Soil Monitoring : Early Detection and Surveying of Soil Contamination and Degradation

Soil pollution is posing increasing hazards to environmental quality, human health, and economic welfare.

As a prerequisite for effective protection and remediation measures, the identification and monitoring of soil pollution has become increasingly important for society in general, and for the responsible governmental authorities in particular.

This book focuses on soil contaminants that threaten the long-term soil fertility and related functions of the soil on a regional scale.

The pollutants of most concern were the heavy metals and persistent organic contaminants.

Controlling these involves taking into account the unique nature of the pedosphere.

The book assesses the current knowledge and problems being tackled to protect the soil and emphasises the use of mass balances in soil monitoring.

Consequently the connections of soil protection with ecological cycling of elements, air and water pollution are covered as well.

Soil monitoring combines science and technology. This book provides a wide coverage of the field, with each topic covered by a specialist.

First results of the Swiss Soil Monitoring Network (NABO) are presented. New methodology designed for early recognition of soil changes using a mass balance approach and a new view on biomonitoring using soil microbiology are presented.

Previously unpublished comparisons of geostatistical and classical estimation of change are also presented in this book.

A synthesis is given which identifies gaps in knowledge and reviews the objectives of soil monitoring.

It was found that the primary objective of soil monitoring is to provide sound and relevant information on which political decisions, which may be far reaching, can be based for managing and protecting our environment.

Consequently, this book provides up-to-date information to ecological scientists and environmental agencies working on soil protection and on related topics such as environmental cycling, air and water pollution.

Political decisionmakers, their advisers and administrators will find guidance for designing soil protection.

Scientists will appreciate it as a synthesis of current knowledge and new methodologies in soil monitoring.