The Palgrave handbook of critical physical geography (Online; Springer) by
This handbook is recognition of the need to better integrate physical and human geography. It combines a collection of work and research within the new field of Critical Physical Geography, which gives critical attention to relations of social power with deep knowledge of a particular field of biophysical science. Critical Physical Geography research accords careful attention to biophysical landscapes and the power relations that have increasingly come to shape them, and to the politics of environmental science and the role of biophysical inquiry in promoting social and environmental justice. The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Physical Geography lays out the scope and guiding principles of Critical Physical Geography research. It presents a carefully selected set of empirical work, demonstrating the range and intellectual strength of existing integrative work in geography research. This handbook is the first of its kind to cover this emerging discipline and will be of significant interest to students and academics across the fields of geography, the environment and sustainability
The Dictionary of Physical Geography (Online; ProQuest) by
This fully-revised comprehensive fourth edition covers the whole field of physical geography including climate and atmosphere, geomorphology, biogeography, hydrology, oceans, Quaternary, environmental change, soils, remote sensing and GIS. This new edition reflects developments in the discipline during the last decade, with the expert advisory group providing an international perspective on the discipline of physical geography. Over 2000 entries that are self-contained or cross-referenced include 200 that are new to this edition, over 400 that are rewritten and updated, and new supporting references and additional recommended reading in many others. Entries removed from the last edition are available in the online resource. This volume is the essential reference point for students of physical geography and related environmental disciplines, lecturers and interested individuals alike.
Soil Science Working for a Living (Online; Springer) by
This book discusses gritty issues that society faces every day: food and water security, environmental services provided by farmers, almost accidentally, and taken for granted by everyone else, the capability of the land to provide our needs today and for the foreseeable future and pollution of soil, air and water. The chapters are grouped in four main themes: soil development - properties and qualities; assessment of resources and risks; soil fertility, degradation and improvement and soil contamination, monitoring and remediation. It is a selection of papers presented at the Pedodiversity in Space and Time Symposium held at Chernivtsi National University, Ukraine, 15-19 September 2015.
Soil Science: Agricultural and Environmental Prospectives (Online; Springer) by
Soil is the most important natural non-renewable resource developed over a longer period of time due to weathering of rocks and subsequently enrichment of organic matter. Soil provides habitat for numerous microorganisms and serves as a natural medium for plant growth, thereby providing the plants with anchorage, nutrients and water to sustain the growth. Soil also serves as a universal sink for all types of pollutants, purifies ground water and is a major reserve of carbon in the universe. The role of soils to provide ecosystem services, maintenance of environmental/human health and ensuring the food security makes it as the most important and basic natural resource. Soil Science helps us to elaborate and understand how the soils provide all these services. Soil Science also provides us the basic knowledge dealing with the origin of the soil parent material, weathering of parent material and the formation of soils, morphological, physico-chemical and biological features of soils, classification of soils and role of soils in the provision and maintenance of ecosystem services, food security and environmental quality. This book encompasses the various processes, functions and behaviour of soils very comprehensively to acquaint the students of soil, plant and environmental sciences about their role to perform different agricultural and environmental functions.
Soil Degradation, Conservation and (Springer Online) by
In view of the grave consequences of soil degradation on ecosystem functions, food security, biodiversity and human health, this book covers the extent, causes, processes and impacts of global soil degradation, and processes for improvement of degraded soils. Soil conservation measures, including soil amendments, decompaction, mulching, cover cropping, crop rotation, green manuring, contour farming, strip cropping, alley cropping, surface roughening, windbreaks, terracing, sloping agricultural land technology (SALT), dune stabilization, etc., are discussed. Particular emphasis is given to soil pollution and the methods of physical, chemical and biological remediation of polluted soils. This book will lead the reader from the basics to a comprehensive understanding of soil degradation, conservation and remediation.
Soil: The Skin of the Planet Earth (Springer; Online) by
The main focus of this monograph is to explain the important role of soil and the environment to a broad audience. Soil is one of the five essential factors crucial for human life. On the one hand the authors describe a responsible approach and use of soil, established on a basic knowledge of the nature of soil and the countless ongoing processes within soil. On the other hand they explain the precarious link between soil and regional environment, which is indispensable for plant and animal communities. In addition to these topics its chapters describe the unique roles of soil texture, soil structure and soil pore systems in hydrologic cycles, plant nutrition and conditions affecting the preservation or eventual extinction of soil. This book concludes with the principles of soil protection and revitalization. General readers with an interest in biology, chemistry, physics or geology will find this book highly informative.
