The preface to this book is well worth reading because it puts the content in wider context. It describes soil as the most complex geological system which indicates the intellectual interest of the topic, and it also comments on the fact that there is no fully sustainable system of agriculture, which puts the topic at the centre of international affairs. An article in the current edition, as I write, of New Scientist (Aldous, 2008) shows that agriculture is the major producer by far of greenhouse gases. Interestingly, the solutions it proposes are in plant physiology and genetics, not soil science. There is as far as I am aware only one university department of soil science in the UK. So, it is good that Springer have included an encyclopedia on the subject in their on going Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series.
This book comprises a mixture of 190 long articles and 350 dictionary style definitions. I read several of the long accounts. Some were areas where I have good knowledge, like fertilizers where I learnt that there are some potassium fertilizers that use the sulfate rather than the chloride. On other long accounts like clay mineralogy, where I have no great knowledge, I found the text comprehensible. Just to take as an example, the essay on Clay Organic Interactions ranges from discussion of the origin of organic matter in soil, through laboratory techniques to build model systems to such practical aspects as the use of the plant killer paraquat. Some essays give the background to the subject. This includes the history of the topics and a comprehensive list of journals. The whole process of soil formation, soil structure, chemistry and biology through to aspects of soil management like conservation and irrigation are covered. The book is complete in its global coverage, from the effects of ice on soil at one extreme to tropical soils at the other. Many of the essays end with suggestions for further work or expressions of areas and facts still unknown.
The glossary entries are very short. I looked up pingo (a term I found in an earlier review) and found the entry correct but not very informative. The essay on Ice Erosion has its own glossary which includes a fuller definition of pingo (including the fact that is an Inuit term which is what caught my attention the first time I found it). The definitions of agricultural and ecological systems, which are more in my general knowledge area, are generally very good. I think that the glossary is for the benefit of those doing soil science but coming at it from different perspectives. The definitions of agricultural systems will be of value to the clay chemists, the definitions of soil types (of which there are many) will benefit the agronomist and ecologist.
The book is well produced. Even with 900 pages it can be held in one hand, and can be used as a stand up reference book. The illustrations are excellent, and nearly all in colour. The diagrams, maps and statistical presentations are clear. The articles and some of the glossary terms have a bibliography and cross‐references. Most of the cross‐references are to other essays in the book, but a few are to other volumes in the series. The market for this book will be for higher education and research, and for science based companies involved in agriculture. Public and school libraries will not want to buy this book, but for them I would recommend a more popular book on soils such as that from the; the New Naturalist series (Davis et al., 1992). Soil is a fascinating subject and, as mentioned at the beginning of the book and this review, a vital part of our environment.
