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Edaphology (from Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 , edaphos, "ground"; and , -logia
-logy

-logy is a suffix in English language, found in words originally adapted from Ancient Greek words ending in -????a . The earliest English examples were anglicizations of the French language -logie, which was in turn inherited from the Latin language -logia....
) is one of two main divisions of soil science
Soil science

Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the earth including pedogenesis, soil classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation to the use and management of soils....
, the other being pedology
Pedology (soil study)

Pedology is the study of soils in their natural environment. It is one of two main branches of soil science, the other being edaphology. Pedology deals with pedogenesis, soil morphology, and soil classification, while edaphology studies the way soils influence plants, fungi, and other living things....
. Edaphology is concerned with the influence of soil
Soil

Soil is the naturally occurring, unconsolidated or loose covering on the Earth's surface. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes including weathering and erosion....
s on living things, particularly plants. The term is also applied to the study of how soil influences man's use of land for plant growth as well as man's overall use of the land. General subfields within edaphology are agricultural soil science
Agricultural soil science

Agricultural soil science is a branch of soil science that deals with the study of edaphology conditions as they relate to the production of food and fiber....
 (known by the term agrology
Agrology

Agrology is the branch of soil science dealing with the production of crops. The use of the term is most active in Canada. Use of the term outside of Canada is sporadic but significant....
 in some regions) and environmental soil science
Environmental soil science

Environmental soil science is the study of the interaction of humans with the pedosphere as well as critical aspects of the biosphere, the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, and the Earth's atmosphere....
.

In Russia, edaphology is considered equivalent to pedology, but is recognized to have an applied sense consistent with agrophysics
Agrophysics

Agrophysics is a new branch of science bordering on Physics and Agronomy,whose objects of study are the agroecosystem and the biological Physical bodys affected by human activity, studied and described using the methods of Physical Sciences....
 and agrochemistry outside of Russia.

lass="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m4561327",this)' onMouseout='hide("m4561327")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Xenophon">Xenophon
Xenophon

Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens and Xenophon of Thebes, was a soldier, mercenary and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates....
 (431–355 BC), and Cato
Cato

Cato may refer to:...
 (234–149 BC), were early edaphologists.






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Encyclopedia


Edaphology (from Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 , edaphos, "ground"; and , -logia
-logy

-logy is a suffix in English language, found in words originally adapted from Ancient Greek words ending in -????a . The earliest English examples were anglicizations of the French language -logie, which was in turn inherited from the Latin language -logia....
) is one of two main divisions of soil science
Soil science

Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the earth including pedogenesis, soil classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation to the use and management of soils....
, the other being pedology
Pedology (soil study)

Pedology is the study of soils in their natural environment. It is one of two main branches of soil science, the other being edaphology. Pedology deals with pedogenesis, soil morphology, and soil classification, while edaphology studies the way soils influence plants, fungi, and other living things....
. Edaphology is concerned with the influence of soil
Soil

Soil is the naturally occurring, unconsolidated or loose covering on the Earth's surface. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes including weathering and erosion....
s on living things, particularly plants. The term is also applied to the study of how soil influences man's use of land for plant growth as well as man's overall use of the land. General subfields within edaphology are agricultural soil science
Agricultural soil science

Agricultural soil science is a branch of soil science that deals with the study of edaphology conditions as they relate to the production of food and fiber....
 (known by the term agrology
Agrology

Agrology is the branch of soil science dealing with the production of crops. The use of the term is most active in Canada. Use of the term outside of Canada is sporadic but significant....
 in some regions) and environmental soil science
Environmental soil science

Environmental soil science is the study of the interaction of humans with the pedosphere as well as critical aspects of the biosphere, the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, and the Earth's atmosphere....
.

In Russia, edaphology is considered equivalent to pedology, but is recognized to have an applied sense consistent with agrophysics
Agrophysics

Agrophysics is a new branch of science bordering on Physics and Agronomy,whose objects of study are the agroecosystem and the biological Physical bodys affected by human activity, studied and described using the methods of Physical Sciences....
 and agrochemistry outside of Russia.

History

Xenophon
Xenophon

Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens and Xenophon of Thebes, was a soldier, mercenary and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates....
 (431–355 BC), and Cato
Cato

Cato may refer to:...
 (234–149 BC), were early edaphologists. Xenophon noted the beneficial effect of turning a cover crop into the earth. Cato wrote De Agri Cultura
De Agri Cultura

De Agri Cultura , written by Cato the Elder, is the oldest surviving work of Latin prose. Alexander Hugh McDonald, in his article for the Oxford Classical Dictionary, dated this essay's composition to about 160s BC and noted that "for all of its lack of form, its details of old custom and superstition, and its archaic tone, it was an...
 ("On Farming") which recommended tillage
Tillage

Tillage is the agricultural preparation of the soil by ploughing, ripping, or turning it. Tillage can also mean the land that is tilled. There are two types of tillage: primary and secondary tillage....
, crop rotation
Crop rotation

Crop rotation or Crop sequencing is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of Crop in the same area in sequential seasons for various benefits such as to avoid the build up of pathogens and pests that often occurs when one species is continuously cropped....
 and the use of legumes in the rotation to build soil nitrogen. He also devised the first soil capability classification
Land use capability map

Land use capability maps are maps created to represent the potential uses of a "unit" of land. They are measured using various indicators, although the most common are five physical factors ....
 for specific crops.

