Now in its third edition, this textbook gives a comprehensive account of soil physics with emphasis on field applications for students and research workers engaged in water resources studies, soil sciences, and plant sciences. The authors have added chapters on soil erosion, conservation, and the role of soil in affecting water quality to this new edition. The book gives an account of how water influences the structure and strength of soil; how plants absorb water from soils; how water from rain and irrigation enters the soil and flows through it to contribute to stream flow and flow in artificial drains; how soluble salts and chemical pollutants are transported; how soils are eroded by water and wind; and how the evaporation rate from the land surface is influenced by soil water supply, the nature of the plant cover and the evaporative power of the atmosphere. This book will be useful to students and research workers in environmental sciences, hydrology, agriculture, soil science, and civil engineering.

The world population in 1930 was 2 billion. It reached 3 billion in 1960, stands at 4. 6 billion today, and is expected to reach 6 billion by the end of the century. The food and fiber needs of such a rapidly increasing population are enormous. One of the most basic resources, perhaps the most basic of all, for meeting these needs is the soil. There is an urgent need to improve and protect this resource on which the future of mankind directly depends. We must not only learn how to use the soil to furnish our immediate needs, but also ensure that the ability of the soil to sustain food production in the future is unimpaired. This is indeed a mammoth task; a 1977 United Nations survey reported that almost one-fifth of the world's is now being steadily degraded. The diversity of soil makes it cropland necessary for research to be conducted in many locations. There are basic principles, however, that are universal. This, Advances in Soil Sciences, presents clear and concise reviews in all areas of soil science for everyone interested in this basic resource and man's influence on it. The purpose of the series is to provide a forum for leading scientists to analyze and summarize the available scientific information on a subject, assessing its importance and identifying additional research needs. But most importantly, the contributors will develop principles that have practical applications to both developing and developed agricultures.

Now in its third edition, this textbook gives a comprehensive account of soil physics with emphasis on field applications for students and research workers engaged in water resources studies, soil sciences, and plant sciences. The authors have added chapters on soil erosion, conservation, and the role of soil in affecting water quality to this new edition. The book gives an account of how water influences the structure and strength of soil; how plants absorb water from soils; how water from rain and irrigation enters the soil and flows through it to contribute to stream flow and flow in artificial drains; how soluble salts and chemical pollutants are transported; how soils are eroded by water and wind; and how the evaporation rate from the land surface is influenced by soil water supply, the nature of the plant cover and the evaporative power of the atmosphere. This book will be useful to students and research workers in environmental sciences, hydrology, agriculture, soil science, and civil engineering.