Soil Science Report

by: Aquino, Raizen Jim C

Group 2 Members:
• Baloro, Jeremy A.
• Tangalin, James Ryan V.
• Flores, Shanelle L.
• Cruz, Ma.Katrina Luise B.
• Madrigalejo, John Basty Q.
• Bolido, Archie D.
• Deleon, Joshua M.
• Aquino, Raizen Jim C.
• Artiza, Janella Mae D.

Soil Science:
What is Soil Science? Soil Science is the study of soil and its characteristics; this
includes its physical properties like the size of its grain, coarseness, thickness and
its porosity, porosity is the measure of empty spaces in between materials this is
one of the factors that aid the soil's ability to transfer liquids.
Soil science also includes studies of:
• The composition of the soil be it chemical or biological.
• Soil mapping which is the mapping of the different layers of soil according
to their properties.
• The process of fertility of the soil.
• The formation of the soil itself.
This is all used to research on how to protect our soil and use it more effectively
aiding in problems in agriculture.
Soil Science has two branches that are related to it these are
• Pedology, which focuses on the characteristics, properties, formation and
changes of soil.
 • Edaphology, which focuses on the interaction of living beings and soil.

NOTABLE SCIENTISTS:
Friedrich Albert Fallou
1794–1877
Friedrich Albert Fallou was one of the German founders of Soil Science. He is a
lawyer and an independent scientist, with his strong interest in soil he is the one
who coined the word pedology and is the one who proposed the study of soil
which is independent from the study of rocks.
Fallou discovered an unexplored branch of science, soil in which he wishes to
further elaborate and explore. It all started when he opened an office at
Waldheim in which he became an attorney specializing in valuation of soils.
By the end of the 1840’s he spent all his time as an independent researcher that
explores and investigates soil. But due to Soil Science being young at the time,
this led to him lacking recognition.
But despite that he still studied and investigated leading to the creation of his
book “Pedologie oder allgemeine und besondere Bodenkunde” or “Pedology or
General and Special Soil Science”. This book has two volumes, the first volume
contains: nature of soil, rock alteration and pedogenesis, soil profile, soil
classification whilst the second volume contains the classification of soils in
Fallou’s own classification system.
His major contributions include:
• Coining of the term “Pedology”.
• Proposing the study of soil as a completely new subject which must be explored and
investigated.
• “Genesis of the soil” which presents his idea of the creation of the soil in which he
claimed that soil emerged first before the living creatures as living creatures like plants
can only take nutrients from soil which refers to Thaer's (1809) humus theory.
• “Notion of Soil Profile” which provides detailed explanation of the various
characteristics of the layers of soil.
 • Soil Classification in which he classified the different types of soil depending on their
composition and properties. He classified them based on their mineralogy and geology
of the parent material.

Vasiliy Dokuchaev
1846- 1903
Vasily Dokuchaev, the founder of genetic soil science. He is a geologist, professor,
geographer and soil scientist and is widely acknowledged as the father of Soil
Science.
His first field work occurred in between 1871 and 1877 at northern and central
Russia and southern Finland in which he studied the formation and geologic
activities of rivers.
He is widely recognized because of his work on classification, mapping,
analyzation of soil formation, and soil conservation which are some of his biggest
contributions which led to Soil Science being officially considered as a subject
despite many political setbacks.
His major contributions include:
• He made a classification system for soils by differentiating them according
to their physical and chemical properties.
• He established the first soil science laboratory at Russia which became the
center of many contributions to soil science.
• Soil conservation, His work on preserving soil became the foundation of
many soil preservation techniques today.
• Studies of the connection of soil, vegetation and climates.
• Considering soil as a living being.
• His various studies, His studies and investigation became the foundation of
knowledge of the soil science we know today.
• Genetic Soil Science which details the unique characteristics of soil is a
product of climate, living matter, parent material and time.
• Improvement of farming conditions due to his knowledge.
These contributions along with a few more led to him being recognized as an
excellent scientist and the founder of modern soil science.

Konstantin Dmitrievich Glinka

1867–1927
Konstantin Dmitrievich Glinka is a prominent figure in soil science due to his
various contributions to the field.
After graduating he entered the mineralogy department for professorship at the
request of V.V Dokuchaev who is the father of soil science.
In 1896 he completed his master's Thesis titled “Glauconite, its origin, chemical
composition and nature of weathering”.
After defending his thesis, he was appointed as the professor of the same
department.
After this he continued studying and teaching which led to him becoming a
professor of geology in 1900, and a professor of soil science in 1901.
After becoming a professor of soil science, he headed to the Department of Soil
Science where he became the head of Soil Survey of the Resettlement
Administration.
His major contributions include:
• Authoring over 150 works about soil, geography, mineralogy and geology.
• The first edition of his textbook, it included the first schematic soil map of
the whole world.
• Studies of weathering and the transformation of primary materials to
secondary ones.
• First studies of buried and relic soils.
• His encyclopedic textbook “Soil Science”, which became a basic guide for
many that aspires to be a soil scientist
• His ideas of the genesis of different types of soil, which are still useful even
today.
Glinka may not be the scientist who contributed to soil science the most, but he is
still an important figure because he taught many students that will expand and
add to the knowledge he passed.

