Soils of South Africa

by Fey, Martin; Hughes, Jeff (CON); Lambrechts, Jan (CON); Dohse, Theo (CON); Milewski, Anton (CON); Mills, Anthony (CON)

• ISBN13: 9781107000506
• ISBN10: 1107000505
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-10-11
• Publisher: Cambridge Univ Pr

Summary

Soils of South Africa is the first book in seventy years that provides a comprehensive account of South African soils. The book arranges more than seventy soil forms into fourteen groups and then provides, for each group: · maps showing their distribution and abundance throughout South Africa · descriptions of morphological, chemical and physical properties · a detailed account of classification and its correlation with international systems · a discussion of soil genesis which includes a review of relevant research papers · appraisal of soil quality from a land use perspective as well as for its ecological significance · illustrative examples of soil profiles with analytical data and accompanying interpretations. There is also a fascinating account of the special relationship that exists between South African animals and soil environments. Soils of South Africa should interest students and researchers in the earth, environmental and biological sciences, as well as environmental practitioners, farmers, foresters and civil engineers.

Author Biography

Martin Fey is Professorial Fellow in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Western Australia and is also Professor Extraordinary in the Department of Soil Science at the Stellenbosch University. He has worked at the Universities of Natal (his Alma Mater), Cape Town and Stellenbosch.

Table of Contents

Preface and acknowledgements	p. 5
Introduction to the soil groups and the naming of forms and families	p. 9
The key to soil groups	p. 10
Description of soil groups	p. 12
Descriptive nomenclature for soil forms and families	p. 14
The soil groups: distribution, properties, classification, genesis and use	p. 17
Organic soils	p. 19
Humic soils	p. 25
Vertic soils	p. 35
Melanic soils	p. 45
Silicic soils	p. 53
Calcic soils	p. 63
Duplex soils	p. 73
Podzolic soils	p. 83
Plinthic soils	p. 93
Oxidic soils	p. 105
Gleyic soils	p. 115
Cumulic soils	p. 123
Lithic soils	p. 135
Anthropic soils	p. 143
Animals in soil environments	p. 149
Termites	p. 150
Termite-and ant-eating animals (myrmecophages)	p. 158
Earthworms	p. 161
Golden moles	p. 165
Rodents	p. 166
Honey badger	p. 168
Insects and spiders	p. 169
Birds	p. 171
Large herbivores	p. 171
Elephants, trees and termites	p. 174
Profile descriptions and analytical data	p. 177
References	p. 260
Glossary	p. 264
Appendix: Criteria for generating distribution maps for soil groups	p. 282
Index	p. 283
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