Soil Science
- [Plant and Soil - University of Kentucky]
- Overview
Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource, encompassing its formation, properties (physical, chemical, biological), and its relationship to land use and management.
It is an interdisciplinary field that uses principles from sciences like biology, chemistry, geology, and physics to address global challenges such as food security, climate change, and environmental sustainability.
The field is typically divided into agricultural soils and environmental soils, with concerns about protecting soil from growing populations, land degradation, and water crises.
1. What soil science studies:
- Soil formation, classification, and mapping: How soils are created and organized on the Earth's surface.
- Soil properties: The physical, chemical, biological, and fertility characteristics of soils.
- Soil use and management: How soil properties relate to the use and management of soils in various contexts.
- Interactions with wider systems: How soil processes connect with broader environmental systems.
2. Key applications and importance:
- Agriculture: Optimizing soil for crop production and managing soil health.
- Environmental management: Addressing issues like land degradation, water quality, and climate change.
- Climate models: Providing essential data for climate models and carbon-capture projects.
- Engineering and planning: Informing construction projects, land-use planning, and hydrologic plans.
- Ecosystem understanding: Studying how soil acts as a living ecosystem that supports other life.
3. Interdisciplinary nature:
Soil science draws on a wide range of disciplines, including: Biology, Chemistry, Ecology, Geology, Hydrology, Physics, Mathematics, Nutrition, and Toxicology.
- Main Research Areas of Soil Science
There are two main branches of soil science - sometimes terms referring to branches of soil science, such as pedology (the formation, chemistry, morphology, and classification of soils) and the conceptual perspective of pedology (how soils interact with living things, especially plants), are used as synonyms for soil science.
In fact, engineers, agronomists, chemists, geologists, physical geographers, ecologists, biologists, microbiologists, foresters, hygienists, archaeologists and regional planning specialists all contributed to the further understanding of soils and the advancement of soil science.
Research in soil science covers the physics, chemistry, biology, and fertility of soil, with applications in areas like environmental management, agriculture, and climate change. Key areas include soil health, organic matter dynamics, nutrient cycling, pollution and remediation, and the interactions between soil, plants, and ecosystems.
Dependent on and curious about soil, exploring the diversity and dynamics of this resource is constantly yielding new discoveries and insights. The need to understand soils in the context of climate change, greenhouse gases, and carbon sequestration necessitates the opening of new avenues of soil research.
Interest in maintaining Earth's biodiversity and exploring past cultures has also sparked renewed interest in achieving a greater understanding of soils.
- Core Scientific Disciplines
- Soil Physics: Studies the physical properties of soil, including water and gas movement, and how these properties influence soil health and environmental processes.
- Soil Chemistry: Focuses on the chemical composition of soil, including nutrient speciation, ionic equilibria, and the transport and fate of contaminants.
- Soil Biology: Investigates the microorganisms in soil, their diversity, and their role in nutrient cycling and ecosystem health.
- Soil Genesis and Classification (Pedology): Examines the formation of soils, their classification, and the relationship between soil properties and landscape.
- Applied and Interdisciplinary Research
Soil science is the study of soil in its natural environment. Soil science is the study of soil in relation to the uses that depend on it. Both branches combine soil physics, soil chemistry and soil biology.
A more integrated, less soil-centric concept is also valuable due to the numerous interactions between the biosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere within the pedosphere. Many concepts that are critical to understanding soils come from individuals who cannot strictly be considered soil scientists.
This highlights the interdisciplinary nature of soil concepts.
- Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management: Researches how to manage soil to optimize nutrient availability for plant growth, often through precision nutrient management and the use of organic matter.
- Soil Health and Management: Focuses on soil quality, its impact on agricultural productivity, and the management practices needed to maintain or improve it.
- Soil and Environmental Pollution: Studies how pollutants move through soil and water and develops remediation techniques for contaminated sites.
- Soil and Water Quality: Investigates soil's role as a natural filter for groundwater and surface water, focusing on preventing contamination and managing watersheds.
- Climate Change: Explores the role of soil in carbon storage and how land management practices can be used to mitigate climate change.
- Soil and Human Health: Investigates the connection between soil quality, microbial communities, and human health outcomes.
- [Stunning Mother Nature, Nguyen Hoang]
- Research Topics in Soil Science
- Soil regeneration
- Soil and water resources conservation
- Soil-water environment and ecosystem
- Application of environmental biotechnology in soil and groundwater bioremediation
- Soil science and Plant Nutrition
- Crop and soil sciences
- Soil fertility
- Soil carbon research
- Soil management
- Soil compaction: causes, effects and control
- Soil physics and soil chemistry
- Environmental biophysics
- Soil fertility/plant nutrition
- Soil genesis/classification/pedology
- Soil ecology, waste management & environmental microbiology
- Soil microbial genomics & evolutionary biology
- Pedometrics
- Plant-soil interactions
- Soil management
- Soil organic matter dynamics and carbon sequestration
- Soil pollution & remediation
- Soil chemistry
- Soil biogeochemistry & nutrient Cycling
- Soil biology, ecosystems and biodiversity
- Soil microbiology
- Soils and human health
- Soilborne pathogens
- Green building
- Hydroponics
- Horticultural engineering
- Controlled environment agriculture engineering
- Rooftop greening
- Vertical farming (Urban farming)
- Urban agriculture
- Nanoclay: the liquid turning desert to farmland
[More to come ...]
