Bücher der Reihe Advances in Soil Science

Soil is formed from physical and chemical weathering of rocks - processes described historically because they involve eons of time-by glaciation and by wind and water transport of soil materials, later deposited in deltas and loessial planes.

From the beginning of agriculture until about 1950, increased food production came almost entirely from expanding the cropland base. The world's irrigated land in 1950 totaled 94 million hectares but increased to 140 million by 1960, to 198 million by 1970, and to 271 million hectares in 1985.

Soil degradation is clearly one of the most pressing problems facing man kind. Therefore, it seemed immediately important to devote a volume to the principles and technologies for restor ing degraded soils to a productive status.

Advances in Soil Science was conceived in 1982 to provide a forum for leading international scientists to analyze and summarize the available scientific information on a subject, assessing its importance and ident ifying additional research needs.