The Chemistry of Soils

Gary Sposito was the former Chair in Soil Science and is now Professor Emeritus of Ecosystem Sciences and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley.

• 1 The Composition of Soils 1.1 Natural Capital 1.2 Soil Pore Fluids 1.3 Soil Minerals as Nutrient Capital 1.4 How Minerals Weather 1.5 Soil Humus as Nutrient Capital For Further Reading Problems 2 Soil Minerals 2.1 How Mineral Structures Form 2.2 Primary Silicates as Nutrient Capital 2.3 Clay Minerals and Cation Retention 2.4 Metal Oxide Minerals and Ion Retention 2.5 Soil Carbonates and Sulfates For Further Reading Problems 3 Soil Humus 3.1 Biomolecules in Humus 3.2 Humus Composition 3.3 Stabilizing Soil Humus 3.4 Humus Buffering 3.5 Reactions with Organic Chemicals For Further Reading Problems 4 The Soil Solution 4.1 Sampling Soil Solutions 4.2 Soluble Complexes 4.3 Chemical Speciation 4.4 Calculating Chemical Speciation 4.5 Calculating Conditional Stability ConstantsFor Further Reading Problems 5 Mineral Weathering 5.1 Mineral Dissolution 5.2 Mineral Weathering Sequences 5.3 Mineral Stability during Weathering 5.4 The GLO Step Rule 5.5 Phosphate Transformations in Calcareous Soils For Further Reading Problems 6 Oxidation-Reduction Reactions 6.1 Flooded Soils 6.2 Understanding Transformations in Flooded Soils 6.3 Generalizing the Sequence: The Redox Ladder 6.4 Exploring the Redox Ladder 6.5 pE-pH Diagrams For Further Reading Problems 7 Soil Particle Surface Charge 7.1 Structural Charge 7.2 Stern Layer Charge 7.3 Surface Charge 7.4 Points of Zero Charge 7.5 Schindler Diagrams For Further Reading Problems 8 Soil Adsorption Phenomena 8.1 Measuring Adsorption 8.2 Modeling Adsorption 8.3 Understanding Metal Cation Adsorption 8.4 Understanding Anion Adsorption 8.5 Surface Redox Processes For Further Reading Problems 9 Exchangeable Ions 9.1 Defining Exchange Capacity 9.2 Defining Exchange Isotherms 9.3 Understanding Ion Exchange Selectivity 9.4 Toxic Metals in Soils: Biotic Ligand Model 9.5 Humus Buffering: NICA-Donnan Model For Further Reading Problems 10 Soil Colloids 10.1 Defining Soil Colloids 10.2 Understanding Flocculation 10.3 Rapid Flocculation: The Schulze-Hardy Rule 10.4 Rapid Flocculation and Ionicity 10.5 Slow Flocculation For Further Reading Problems 11 Soil Acidity 11.1 Proton Cycling and Soil pH 11.2 Acid-Neutralizing Capacity 11.3 The Problem of Aluminum 11.4 Redox Reactions and Soil pH 11.5 Neutralizing Soil Acidity For Further Reading Problems 12 Soil Salinity 12.1 Exploring Saline Soil Solutions 12.2 Sodicity and Salinity 12.3 Mineral Weathering in Arid-Zone Soils 12.4 The Problem of Boron 12.5 Irrigation Water Quality For Further Reading Problems

This revised edition is especially welcome. The work maintains the organization of previous editions, but the material has been significantly revised, including the reading lists and the presented problems.[...] The 120 problems provided are often challenging, but they represent an essential component of the presentation. This excellent treatment is highly recommended, although the discussion will be most useful to those who have had a solid introduction to chemical principles.