With the help of this guide, you can use obtained test results to evaluate the fertility status of soils and the nutrient element status of plants for crop production purposes. It serves as an instructional manual on the techniques used to perform chemical and physical characteristic tests on soils. Laboratory Guide for Conducting Soil Tests and Plant Analysis describes the basis and procedures for each test in detail, including analytical instrumentation procedures and laboratory quality assurance requirements.
While many introductory texts on soil mechanics are available, most are either lacking in their explanations of soil behavior or provide far too much information without cogent organization. More significantly, few of those texts go beyond memorization of equations and numbers to provide a practical understanding of why and how soil mechanics work.
Based on the authors’ more than 25 years of teaching soil mechanics to engineering students, Soil Mechanics Fundamentals presents a comprehensive introduction to soil mechanics, with emphasis on the engineering significance of what soil is, how it behaves, and why it behaves that way. Concise, yet thorough, the text is organized incrementally, with earlier sections serving as the foundation for more advanced topics. Explaining the varied behavior of soils through mathematics, physics and chemistry, the text covers:
Engineering behavior of clays
Unified and AASHTO soil classification systems
Compaction techniques, water flow and effective stress
Stress increments in soil mass and settlement problems
Mohr’s Circle application to soil mechanics and shear strength
Lateral earth pressure and bearing capacity theories
Each chapter is accompanied by example and practicing problems that encourage readers to apply learned concepts to applications with a full understanding of soil behavior fundamentals. With this text, engineering professionals as well as students can confidently determine logical and innovative solutions to challenging situations.
Soil is the basis not only for all gardening, but for all terrestrial life. No aspect of agriculture is more fundamental and important, yet we have been losing vast quantities of our finite soil resources to erosion, pollution, and development.
Now back in print, this eminently sensible and wonderfully well-focused book provides essential information about one of the most significant challenges for those attempting to grow delicious organic vegetables: the creation and maintenance of healthy soil.
Chapter 2, “Understanding the Soil System,” is alone worth the price of admission. Gershuny and Smillie give lay readers and experts a clear explanation of subjects–soil life and nutrient cycles–that have confounded most authors. Nowhere will the reader find simpler and more coherent descriptions of key concepts including cation exchange capacity and chelation.
There are other books about soil available, including Grace Gershuny’s comprehensive Start with the Soil, and there are books that feature chapters on soil building. What distinguishes The Soil of Soilis the authors’ concise presentation; they give readers important information, including technical essentials, without getting bogged down in scientific or quasiscientific mumbo-jumbo. In addition, useful tables list specific compost materials, green manures, and other resources that allow growers to translate into action the more general information provided by the book.
The soil-building techniques featured include:
Organic matter management
Building and maintaining humus
On-site composting
Green manures and rotations
Cultivation and weed control
Nutrient balances and soil testing
Using mineral fertilizers
Planning for organic certification
Updates to the 1999 edition include analysis of Proposed Rules for the National Organic Standards, and expanded recommendations for private testing services and soil-testing equipment for home gardeners and organic farmers.
All of us involved in the cultivation of plants–from the backyard gardener to the largest farmer–need to help regenerate a “living soil,” for only in the diversity of the soil and its creatures can we ensure the long-term health of ourselves and our environment. The Soul of Soil offers everyone a basic understanding of what soil is and what we can do to improve our own patch of it. Seen in this light, this practical handbook will be an inspiration as well.
Interpreting Soil Test Results is a practical reference for those who need to interpret results from laboratory analysis of soil. It has a comprehensive listing of the soil properties relevant to most environmental and natural land resource issues and investigations.
The precursor to this book, What Do All the Numbers Mean?, known as The Numbers Book, was widely used and accepted for interpreting soil test results. This new edition has been completely updated and many sections have been expanded, particularly those on acid sulfate soils and soil salinity. It is a handy and straightforward guide to interpretation of the numbers associated with a wide range of soil tests.
A practical guide to interpreting soil test results for farmers and other stewards of the earth wanting to understand what nutrients are available to plants and learn how to more effectively grow crops, turfgrass and other plants. This book, written by an experienced soil consultant, gives real-world advice about how to decipher the jungle of numbers found on soil and water test reports and shows how to comprehend what the numbers mean for your crop. McKibben gives clear, easy-to-understand information about how to choose the most appropriate testing protocol based on your specific soil type so you can develop an effective action plan and get the most out of your soil.
