Australian Soil and Land Survey Field Handbook

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Australian Soil and Land Survey Handbooks Series Third Edition By: National Committee on Soil and Terrain

eBook - March 2009 - eRetailers

Specifies methods, standards and terminology used in soil and land survey investigations.

The Australian Soil and Land Survey Field Handbook specifies methods and terminology for soil and land surveys. It has been widely used throughout Australia, providing one reference set of definitions for the characterisation of landform, vegetation, land surface, soil and substrate. + Full description

The book advocates that a comprehensive suite of land and soil attributes be recorded in a uniform manner. This approach is more useful than the allocation of land or soil to preconceived types or classes.

The third edition includes revised chapters on location and vegetation as well as some new landform elements. These updates have been guided by the National Committee on Soil and Terrain, a steering committee comprising representatives from key federal, state and territory land resource assessment agencies.

Essential reading for all professionals involved in land resource surveys, this book will also be of value to students and educators in soil science, geography, ecology, agriculture, forestry, resource management, planning, landscape architecture and engineering.

- Short description

News

This title is no longer available in print, but can still be purchased as an eBook.

Keep an eye out for the Fourth Edition, publishing in December 2024.

Reviews

"This widely used and well-respected book remains the most comprehensive compendium of field attributes (also known as properties, characteristics or traits) in Australia. Since its first publication in 1984, extensive databases of landform, vegetation and soil have been compiled using the measurement system for recording attributes as outlined in the Handbook. Although the fourth edition may be radically different to the current 2009 edition, the Field Handbook is an essential companion to soil scientists, geographers and botanists who undertake field surveys."
Bernie Masters, Austral Ecology (2012), Vol 37

"The writing is generally clear and succinct...This book is likely to be indispensable for soil surveyors and many other field scientists in Australia, and is useful and interesting to those elsewhere."
Ian Baille, European Journal of Soil Science, February 2010, Vol 61, 2010

Details

ePDF | March 2009
ISBN: 9780643097117
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Available from eRetailers

ePUB | March 2009
ISBN: 9780643098619
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Available from eRetailers

Features

Allows for systematic recording of field observations
Lists attributes necessary to describe site and soil conditions
Definitions of attributes, terms and categories are internationally consistent but particular emphasis is given to Australian conditions
Suggests codings for attributes, terms and categories to allow concise recording systems to be developed for field use
This revised edition contains significant changes to the Vegetation chapter and revisions to the Location chapter bringing it up-to-date with the use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS)

Preface to the first edition
Preface to the second edition
Preface to the third edition
Acknowledgements

Purpose and use of handbook (J.G. Speight and R.F. Isbell)
The site concept (J.G. Speight and R.C. McDonald)
Location (L.J. Gregory, R.C. McDonald and R.F. Isbell)
General (R.C. McDonald and R.F. Isbell)
Landform (J.G. Speight)
Vegetation (R.J. Hnatiuk, R. Thackway and J. Walker)
Land surface (R.C. McDonald, R.F. Isbell and J.G. Speight)
Soil profile (R.C. McDonald and R.F. Isbell)
Substrate (J.G. Speight and R.F. Isbell)

Appendix 1: Soil taxonomic units (R.F. Isbell and R.C. McDonald)

References
Index

View the full table of contents (PDF, 101 KB)