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Soil Science Americana

Chronicles and Progressions 1860─1960

  • Narrates how the study of the soil became a science
  • Combines human history with scientific progressions
  • Richly illustrated

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Table of contents (16 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxxiv
  2. Prologue—The Roots of Soil Science

    • Alfred E. Hartemink
    Pages 1-35
  3. Pochva Americana I

    • Alfred E. Hartemink
    Pages 37-69
  4. From a Farm on Loess—Emil Truog

    • Alfred E. Hartemink
    Pages 71-101
  5. From a Farm on Till—Charles Kellogg

    • Alfred E. Hartemink
    Pages 103-156
  6. From a Farm on the Plains—Roy Simonson

    • Alfred E. Hartemink
    Pages 157-196
  7. The Mother of the West

    • Alfred E. Hartemink
    Pages 197-239
  8. Building an American Soil Survey

    • Alfred E. Hartemink
    Pages 241-281
  9. Of Soils and Men

    • Alfred E. Hartemink
    Pages 283-319
  10. Pochva Americana II

    • Alfred E. Hartemink
    Pages 321-358
  11. Building an International Soil Science

    • Alfred E. Hartemink
    Pages 359-383
  12. First International Congress of Soil Science 1927

    • Alfred E. Hartemink
    Pages 385-434
  13. From 1927 to 1960, and a Favor Returned

    • Alfred E. Hartemink
    Pages 435-494
  14. Seventh International Congress of Soil Science 1960

    • Alfred E. Hartemink
    Pages 495-530
  15. Chronicles and Progressions

    • Alfred E. Hartemink
    Pages 531-559
  16. Epilogue

    • Alfred E. Hartemink
    Pages 561-568
  17. Correction to: Soil Science Americana

    • Alfred E. Hartemink
    Pages C1-C1
  18. Back Matter

    Pages 569-623

About this book

This book narrates how the study of the soil became a science and institutionalized in the USA between 1860 and 1960. The story meanders through the activities, ideas, publications, and correspondence of people who influenced the progressions, that led to the budding and early blossoming of American and international soil science. Interwoven is a tale of two farm boys who grew up 900 km apart in the Midwest USA in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Emil Truog and Charles Kellogg met in the late 1920s and shared a natural connection to the soil. Both were practical pioneers and believed that understanding soils was crucial to helping people on the land make a better living. The USA is a big country, its soil science is geographically intertwined, and the cradle of its history primes back to a few people.

“Soil Science Americana is an intellectual biography, not of one individual but of a new scientific field from its emergence to its complete coming of age.”

— Louise O. Fresco, President, Wageningen University and Research

“In a lively, personal voice, Hartemink traces the roots of modern soil science in the United States…creating a book that will engage both the expert and non-expert in the underappreciated field of soil science.”

— Jo Handelsman, Director, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery

“The intellectual master piece is of interest to soil scientists, general public and the policy makers, and will remain pertinent for generations to come.”

— Rattan Lal, World Food Prize Laureate 2020, The Ohio State University

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Soil Science, FD Hole Soils Lab, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

    Alfred E. Hartemink

About the author

Alfred Hartemink was born in 1964 on Pleistocene sand in the Netherlands and is professor of soil science at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He has studied soil in various countries, and his main interests are pedology, and the fostering and epistemology of soil science.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Soil Science Americana

  • Book Subtitle: Chronicles and Progressions 1860─1960

  • Authors: Alfred E. Hartemink

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71135-1

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental Science, Earth and Environmental Science (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-71134-4Published: 15 September 2021

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-71137-5Published: 16 September 2022

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-71135-1Published: 14 September 2021

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXXIV, 623

  • Number of Illustrations: 72 b/w illustrations, 74 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Agriculture, Historical Geography, American Culture

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access