to soils as an "asset" and finally, societal aspects of soils and landscapes they form. In the process of discussing these six key aspects, current problems are identified and addressed and approaches to their solutions (the Solutions under Foot of the title) are pointed out, as are outlooks on future developments and soil related research visible as silver linings on the horizon. The book addresses parties interested in understanding the variety in terrestrial soils (the interested public, majors and minors of soil-, agricultural and environmental science) and the important functions and services soils provide to both individuals and society as a whole. Short, carefully edited, very readable contributions of this volume also feature further references allowing the reader to delve more deeply into the respective subjects.
The Natural History Of Plants
DOWNLOAD eBooks
Author : Anton Kerner von Marilaun
language : en
Publisher: Forgotten Books
Release Date : 1894
The Natural History Of Plants written by Anton Kerner von Marilaun and has been published by Forgotten Books this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1894 with Botany categories.
Excerpt from The Natural History of Plants: Their Forms, Growth, Reproduction, and Distribution Although the authors of the Flora had no such purpose in view, their works furnished the starting-point for a real history of the vegetable world. A com parison of the Floras of neighbouring regions shows that certain plants inhabit a greater, others a lesser area; that the boundaries of the species confined to a distinct district coincide with territories inhabited by various races of mankind; that the boundaries of this and that species coincide and stand in relation to various climatic and other conditions. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
The Natural History Of Plants Their Forms Growth Reproduction And Distribution
DOWNLOAD eBooks
Author : Anton Kerner von Marilaun
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 1895
The Natural History Of Plants Their Forms Growth Reproduction And Distribution written by Anton Kerner von Marilaun and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1895 with Botany categories.
The History And Present State Of The Sheep Breeding Industry In The Argentine Republic
DOWNLOAD eBooks
Author : Herbert Gibson
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 1893
The History And Present State Of The Sheep Breeding Industry In The Argentine Republic written by Herbert Gibson and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1893 with Agriculture categories.
Footprints In The Soil
DOWNLOAD eBooks
Author : Benno P Warkentin
language : en
Publisher: Elsevier
Release Date : 2006-04-18
Footprints In The Soil written by Benno P Warkentin and has been published by Elsevier this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2006-04-18 with Technology & Engineering categories.
The history of science discipline is contributing valuable knowledge of the culture of soil understanding, of the conditions in society that fostered the ideas, and of why they developed in certain ways. This book is about the progressive “footprints made by scientists in the soil. It contains chapters chosen from important topics in the development of soil science, and tells the story of the people and the exciting ideas that contributed to our present understanding of soils. Initiated by discussions within the Soil Science Society of America and the International Union of Soil Sciences, this book uniquely illustrates the significance of soils to our society. It is planned for soils students, for various scientific disciplines, and for members of the public who show an increasing interest in soil. This book allows us to answer the questions: “How do we know what we know about soils? and “How did one step or idea lead to the next one? The chapters are written by an international group of authors, each with special interests, bound together by the central theme of soils and how we came to our present understanding of soils. Each concentrate on soil knowledge in the western world and draw primarily on written accounts available in English and European languages. Academics, graduate students, researchers and practitioners will gain new insights from these studies of how ideas in soil science and understanding of uses of soils developed. * Discusses tracing soils knowledge accumulated from Roman times, first by soil users and after 1800s by scientists * Offers ideas about how soils knowledge was influenced by the social context and by human needs * Combines the history of ideas with scientific knowledge of soils * Written by chapter authors who combine subject matter expertise with knowledge of practical soil uses, and provide numerous references for further study of the relevant literature
A World Without Soil
DOWNLOAD eBooks
Author : Jo Handelsman
language : en
Publisher: Yale University Press
Release Date : 2021-11-23
A World Without Soil written by Jo Handelsman and has been published by Yale University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2021-11-23 with Nature categories.
A scientist’s manifesto addressing a soil loss crisis accelerated by poor conservation practices and climate change This book by celebrated biologist Jo Handelsman lays bare the complex connections among climate change, soil erosion, food and water security, and drug discovery. Humans depend on soil for 95 percent of global food production, yet let it erode at unsustainable rates. In the United States, China, and India, vast tracts of farmland will be barren of topsoil within this century. The combination of intensifying erosion caused by climate change and the increasing food needs of a growing world population is creating a desperate need for solutions to this crisis. Writing for a nonspecialist audience, Jo Handelsman celebrates the capacities of soil and explores the soil-related challenges of the near future. She begins by telling soil’s origin story, explains how it erodes and the subsequent repercussions worldwide, and offers solutions. She considers lessons learned from indigenous people who have sustainably farmed the same land for thousands of years, practices developed for large-scale agriculture, and proposals using technology and policy initiatives.
Fundamentals Of Soil Physics
DOWNLOAD eBooks
Author : Daniel Hillel
language : en
Publisher: Academic Press
Release Date : 1980-07-28
Fundamentals Of Soil Physics written by Daniel Hillel and has been published by Academic Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1980-07-28 with Science categories.
This book is not, in any case, in total defiance of the Wise Old Man's admonition, for it is not an entirely new book. Rather, it is an outgrowth of a previous treatise, written a decade ago, entitled "Soil and Water: Physical Principles and Processes." Though that book was well enough received at the time, the passage of the years has inevitably made it necessary to either revise and update the same book, or to supplant it with a fresh approach in the form of a new book which might incorporate still-pertient aspects of its predecessor without necessarily being limited to the older book's format or point of view.