SOIL: beneath our feet / food and fiber / ashes to ashes, dust to dust / dirt

Soil has been called the final frontier of environmental research. The critical role of soil in biogeochemical processes is tied to its properties and place--porous, structured, and spatially variable, it serves as a conduit, buffer, and transformer of water, solutes and gases. Yet what is complex, life-giving, and sacred to some, is ordinary, even ugly, to others. This is the enigma that is soil.

Soil and Culture explores the perception of soil in ancient,...

This book provides an expert analysis of challenges faced by humankind and their implications for the availability and sustainability of soils worldwide. It emphasizes cultural, historical, philosophical, and ethical approaches to understanding soil resources. Chapters cover climate change, diminishing plant nutrients and soil loss; religious views of soil; cultural/historical views and uses of soil; uses of soils for optimal production and conservation; non-agricultural uses of soils; and challenges for soil science. The book contains 37 contributions with chapter Authors from 13 different...