Description
Book SynopsisAbout our authors
Ray R. Weil is a professor of soil science at the University of Maryland. He has previously served in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia, managed a 500-acre organic farm in North Carolina, and been a lecturer at the University of Malawi. Dr. Weil is an international leader in sustainable agricultural systems in both developed and developing countries.
Published in more than 85 scientific journals and in eight books, Dr. Weil focuses his research on cover crops and organic matter management for enhanced soil quality and nutrient cycling for water quality and sustainability. His research lab developed analytical methods for soil microbial biomass and active soil C that have been adopted by the USDA/NRCS and are used in ecosystem studies worldwide. His contributions to improved cropping systems and soil management have been put into practice on farms large and small.
At the University of Maryland, Dr. Weil teaches undergraduate and gra
Table of Contents
1. The Soils Around Us
2. Formation of Soils from Parent Materials
3. Soil Classification
4. Soil Architecture and Physical Properties
5. Soil Water: Characteristics and Behavior
6. Soil and the Hydrologic Cycle
7. Soil Aeration and Temperature
8. The Colloidal Fraction: Seat of Soil Chemical and Physical Activity
9. Soil Acidity, Alkalinity, Salinity, and Sodicity
10. Organisms and Ecology of the Soil
11. Soil Organic Matter
12. Nutrient Cycles and Soil Fertility
13. Practical Nutrient Management
14. Soil Erosion and Its Control
15. Soils and Chemical Pollution
