Includes bibliographical references (p. 281-289) and index.

Preface -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Soil as a living body : its dynamic role in the environment -- 2. Soil in the history of civilization -- 3. Soil formation -- 4. Soil classification -- 5. Soil physical attributes -- 6. Soil-water statics -- 7. Soil-water dynamics -- 8. Soil-water cycle -- 9. Soil-water and soil-energy balances in the field -- 10. Soil chemical attributes and processes -- 11. Soil fertility and plant nutrition -- 12. Soil biodiversity -- 13. Soil and water management -- 14. Soil erosion and conservation -- 15. Soil pollution and remediation -- 16. Concluding overview -- Appendix A : The role of soil in the mitigation of global warming -- Appendix B : The role of soil in the global food supply -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Index -- Figure sources and credits.

"Soil in the Environment provides fundamental knowledge regarding the role of the soil as a central link in the chain of domains and processes comprising the terrestrial environment, a topic that must be an essential component of every curriculum in the environmental sciences. In this book, Dr. Daniel Hillel reveals how the soil interacts dynamically with the atmosphere above and the lithosphere below, how it influences the planet's climate and hydrological cycle, how it serves as the primary habitat for a community of living organisms, and how it affects the fate of humanity." "This text offers an encompassing perspective regarding the soil's impact on the environment by organizing chapters among the three main sets of interacting processes: Physical, Chemical, and Biological. As a primary source for students and professors of soil science, ecology, forestry, hydrology, geophysics, geography and all environmental sciences, this is the definitive book for understanding the vast impact of soil."--BOOK JACKET.