Soil Chemistry : Basic Concepts

Contents: Preface. 1. Basic chemical principles. 2. Principles of crystal chemistry. 3. Principles of silicate clay structure. 4. Clay mineral identification and characterization. 5. Electric double layer. 6. Soil adsorption phenomena. 7. Soil solution. 8. Chemistry of soil development. 9. Chemistry of soil organic matter. 10. Soil reaction. 11. Cation and anion exchange. Appendix. Index.

"Soil is one of the precious natural resources which needs to be protected and preserved with utmost attention and care. Technically, soil forms the pedosphere; the interface between the lithosphere (rocky part of the planet) and the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. More generally, soil is a three phase system comprised of various combinations of naturally-derived solids including fine to coarse-grained rocks and minerals, organic mater (including living organisms), ice, weathered rock and precipitates, liquids primarily water solutions, and gases. The liquid phase is typically primarily water, and is also known as the \'soil solution\': plants take their nutrients from this phase. The gaseous phase is important for supplying oxygen to plant roots for respiration. Soils are so varied that they have got different physico-chemical and mineralogical properties which are to be thoroughly understood from the perspective of the basic principles of applied chemistry. Soil chemistry is one of the important branches of soil science on which not much publications have come from our country. This book is an attempt to cover all aspects related to soil chemistry so that these precious natural resources can be better managed and conserved for our future generations."