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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural soil science | 1/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_soil_science | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:55:59.762445+00:00 | kb-cron |
Agricultural soil science is a branch of soil science that deals with the study of edaphic conditions as they relate to the production of food and fiber. In this context, it is also a constituent of the field of agronomy and is thus also described as soil agronomy.
== History == Prior to the development of pedology in the 19th century, agricultural soil science (or edaphology) was the only branch of soil science. The bias of early soil science toward viewing soils only in terms of their agricultural potential continues to define the soil science profession in both academic and popular settings as of 2006.
== Current status == Agricultural soil science follows the holistic method. Soil is investigated in relation to and as integral part of terrestrial ecosystems but is also recognized as a manageable natural resource. Agricultural soil science studies the chemical, physical, biological, and mineralogical composition of soils as they relate to agriculture. Agricultural soil scientists develop methods that will improve the use of soil and increase the production of food and fiber crops. Emphasis continues to grow on the importance of soil sustainability. From the last two decades some new (or renewed) concepts have been developed such as ecosystem services, soil health and soil multifunctionality. Soil degradation such as erosion, compaction, lowered fertility, and contamination continue to be serious concerns. They conduct research in irrigation and drainage, tillage, soil classification, plant nutrition, soil fertility, and other areas, e.g. greenhouse effect mitigation. Although maximizing agricultural production (both plant and animal) is a valid goal in the frame of human population growth, sometimes it may come at high cost which can be readily evident, e.g. massive crop diseases stemming from monocultures, or the long-term impact of chemical fertilizers and pesticides on groundwater contamination and human health. An agricultural soil scientist may come up with a plan that can maximize production using sustainable methods and solutions, and in order to do that they must look into a number of science fields including agricultural science, physics, chemistry, biology, meteorology and geology.
== Kinds of soil and their variables ==
Some soil variables of special interest to agricultural soil science are: