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This book introduces the reader to the Great Lakes and considers their soil-forming factors and processes, taxonomic structure of the soils, soil geography and pedodiversity, while also addressing the importance and protection of soils in the Great Lakes Coastal Zone. The Great Lakes are an important part of the USA and Canada. Home to 33 million people, including 90% of all Canadians, the Great Lakes account for 20% of the world's surface freshwater and 90% of the USA's freshwater. Key industries include shipping, steel and automobile production, energy generation, fishing, pulp and papermaking, agriculture, and recreation. To date, there has been no comprehensive inventory of the region's soils, which are now subject to dramatic climate change and environmental degradation. This book was prepared using the US Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service databases, including the Web Soil Survey, Soil Series Extent Explorer, soil classification and characterization databases, and county soil surveys, supplemented by shoreline viewer software, the author's independent research, consultation with colleagues, and survey trips around the Great Lakes.
List of contents
1. Introduction to the Great Lakes Coastal Zone.- 2. Soil-forming Factors of the Great Lakes Coastal Zone.- 3. Soil Taxonomic Systems Used in the Great Lakes Coastal Zone.- 4. Taxonomic Structure of the Soils of the Great Lakes Coastal Zone.- 5. Soils of the Great Lakes Coastal Zone.- 6. Soils of the Lake Superior Coastal Zone.- 7. Soils of the Lake Michigan Coastal Zone.- 8. Soils of the Lake Huron Coastal Zone.- 9. Soils of the Lake Erie Coastal Zone.- 10. Soils of the Lake Ontario Coastal Zone.- 11. Soil-forming Processes of the Great Lakes Coastal Zone.- 12. Pedodiversity of the Great Lakes Coastal Zone.- 13. Importance and Protection of Soils of the Great Lakes Coastal Zone.- 14. Unusual Relict Features in the Great Lakes Coastal Zone.- 15. Conclusions.- Methodology.- References.- Appendices.- A. Classification of soil series.- B. Soil-forming factors and lake occurrence for soil series of the Great Lakes Coastal Zone.- C. Benchmark, endemic, rare, and endangered soil series of the Great Lakes Coastal Zone.- D. Glossary
About the author
Dr. James G. Bockheim was Professor of Soil Science, Forest and Wildlife Ecology, and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin from 1975 until his retirement in 2015. He has conducted research in forestry, soils, and sur¿cial geology throughout the upper Great Lakes region. His previous books include Pedodiversity (2013; with J. J. Ibáñez); Soil Geography of the USA: a Diagnostic-Horizon Approach (2014); Cryopedology (2015); The Soils of Antarctica (2015); and The Soils of Wisconsin (2017; with A. E. Hartemink).
