Having recently reviewed a couple of water encyclopedias (Newton, 2003 (RR 2004/32) and Dasch, 2003 (RR 2004/154)), our editor offered me another. I had not anticipated such a different work. The other two were wide ranging and of popular appeal. This is a far more focused and serious. It is predominantly concerned with the science behind the management of water resources, and within that topic the main emphasis is the management of water for agricultural production. This really is no surprise; the editors are a soil scientist and an agricultural engineer, and the article on academic disciplines covers mainly agricultural and biological subjects. However, within this remit the book is very thorough. There are around 270 articles written by over 300 experts mainly, but no means exclusively, from the USA. The production has been coordinated by 20 topical editors.
A brief description of a few of the sections will give an idea of the content. “Dryland cropping systems” discuss the efficient use of water, the relation between water and crop yield, the use of soil amendments, and describes in table form a number of cropping sequences in dryland and arid regions. “Water movement in frozen soil”, describes the movement of water in soil as it freezes and unfreezes. This is an area that is not fully understood but is of great importance, because frost heave can damage roads and property. On a small scale in damper climates, such as the UK, frost heave is responsible for the development of tilth in minimum cultivation systems. In “Soil water diffusion” the formal description of the movement of water in soil is presented as an example of mass diffusion following Flick's Law. “Rainfall shelters” describes structures used to prevent rain falling on crops for research purposes.
Thus some articles are descriptive of practice, some deal with specific problems, some are theoretical and some are about the practical problems of managing or studying water and its uses. On the whole the sections are of wide application; although mainly directed to dryer regions there is a lot of information of use in wetter climates. The are a few unique US topics like the Ogallala Aquifers, a relic of the post ice age melt that is being used up faster than it replenishes, and the Salton Sea, an inland sea that is being badly affected by runoff. Both are important and interesting stories.
The articles are illustrated with diagrams and photographs and have, in some cases, a few suggested items of further reading and in others a full bibliography. Compared with the more popular books I have recently reviewed this one is not so easy to use. Sections are brought together by similar titles. For example, one has Aquifers, Aquifers‐Artificial Recharge, and then Aquifers‐Karst. However, El Nino and La Nina are not next to each other and there are no see also links or categorised groupings.
The index is also rather thin; nothing on caves but the section Aquifers‐Karst has everything one needs about caves on this topic, plus the admission that the dissolving process is more complex than limestone dissolving in dilute carbonic acid. The water engineer has the same problem as potholers, or spelunkers as Americans call them; the very rapid changes of level and flow that cave water exhibits. Another example is the comment on the back that the book offers valuable sections on library resources and organizations; it does but the library resources are in sections on Databases, Internet and Journals.
To anyone involved in water management at a professional or academic level this book will prove invaluable. Within this discipline the book should have sales throughout the world, especially in arid and semi arid regions. As much of the information is applicable to the management of water for drinking and for industry, there should be sales in countries less dependant on agriculture for food or export trade.
