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Back in 1992, I purchased Daniel Hillel's Introduction to Soil Physics as a supplemental text for an undergraduate course in soil physics that I was enrolled in at the time. In the preface, the author explained that Introduction to Soil Physics was a unified, condensed, and simplified version of two of his other books: Fundamentals of Soil Physics and Applications of Soil Physics. As such, Introduction to Soil Physics was intended to serve as a text for an undergraduate course in soil physics or a related field. Fast-forward to the present, and the book reviewed here is called Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics and in its preface the author notes that Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics is an abridged and updated version of his earlier book titled Environmental Soil Physics. It too is intended as a text for an undergraduate level course in soil physics. Comparing the table of contents of Introduction to Soil Physics with that of Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics, it would appear that the latter is a reorganized, updated, and expanded version of the former. Therefore, in reviewing Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics, it seems appropriate to note some of the differences between it and its predecessor written nearly 25 yr ago.
The book Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics is 494 pages in length and was published in 2004. The soil physics subject matter presented therein is organized into seven parts, with each part further divided into 2 to 5 chapters. Part I (Basic Relationships) introduces the field of soil physics and presents a standard description of the fundamental physical characteristics of soils and the properties of water as they relate to porous media. Part II (The Solid Phase) provides a thorough description of soil texture, particle size distribution, and soil structure and aggregation. Part II, in particular, includes a more expanded treatment of the colloidal properties and behavior of clays than Introduction to Soil Physics. Part III (The Liquid Phase) provides chapters describing water content and water potential, and water flow in saturated and unsaturated soils. Of notable importance, Part III includes a chapter on solute transport and soil salinity, which was not present in Introduction to Soil Physics.
Part IV (The Gaseous Phase) describes the content and composition of soil gases, as well as soil gas movement and exchange in porous media. Part IV also includes discussions of soil oxidation–reduction processes and emissions of greenhouse gases from soils, which was not present in Introduction to Soil Physics. Part V (Composite Phenomena) consists of a chapter on soil temperature and heat flow and another chapter on stress, strain, and strength properties of soil. The latter chapter provides a more detailed mathematical treatment of soil compaction and consolidation processes than Introduction to Soil Physics. Part VI (The Field Water Cycle) presents chapters describing water entry into soil, surface runoff and erosion, redistribution and retention of soil moisture, groundwater drainage and pollution, and evaporation from bare soil and wind erosion. Part VI provides a more detailed treatment of the Green and Ampt approach for modeling soil infiltration, as well as discussions of wetting front instability and preferential flow during infiltration. The chapter on surface runoff and water erosion is also a nice introduction to erosion processes on soil surfaces. In comparison to Introduction to Soil Physics, the book describes the hysteretic effects on soils due to wetting–drying processes (e.g., soil cracking) and provides a brief introduction to the different types of groundwater pollution.
Part VII (Soil–Plant–Water Relations) includes chapters on the plant uptake of soil moisture, water and energy balances in the field, and irrigation and water use efficiency. Compared with Introduction to Soil Physics, this book provides a greater description of the physiology and function of plants, in particular their root systems in soils (e.g., plant–soil water potentials and fluxes). In terms of water balances, Part VII includes discussions of potential evapotranspiration measurement and estimation of canopy resistance using the Penman–Monteith equation. The water balance chapter also broaches the concept of the spatial variability of soil properties and processes. A particular improvement in this book is the presentation of irrigation and water use efficiency concepts in a separate chapter. The expanded treatment of this topic reflects the ever-growing importance of improved water use efficiency and water conservation practices in regions where intense competition exists between different agricultural, urban, and environmental stakeholders over limited water resources.
Overall, Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics is an excellent introductory text for an undergraduate course in soil physics. The book is well written and nicely presents the major topics of soil physics through the use of sidebars, boxes, worked example problems, color graphics, and informative figures and tables. In addition, the book provides a comprehensive list of recent and classic references for the reader to obtain more detailed information on the major topics covered. It also includes a useful glossary of terms. The front cover of the book contains a graphic displaying a conceptualized profile of the major water and energy exchanges between the atmosphere, soil surface, root zone, deep vadose zone, and water table. The book provides at least an introductory treatment of the major physical, chemical, and biological processes in each of these zones as they relate to soils. As a soil physics text, I've always appreciated that the author includes a treatment of water table fluctuation dynamics and an introduction to groundwater flow in confined and unconfined aquifers. Finally, the book includes discussion of the development of important topics related to soil physics (e.g., spatial variability of soil properties, water use efficiency, and preferential flow) during the last 25 yr or so since the publication of Introduction to Soil Physics.
Fugro West, Inc., 1000 Broadway, Suite 200, Oakland, CA 94607
(nruud{at}fugro.com)
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