Encyclopedia of Soil Science

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The written history of humanity over the last 10,000 years is little more than a footnote to the Neolithic Revolution which brought about the exploitation of soil for food. In our quest for a sustainable civilization we have taken over about a third of the Earth's soils for agriculture, and our crop and rangeland now covers virtually all of the best soils for that purpose. As a consequence, the human footprint has expanded into ever more vulnerable soils and the growth of human society has become an increasing threat to the well-being of the biosphere.

In manipulating soil we intervene in the biosphere at a critical point of constriction. Conceptually, soil sits in the neck of an hourglass, through which energy and materials flow in passing from one compartment of the terrestrial ecosystem to another. As our population grows to a projected 9 or 10 billion by 2050 we shall need all the best knowledge of soils we can muster if the sustainability of human society is to be more than a short-term phenomenon. The Encyclopedia of Soil Science is a vital resource in this regard.