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After years of research and development, environmental and agricultural professionals now have an array of methods for characterizing soil processes.
Soil-Water-Solute Process Characterization: An Integrated Approach goes beyond simple technical guidance by also addressing each method's limitations and showing readers how to select alternatives. The wealth of methodological tools creates the need for this holistic text, which addresses the complicating factors such as spatial and temporal variability of soil processes, scale issues, soil structure, and the trade-offs between methods. The book focuses on advanced methods for the monitoring and modeling of mass transfer processes in soil.
List of contents
Table of Contents. Preface: Soil Characterization, an Integrated Approach. Integration of Soil Process Characterization. Soil and Physical Processes: Energy and Water. Soil and Solutes Processes. Soil and Microorganisms. Spatial Variability and Scale Issues. Modeling Tools.
About the author
Javier Álvarez-Benedí, Rafael Munoz-Carpena
Summary
The practitioner or researcher often faces complex alternatives when selecting a method to characterize properties governing a soil process. After years of research and development, environmental and agricultural professionals now have an array of methods for characterizing soil processes. Well-established methods, however, may not be suitable for the specific conditions of a study since many soil characteristics are intrinsically variable. An objective, integrated approach for soil characterization is needed to more effectively quantify parameters.
Soil-Water-Solute Process Characterization goes beyond technical guidance and addresses the complicating factors such as spatial and temporal variability of soil processes, scale issues, soil structure, and the trade-offs between methods. It focuses on advanced methods for the monitoring and modeling of mass transfer processes in soil. Expert contributors present limitations to well-known methods and alternatives, discussing their practical applications for characterization efforts, evaluating strengths and weaknesses, and focusing on a reduced set of selected techniques. Three in-depth sections cover everything from multidisciplinary approaches for assessing subsurface non-point source pollution to techniques for characterizing water and energy balances at the soil-plant-atmosphere interface, field methods for monitoring soil water status, and computer models for characterizing the effect of chemicals in soil.
This single-source reference is transforming method selection and our understanding of the principles, advantages, and limitations of the available monitoring techniques. Written in a simple and straightforward manner, Soil-Water-Solute Process Characterization is a detailed cookbook and a useful, practical reference for students, practitioners, and researchers.
