This book is a unified, condensed, and simplified version of the recently issued twin volumes, Fundamentals of Soil Physics and Applications of Soil Physics. Nonessential topics and complexities have been deleted, and little prior knowledge of the subject is assumed. An effort has been made to provide an elementary, readable, and self-sustaining description of the soil's physical properties and of the manner in which these properties govern the processes taking place in the field. Consideration is given to the ways in which the soil's processes can be influenced, for better or...

This book is not, in any case, in total defiance of the Wise Old Man's admonition, for it is not an entirely new book. Rather, it is an outgrowth of a previous treatise, written a decade ago, entitled "Soil and Water: Physical Principles and Processes." Though that book was well enough received at the time, the passage of the years has inevitably made it necessary to either revise and update the same book, or to supplant it with a fresh approach in the form of a new book which might incorporate still-pertient aspects of its predecessor without necessarily being limited to the older book's...

An abridged, student-oriented edition of Hillel's earlier published Environmental Soil Physics, Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics is a more succinct elucidation of the physical principles and processes governing the behavior of soil and the vital role it plays in both natural and managed ecosystems. The textbook is self-contained and self-explanatory, with numerous illustrations and sample problems. Based on sound fundamental theory, the textbook leads to a practical consideration of soil as a living system in nature and illustrates the influences of human activity upon...

The Earth's climate is constantly changing. Some of the changes are progressive, while others fluctuate at various time scales. The El Nino-la Nina cycle is one such fluctuation that recurs every few years and has far-reaching impacts. It generally appears at least once per decade, but this may vary with our changing climate. The exact frequency, sequence, duration and intensity of El Nino's manifestations, as well as its effects and geographic distributions, are highly variable. The El Nino-la Nina cycle is particularly challenging to study due to its many interlinked phenomena that occur in...

Traversing river valleys, steppes, deserts, rain-fed forests, farmlands, and seacoasts, the early Israelites experienced all the contrasting ecological domains of the ancient Near East. As they grew from a nomadic clan to become a nation-state in Canaan, they interacted with indigenous societies of the region, absorbed selective elements of their cultures, and integrated them into a radically new culture of their own. Daniel Hillel reveals the interplay between the culture of the Israelites and the environments within which it evolved. More than just affecting their material existence, the...

As the crucible of life, the source and final resting place of everything that grows, soil inspires reverence not only in the peasant who derives his daily bread from it, but also in the scientist who contemplates its meaning as the place where life and death meet and exchange vital energies. Out of the Earth is the culmination of the author's long career in conservation. This history of man's use and misuse of soil and water combines a description of the complex inner processes that form soil with a lyrical assertion of its powers and significance.

The portending process of climate change, induced by the anthropogenic accumulations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, is likely to generate effects that will cascade through the biosphere, impacting all life on earth and bearing upon human endeavors. Of special concern is the potential effect on agriculture and global food security.Anticipating these effects demands that scientists widen their field of vision and cooperate across disciplines to encompass increasingly complex interactions. Trans-disciplinary cooperation should aim to generate effective responses to the evolving risks,...

Climate change is no longer merely projected to occur in the indeterminate future. It has already begun to be manifested in the weather regimes affecting agroecosystems, food production, and rural livelihoods in many regions around the world. It is a real and growing challenge to the world at large and in particular to the scientific community, which is called upon with increasing urgency to respond effectively.The second volume in the ICP Series on Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation, and Mitigation, Handbook of Climate Change and Agroecosystems: Global and Regional Aspects and Implications...

“Top agricultural scientists from around the world have taken up the challenge of sustainable agriculture, with the specific focus on integrating agronomic, climatological, biophysical and socio-economic perspectives and processes. Every chapter (of the Handbook) contributes to addressing the growing food-security challenges facing the world.”Foreword by Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia UniversityClimate effects on agriculture are of increasing concern in both the scientific and policy communities because of the growing population and the greater...

This is a series of personal recollections concerning the life and work of a leading American-Israeli environmental and agricultural scientist, whose wide-ranging personal and professional experiences span eight decades and some 40 countries around the world. It recalls a family's journey in 1932 from California to Palestine, and the events that led to his taking part in the establishment of the first modern settlement in the highlands of the Negev Desert (later joined by ex-Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion), and helping to innovate and apply efficient methods of soil and water...