Jan Baptist van Helmont
Jan Baptist van Helmont

Jan Baptist van Helmont was an early modern period Flemish people chemist, physiologist, and physician. He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and iatrochemistry, and is sometimes considered to be "the founder of pneumatic chemistry"....
 (1577–1644) performed a famous experiment, growing a willow tree in a pot of soil and supplying only rainwater for five years. The weight gained by the tree was greater than the weight loss of the soil. He concluded that the willow was made of water. Although only partly correct, his experiment reignited interest in edaphology.

Areas of study


Agricultural soil science

Agricultural soil science is the application of soil chemistry, physics, and biology dealing with the production of crops. In terms of soil chemistry
Soil chemistry

Soil chemistry studies the chemical characteristics of soil. Soil chemistry is affected by mineral composition, organic matter and environmental factors....
, it places particular emphasis on plant nutrients
Plant nutrition

Plant nutrition is the study of the chemical element that are necessary for plant growth. There are several principles that apply to plant nutrition. Some the element is directly involved in plant metabolism ....
 of importance to farming and horticulture
Horticulture

'Horticulture' is the industry and science of plant cultivation. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, Crop , plant breeding and genetic engineering, plant biochemistry, and plant physiology....
, especially with regards to soil fertility and fertilizer
Fertilizer

Fertilizers are chemical compounds given to plants to promote growth; they are usually applied either through the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar feeding, for uptake through leaves....
 components.

Physical edaphology
Soil physics

Soil physics is the study of soil physical properties and processes. It is applied to management and prediction under natural and managed ecosystems....
 is strongly associated with crop irrigation
Irrigation

Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops. In crop production it is mainly used in dry areas and in periods of rainfall shortfalls, but also to protect plants against frost....
 and drainage
Drainage

Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and groundwater from an area. Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies....
.

Soil husbandry is a strong tradition within agricultural soil science. Beyond preventing soil erosion and degradation in cropland, soil husbandry seeks to sustain the agricultural soil resource though the use of soil conditioner
Soil conditioner

A soil conditioner, also called a soil amendment, is a material added to soil to improve plant growth and health. The type of conditioner added depends on the current soil composition, climate, and the type of plant....
s and cover crop
Cover crop

Broadly defined, a cover crop is any Annual plant, Biennial plant, or perennial plant grown as a monoculture or polyculture , to improve any number of conditions associated with sustainable agriculture....
s.

Environmental soil science


Environmental soil science studies our interaction with the pedosphere
Pedosphere

The pedosphere is the outermost layer of the Earth that is composed of soil and subject to pedogenesis. It exists at the interface of the lithosphere, Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere....
 on beyond crop production. Fundamental and applied aspects the field address vadose zone
Vadose zone

The vadose zone, also termed the unsaturated zone, is the portion of Earth between the land surface and the phreatic or zone of saturation ....
 functions, septic drain field
Septic drain field

Septic drain fields are used to remove contaminants and impurities from the liquid that emerges from the septic tank. This is typically done by burying perforated pipes in trenches and allowing the liquid to leach out and the surrounding soil absorbs the unwanted waste....
 site assessment and function, land treatment of wastewater
Wastewater

Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. It comprises liquid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties, industry, and/or agriculture and can encompass a wide range of potential contaminants and concentrations....
, stormwater
Stormwater

Stormwater is a term used to describe water that originates during precipitation events. It may also be used to apply to water that originates with snowmelt or runoff water from overwatering that enters the stormwater system....
, erosion
Erosion

For morphological image processing operations, see Erosion 'For use of in dermatopathology, see Erosion Erosion is the removal of solids in the natural environment....
 control, soil contamination
Soil contamination

Soil contamination is caused by the presence of man-made chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. This type of contamination typically arises from the rupture of underground storage tanks, application of pesticides, percolation of contaminated surface water to subsurface strata, oil and fuel dumping, leaching of wastes...
 with metals and pesticides, remediation of contaminated soils, restoration of wetlands, soil degradation, and environmental nutrient management
Nutrient management

Nutrient management is defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as managing the amount, form, placement, and timing of the application of nutrients to plants....
. It also studies soil in the context of land use
Land use

Land use is the human modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. The major effect of land use on land cover since 1750 has been deforestation of temperate regions....
 planning, global warming
Global warming

Global warming is the increase in the Instrumental temperature record of the Earth's near-surface air and the oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation....
, and acid rain
Acid rain

Acid rain is rain or any other form of Precipitation that is unusually acidic. It has harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure....
.

See also

  • Edaphic
    Edaphic

    In ecology, edaphic refers to plant Community that are distinguished by soil conditions rather than by the climate. Edaphic plant communities include:...
  • Sustainable agriculture
    Sustainable agriculture

    Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals: natural environment stewardship, farm profitability, and prosperous farming community. These goals have been defined by a variety of List of academic disciplines and may be looked at from the vantage point of the farmer or the consumer....