Geosciences and the sustainable development goals (Springer; Online) by 
Africa and the sustainable development goals (Springer; Online) by 
Managing Water, Soil and Waste Resources to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals by
This book explores how integrated management of environmental resources via a Nexus Approach can help to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It takes a process-oriented view on what should or needs to be done to implement a Nexus Approach and how this relates to SDGs. After sketching the background and conceptual outline, contributions to the book explore key aspects of monitoring and implementation. Specifically, they: focus on the importance of monitoring resource use and how to advance it at the international level to support SDG implementation, exemplify the resources perspective on the nexus approach by exploring how to close the nitrogen cycle and stay within planetary boundaries, elaborate on proven and emerging strategies for nexus implementation, highlighting means to enhance, monitor and analyse stakeholder participation, explain how the horizontal and vertical nexus dimensions interact and can support SDG implementation. The book sheds new light on key aspects of the interrelation between SDGs and the Nexus Approach and provides specific recommendations how to advance it.
Urban Geomorphology: landforms and processes in cities (Online; Science Direct) by
Urban Geomorphology: Landforms and Processes in Cities addresses the human impacts on landscapes through occupation (urbanization) and development as a contribution to anthropogenic geomorphology or "anthropogeomorphology." This includes a focus on land clearance, conservation issues, pollution, decay and erosion, urban climate, and anthropogenic climate change. These topics, as well as others, are considered to shed more light on the human transformation of natural landscapes and the environmental impacts and geomorphological hazards that environmental change can encompass. Its multidisciplinary approach is appropriate for audiences from a range of disciplines and professions, from geologists, conservationists, and land-use planners to architects and developers. Urban Geomorphology not only transcends disciplines, but also covers varied spatial-temporal frameworks and presents a diverse set of approaches and solutions to human impacts and geomorphological hazards within urban landscapes.
Landscapes and Landforms of South Africa (Online; Springer)S by
This book presents a beautifully illustrated overview of the most prominent landscapes of South Africa and the distinctive landforms associated with them. It describes the processes, origins and the environmental significance of those landscapes, including their relationships to human activity of the past and present. The sites described in this book include, amongst others, the Blyde River Canyon, Augrabies Falls, Kruger National Park, Kalahari desert landscapes, the Great Escarpment, Sterkfontein caves and karst system, Table Mountain, Cape winelands, coastal dunes, rocky coasts, Boer War battlefield sites, and Vredefort impact structure. Landscapes and Landforms of South Africa provides a new perspective on South Africa's scenic landscapes by considering their diversity, long and short term histories, and importance for geoconservation and geotourism. This book will be relevant to those interested in the geology, physical geography and history of South Africa, climate change and landscape tourism.
Treatise on Geomorphology (Online; Science Direct) by
The changing focus and approach of geomorphic research suggests that the time is opportune for a summary of the state of discipline. The number of peer-reviewed papers published in geomorphic journals has grown steadily for more than two decades and, more importantly, the diversity of authors with respect to geographic location and disciplinary background (geography, geology, ecology, civil engineering, computer science, geographic information science, and others) has expanded dramatically. As more good minds are drawn to geomorphology, and the breadth of the peer-reviewed literature grows, an effective summary of contemporary geomorphic knowledge becomes increasingly difficult. The fourteen volumes of this Treatise on Geomorphology will provide an important reference for users from undergraduate students looking for term paper topics, to graduate students starting a literature review for their thesis work, and professionals seeking a concise summary of a particular topic. Information on the historical development of diverse topics within geomorphology provides context for ongoing research; discussion of research strategies, equipment, and field methods, laboratory experiments, and numerical simulations reflect the multiple approaches to understanding Earth's surfaces; and summaries of outstanding research questions highlight future challenges and suggest productive new avenues for research. Our future ability to adapt to geomorphic changes in the critical zone very much hinges upon how well landform scientists comprehend the dynamics of Earth's diverse surfaces. This Treatise on Geomorphology provides a useful synthesis of the state of the discipline, as well as highlighting productive research directions, that Educators and students/researchers will find useful. Geomorphology has advanced greatly in the last 10 years to become a very interdisciplinary field. Undergraduate students looking for term paper topics, to graduate students starting a literature review for their thesis work, and professionals seeking a concise summary of a particular topic will find the answers they need in this broad reference work which has been designed and written to accommodate their diverse backgrounds and levels of understanding Editor-in-Chief, Prof. J. F. Shroder of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, is past president of the QG&G section of the Geological Society of America and present Trustee of the GSA Foundation, while being well respected in the geomorphology research community and having won numerous awards in the field. A host of noted international geomorphologists have contributed state-of-the-art chapters to the work. Readers can be guaranteed that every chapter in this extensive work has been critically reviewed for consistency and accuracy by the World expert Volume Editors and by the Editor-in-Chief himself No other reference work exists in the area of Geomorphology that offers the breadth and depth of information contained in this 14-volume masterpiece. From the foundations and history of geomorphology through to geomorphological innovations and computer modelling, and the past and future states of landform science, no "stone" has been left unturned!