This concise guide is a multifaceted primer on the literal foundation of California's environment. It describes how soil ecosystems function, discusses what lives in the soil, and examines various soil types whilst also investigating the relationship between humans and the land, considering the various uses and abuses that land in California endures.
David Carle worked as a California State Park ranger for twenty-seven years. His books include Introduction to Water in California, Introduction to Air in California, and Introduction to Fire in California, all from UC Press.
David Carle has produced another gem of a book that should be in easy reach of every lover of California, along with its companion volumes on air, fire, and water. Introduction to Earth, Soil and Land in California is a portable encyclopedia-fun to read and filled with photos and facts about everything from earthworms to earthquakes to Earth Day.-Peter Moyle, author of Inland Fishes of California "As environment and society, California depends upon premises of earth, air, water, and fire. Explicating the intricacies of these elements as they function on their own and in the web of life, David Carle-briefly and with unassuming elegance-introduces us to the basic requirements of our continuing existence on this Planet and, in the process of so doing, suggests for California a shared social stewardship of sustainability."-Kevin Starr, University of Southern California