| Preface | p. ix |
| Preface to the second edition | p. xi |
| Preface to the first edition | p. xiii |
| Composition of soil | p. 1 |
| Description and classification of soil | p. 1 |
| Soil particles | p. 3 |
| Pore space | p. 7 |
| Water content | p. 10 |
| Clay minerals | p. 11 |
| Exchangeable cations | p. 16 |
| Distribution of ions at clay surfaces | p. 17 |
| Particle size analysis | p. 19 |
| Surface area of particles | p. 26 |
| Interaction of soil and water | p. 29 |
| Retention of water by the matrix | p. 29 |
| Potential energy of soil water | p. 32 |
| Units of potential | p. 37 |
| Water in relatively dry soil | p. 37 |
| Capillarity | p. 42 |
| Swelling | p. 45 |
| Effect of load on water retention | p. 48 |
| Hysteresis in the moisture characteristic | p. 49 |
| Measurement of water content and potential | p. 54 |
| Water content | p. 54 |
| Matric potential | p. 62 |
| Combined matric and osmotic potential | p. 69 |
| Suitability of methods for use in the field | p. 75 |
| Principles of water movement in soil | p. 79 |
| Darcy's law | p. 79 |
| Effect of porosity and pore size on the conduction of fluids | p. 83 |
| Flow through saturated soils | p. 85 |
| Flow through unsaturated soils | p. 90 |
| Hydaulic conductivity and soil water diffusivity | p. 92 |
| Flow through anisotropic soil | p. 100 |
| Movement of water under a temperature gradient | p. 103 |
| Distribution of water in soil | p. 107 |
| Infiltration from ponded water | p. 107 |
| Redistribution following infiltration | p. 118 |
| Steady-state infiltration through a soil draining to a stationary water table | p. 123 |
| Steady-state flow of water upwards during evaporation from the soil surface | p. 126 |
| Steady percolation of water into a layered soil | p. 128 |
| Infiltration from rainfall or sprinkler applications | p. 131 |
| Measurement of infiltration and associated parameters | p. 134 |
| Groundwater in soils and aquifers | p. 140 |
| Artificial drainage | p. 140 |
| Natural drainage | p. 148 |
| Groundwater drainage by pumped bore-holes | p. 155 |
| Nonsteady-state field drainage | p. 159 |
| Field measurement of hydraulic conductivity, transmissivity, and storage coefficients | p. 162 |
| The use of isotopes and other tracers in soil water and groundwater studies | p. 172 |
| Radioactive tracers | p. 173 |
| Stable isotopes | p. 184 |
| Chloride as a tracer | p. 190 |
| Artificially added tracers | p. 197 |
| Soil structure | p. 199 |
| Definition and description | p. 199 |
| Biological agents in aggregation | p. 201 |
| Physical agents in aggregation | p. 203 |
| Pore space | p. 207 |
| Structure and permeability | p. 212 |
| Stability of structure of wet soil | p. 217 |
| Effects of soil constituents on stability | p. 221 |
| Practices and treatments affecting structure | p. 224 |
| Deformation of soil | p. 229 |
| Consistency | p. 229 |
| Strength | p. 231 |
| Effect of water on strength | p. 236 |
| Compression | p. 239 |
| Compaction by animals and machines | p. 241 |
| Deformation by swelling and shrinking | p. 243 |
| Break up of soil | p. 245 |
| Management of soil water | p. 248 |
| Storage of water in soil | p. 248 |
| Control of infiltration | p. 251 |
| Catchment hydrology | p. 253 |
| Overland flow | p. 258 |
| Control of evaporation | p. 264 |
| Irrigation | p. 268 |
| Drainage | p. 271 |
| Soil erosion and conservation | p. 274 |
| Issues involved in soil erosion | p. 274 |
| Approaches to soil erosion by water | p. 275 |
| Sedimentation and deposition | p. 279 |
| Rainfall detachment and re-detachment | p. 282 |
| Entrainment and re-entrainment by overland flow | p. 288 |
| A model of the entrainment process | p. 290 |
| A model of the re-entrainment process and sediment concentration at the 'transport limit' | p. 291 |
| Theory for entrainment and re-entrainment acting together | p. 297 |
| Rainfall and flow-driven erosion processes acting together | p. 299 |
| Approximate erosion theory and its field application | p. 301 |
| Wind erosion | p. 307 |
| Models of soil erosion by wind | p. 310 |
| Principles of soil conservation | p. 313 |
| Chemical transport in soil | p. 321 |
| The transport of chemicals sorbed on eroded sediment | p. 322 |
| Soil salinity and its control | p. 329 |
| Quality of irrigation water | p. 339 |
| Introduction to miscible displacement | p. 340 |
| Transport of chemicals with water through the soil profile | p. 349 |
| Management of chemicals in soil | p. 356 |
| The physical environment of roots | p. 358 |
| Introduction | p. 358 |
| Resistance to penetration | p. 358 |
| Aeration | p. 362 |
| Soil temperature | p. 369 |
| Plants and soil water | p. 377 |
| Absorption of water by roots | p. 377 |
| Availability of water | p. 381 |
| Movement of solutes to roots | p. 382 |
| Water loss from plant foliage to the atmosphere | p. 385 |
| The water budget of grassland | p. 393 |
| The water budget of irrigated land | p. 395 |
| The water budget of forests | p. 397 |
| Appendixes | p. 403 |
| SI units and some conversion factors for other units | p. 403 |
| Miscellaneous data including some properties of liquid water at 20[degree]C | p. 404 |
| The continuity equation | p. 404 |
| References | p. 407 |
| Index | p. 447 |
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