Edaphology

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Edaphology (from Greek: έδαφος , edaphos, "ground"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") is one of two main divisions of soil science, the other being pedology. [1][2] Edaphology is concerned with the influence of soils on living things, particularly plants. The term is also applied to the study of how soil influences man's use of land for plant growth[3] as well as man's overall use of the land.[4] General subfields within edaphology are agricultural soil science (known by the term agrology in some regions) and environmental soil science.

In Russia, edaphology is considered equivalent to pedology, but is recognized to have an applied sense consistent with agrophysics and agrochemistry outside of Russia.[5]

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[edit] History

Xenophon (431–355 BC), and Cato (234–149 BC), were early edaphologists. Xenophon noted the beneficial effect of turning a cover crop into the earth. Cato wrote De Agri Cultura ("On Farming") which recommended tillage, crop rotation and the use of legumes in the rotation to build soil nitrogen. He also devised the first soil capability classification for specific crops.

Jan Baptist van Helmont (1577–1644) performed a famous experiment, growing a willow tree in a pot of soil and supplying only rainwater for five years. The weight gained by the tree was greater than the weight loss of the soil. He concluded that the willow was made of water. Although only partly correct, his experiment reignited interest in edaphology.[6]

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[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Page 8 in Buckman, Harry O. & Brady, Nyle C. (1960), The Nature and Property of Soils - A College Text of Edaphology (6th ed.), New York: The MacMillan Company 
  2. ^ Gardiner, Duane T. Lecture 1 Chapter 1 Why Study Soils? (HTML). ENV320: Soil Science Lecture Notes. Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Retrieved on 2008-01-12.
  3. ^ Research Branch (1976). "Glossary of Terms in Soil Science". Publication 1459. . Canada Department of Agriculture, Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
  4. ^ Whittow, John B. (1984). The Penguin Dictionary of Physical Geography. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 014051094X. 
  5. ^ Tseits, M. A.; B. A. Devin (2005). "Soil Science Web Resources: A Practical Guide to Search Procedures and Search Engines". Eurasian Soil Science 38 (2): page 223. Translated from Pochvovedenie, No. 2. 2005, pp. 247-253. 
  6. ^ Xenophon, Cato and Van Helmont: see page 9-12 in Miller, Raymond W. & Gardiner, Duane T. (1998), Soils in Our Environment (8th ed.), Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458: Prentice Hall, ISBN 0136108822 

[edit] References