The Soils of Iran

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

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2. Introduction

   • Mohammad Hassan Roozitalab, Hamid Siadat, Abbas Farshad

   Pages 1-4

3. History of Soil Research

   • Mohammad Reza Balali, Hamid Siadat, Mohammad Hassan Roozitalab

   Pages 5-18

4. Climate

   • Ali Khalili, Jaber Rahimi

   Pages 19-33

5. Geology and Geomorphology

   • Mostafa Karimian Eghbal, Nikoo Hamzehpour, Mohammad Hady Farpoor

   Pages 35-56

6. Vegetation and Land Cover

   • Ali Farzaneh, Morteza Ebrahimi Rastaghi

   Pages 57-71

7. Soil-Forming Factors and Processes

   • Farhad Khormali, Norair Toomanian

   Pages 73-91

8. Major Soils, Properties, and Classification

   • Mohammad Hassan Roozitalab, Norair Toomanian, Vahid Reza Ghasemi Dehkordi, Farhad Khormali

   Pages 93-147

9. Paleosols and Past Climate Change

   • Martin Kehl, Farhad Khormali

   Pages 149-161

10. Agroecological Zones

    • Eddy De Pauw, Vahid R. Ghasemi Dehkordi, Abdolali Ghaffari

    Pages 163-173

11. Soil Fertility

    • Najafali Karimian, Mohammad Mehdi Tehrani

    Pages 175-188

12. Soil Biology and Biotechnology

    • Hossein Besharati, Nasser Aliasgharzad, Kazem Khavazi, Hadi Asadi Rahmani

    Pages 189-211

13. Human-Induced Land Degradation

    • Abbas Farshad, Ebrahim Pazira, Ali Akbar Noroozi

    Pages 213-227

14. Land Management in Space and Time

    • Abbas Farshad, Mohammad Hassan Roozitalab, Mohammad Reza Jalal Kamali

    Pages 229-244

15. Soil Resources of Iran: Challenges and Recommendations

    • Hamid Siadat, Mohammad Hassan Roozitalab, Abbas Farshad

    Pages 245-251

16. Back Matter

    Pages 253-255

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This unique book addresses Iran’s extremely rich soil diversity and resources, which have developed under various climatic conditions ranging from dry to humid conditions. Featuring contributions by a group of respected experts on Iranian soils and agriculture, it provides comprehensive information on the management approaches needed for sustainable soil utilization and conservation under such conditions, and the attendant challenges. As such, it offers a valuable resource for anyone interested in soils and agriculture in Iran, but also in other Middle East and North African countries with similar climatic conditions. 


The book contains 14 chapters which illustrate the long history of indigenous knowledge and soil research, climate, geology and geomorphology, vegetation cover, soil forming factors and processes, major soils, properties and their classification. Furthermore, it presents past climate change and paleosols, agroecological zones, soil fertility, soil biology and biotechnology, human induced land degradation and “soil management in space and time”. In the end, major challenges facing the soil resources of the country are defined and recommendations are made to face the future challenges.          

• Iranian Agro-ecological Zones
• Iranian Climate
• Iranian Land-use
• Iranian Soil Management
• Iranian Soils

• Soil and Water Research Institute, Tehran, Iran

  Mohammad Hassan Roozitalab, Hamid Siadat

• ITC, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

  Abbas Farshad

M H Roozitalab,H Siadat and A. Farshad are well known soil scientists from Iran with wide experiences and deep knowledge on soil resources of the country. M. H Roozitalab and H Siadat have been awarded as distinguished soil scientists by Soil Science Society of Iran for their longstanding contribution to the advances of soil science in the country.

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