| List of contributors | p. xi |
| Preface | p. xiii |
| Acknowledgements | p. xvi |
| Concepts of soils | p. 1 |
| Some Greek and Roman concepts | p. 2 |
| The transition | p. 4 |
| The awakening | p. 4 |
| Genetic supremacy | p. 5 |
| Sampling volumes | p. 7 |
| Landscape systems | p. 9 |
| The new millennium | p. 9 |
| Pedogenic processes and pathways of horizon differentiation | p. 11 |
| Horizonation processes | p. 11 |
| Studies of soil genesis | p. 12 |
| Surface horizons | p. 14 |
| Subsurface horizons | p. 15 |
| Formation of structural features in soil | p. 21 |
| Soil phases: the inorganic solid phase | p. 23 |
| Description | p. 23 |
| Future prospects | p. 44 |
| Soil phases: the organic solid phase | p. 45 |
| Soil organic matter complex composition | p. 46 |
| Organomineral associations | p. 51 |
| Soil organic matter dynamics | p. 54 |
| Soil phases: the liquid phase | p. 57 |
| The liquid phase of soils | p. 59 |
| Methods of soil solution characterization | p. 63 |
| Application of soil solution studies to pedogenesis | p. 66 |
| Conclusions | p. 73 |
| Soil phases: the gaseous phase | p. 75 |
| Gaseous components of soil | p. 75 |
| Sources, sinks and transport of gases in the soil | p. 77 |
| Agroecological evaluation of the soil air | p. 84 |
| Gases emissions and global ecological functions of the soil | p. 85 |
| Soil phases: the living phase | p. 91 |
| Physiological capabilities of soil organisms | p. 92 |
| The role of organisms for soil functions | p. 95 |
| Aerobic and anaerobic metabolisms in soil | p. 96 |
| The living phase indicates soil quality | p. 98 |
| Modification of biotic communities during soil degradation | p. 100 |
| The State Factor theory of soil formation | p. 103 |
| The soil system | p. 105 |
| State factors | p. 108 |
| Importance of State Factor theory | p. 111 |
| Factors of soil formation: parent material. As exemplified by a comparison of granitic and basaltic soils | p. 113 |
| Mineralogical properties | p. 114 |
| Physical properties | p. 116 |
| Chemical properties | p. 119 |
| Conclusions | p. 127 |
| Factors of soil formation: climate. As exemplified by volcanic ash soils | p. 131 |
| Global climate and soil formation | p. 132 |
| Influences of climatic factors on soil formation based on the studies on volcanic ash soils | p. 137 |
| Factors of soil formation: topography | p. 151 |
| Topographic elements of landscapes | p. 151 |
| External factors mediated by topography | p. 155 |
| Pedogenic processes linked to topography | p. 156 |
| Topography-based models of soil distribution | p. 162 |
| Factors of soil formation: biota. As exemplified by case studies on the direct imprint of trees on trace metal concentrations in soils | p. 165 |
| Approach | p. 168 |
| Case study 1: Trace metal distribution at the soil-root interface | p. 169 |
| Case study 2: Trace metal patterns in organic horizons | p. 175 |
| In conclusion | p. 179 |
| Factors of soil formation: time | p. 181 |
| Time for horizon differentiation | p. 182 |
| Soil development | p. 183 |
| Holocene soil formation | p. 185 |
| Soil age and progressive change | p. 185 |
| Time and soil classification | p. 190 |
| Soil formation on Earth and beyond: the role of additional soil-forming factors | p. 193 |
| The anthropogenic factor | p. 194 |
| Other factors of pedogenesis | p. 205 |
| Extraterrestrial soils | p. 208 |
| Soil functions and land use | p. 211 |
| How to deal with future demands on our soils | p. 212 |
| To characterize soil functions better | p. 215 |
| Storylines: what can the soil tell us when we listen? | p. 219 |
| In conclusion | p. 221 |
| Physical degradation of soils | p. 223 |
| Soil compaction | p. 224 |
| Sealing and crusting | p. 227 |
| Physical soil management | p. 229 |
| Secondary effects | p. 231 |
| Conclusions | p. 232 |
| Chemical degradation of soils | p. 235 |
| Chemical soil degradation processes | p. 236 |
| Our duty | p. 253 |
| The future of soil research | p. 255 |
| Soils and their buffering capacities | p. 257 |
| The soil resource | p. 258 |
| Soil phosphorus | p. 258 |
| Soil processes | p. 260 |
| Nitrogen cycling | p. 261 |
| The continued investigation of soil processes | p. 263 |
| Naming soils and soil horizons | p. 265 |
| References | p. 277 |
| Index | p. 303 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