Hans Jenny
1899-1992
Born in Switzerland he is a soil scientist that specializes on the process of soil
formation.

He got his diploma in agriculture from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
He later joined the faculty of the University of California at Berkeley.

He first gained international recognition when he published the book “Factors of

Soil Formation: A System of Quantitative Pedology”.
This book contains various definitions and explanations of the formation of soil
and the factors that affect it.

He was also against using biomass and organic waste as a form of fossil fuel
because it can affect the soil. He argued that “A good soil is a national asset”.

His major contributions include:

• A detailed book about soil formation containing an explanation of the
event.
• The explanation of various factors that affect soil formation like time,
organisms and climates.
• The generic mathematics behind the factors that affect soil and the
observed properties of soil.
• S = f (cl, o, r, p, t, ...) in where S is soil formation, cl is climate, o is
organisms, r is relief, p is parent material and t is time. The ellipses are for
other factors.
• A formula used countless times by soil surveyors to understand the
formation of soil patterns in a region.

Hans Jenny helped in expanding our knowledge of soil formation and by giving us
the formulation we can further add to his research which will further solidify our
understanding of the soil that we use all the time. By doing so we can further
improve our agriculture so we can use the soil more efficiently and preserve the
soil while doing it.

Francis D. Hole
1913-2002
Francis Doan Hole is an American pedologist, educator, musician, and poet.
He was one of the most beloved man among his community and among soil
scientists as well.

He was also titled “Ambassador of Soils” and “Poet Laureate of Soil Science” due
to his works and reputation as a soil scientist
He is the one who popularizes the study of soil through poems and music.
He aimed to provide knowledge about soil to everyone in the comfort of their
own environment. He said that he only wanted to give knowledge of the world
beneath our feet not attract young people about careers in soil science.
During his career he created “Soil Survey Horizons”, a periodical, and he helped in
the creation of "Soils of Wisconsin Map". He also co-authored several of the
volumes of “Soil Genesis and Classification”.
In 1976 he published “The Soils of Wisconsin” which compiled the existing
knowledge about the subject, it contains the pedogenesis of soils in Wisconsin
and an organized assortment of Wisconsin’s soil along with diagrammatical
drawings, their history, and descriptions of it.
His major contributions include:
• “Soil Survey Horizons”.
• "Soils of Wisconsin Map".
• “Soil Genesis and Classification”.
• “The Soils of Wisconsin”.
• The publication of 50 articles and books about soil.
• His pedagogy of soil science.
Francis D. Hole contributions and way of teaching easily tells us his life of being a
soil scientist and how he became the most beloved man among his community
and among soil scientists as well.

Sources:
• Wikipedia contributors. (2024, February 5). Soil formation. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Retrieved 10:45, March 11, 2024, from
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• Sposito, Garrison. "soil". Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Mar. 2024,
https://www.britannica.com/science/soil. Accessed 11 March 2024.
• Wikipedia contributors. (2024, March 4). Pedology. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved
10:44, March 11, 2024, from
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• Wikipedia contributors. (2024, March 2). Edaphology. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved
10:56, March 11, 2024, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edaphology&oldid=1211364195
• Wikipedia contributors. (2023, December 24). Porosity. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Retrieved 10:57, March 11, 2024, from
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• Feller, C., Aeschlimann, J. P., & Frossard, E. (2022). The contribution of Friedrich Albert
Fallou to modern soil science. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 185, 766–772.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.202200306
• Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2009, September 11). pedology.
Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/pedology
• Elena Rusakova, Elena Sukhacheva, Alfred E. Hartemink,Vasiliy Dokuchaev – A biographical
sketch on the occasion of his 175th birthday,Geoderma,Volume 412,2022,115718,ISSN 0016-
7061,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2022.115718.
• Editors of Testbook, June 30 2023,Father of Soil Science, Testbook,
https://testbook.com/articles/father-of-soil-science
• Wikipedia contributors. (2023, October 15). Konstantin Glinka. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Retrieved 11:09, March 11, 2024, from
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qualitative pedology, https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=orjZZS3H-
hAC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
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