Preface	10
	Introduction	11
	Soils: integral part of our environment	11
	Soil characteristics	12
	Grain size distribution: texture	14
	Classification	14
	Grain sizes	15
	Grain shapes	16
	Grain mixtures	18
	Common soil textures and their origin	21
	Equation of sedimentation	23
	Separation processes	23
	Spatial distribution of textures	25
	Modification of grain size distributions in soils	26
	Grain size distribution and other soil properties	27
	Methods to measure grain size distributions	30
	Problems Chapter 1	31
	Soil structure and structural functions	33
	Soil structure and internal morphology	33
	Bulk density, particle density	35
	Pore volume and void ratio	36
	Theoretical quantities to describe pore volumes	37
	Influence of grain size and shape on pore volume	37
	Effect of particle size	38
	Number of grain contacts	39
	Relationship of contact number and pore volume fraction	39
	Natural grain size distributions and aggregates	41
	Influence of grain contact points on soil pedogenesis	41
	Pore size distributions	43
	Subdividing pore sizes	44
	Shapes, sizes of pores, and modes of pore formation	46
	Effects of pore size distribution on soil quality	47
	Problems Chapter 2	48
	Mechanical and hydraulic forces in soils	49
	Stability and the spatial arrangement of grains	49
	Forces and stresses in soils	49
	Subdivision of the forces and stresses within soils	53
	Particle weight	54
	Loads transmitted by solid phases of soils	54
	Weight (overburden) stresses transmitted within the solid phase	54
	Forces between the surfaces of adjacent particles	56
	Stresses in three-dimensional space	56
	Soil strength: the balance of forces	57
	Shear resistance, a soil property	57
	Shear resistance of soils and their determination	57
	Stress strain relationship and time-dependent settlement	63
	Stress strain relationship in soils	63
	Time dependent settlement behavior of soils	65
	The meaning of neutral stresses during loading	66
	Stress-, strain-, and deformation processes in three-dimensional space	68
	Stress and strain in three-dimensional space	68
	Stress propagation within soils	68
	Base failure as the result of the active and passive Rankine state	72
	Flow behavior of soils: stresses between individual soil particles	75
	Influence of soil properties on shear resistance	80
	Mechanical changes of soil structure	81
	Effects of anthropogenic activities on soils	81
	Effects of animal activity and plant growth	83
	Freezing effects	84
	Soil compaction in civil engineering and construction	85
	Problems Chapter 3	87
	Interactions between water and soil	88
	Adsorption of water in soils	88
	Adsorption mechanisms	88
	Properties of water adsorbed on soil components	90
	Flocculation and peptization of soil particles	91
	Shrinkage of soils	93
	Causes of soil shrinkage	93
	Shrinkage in soils	96
	Swelling of soils	97
	Mechanisms of swelling: swelling pressure	98
	Inhibition of swelling	101
	Cracking up: crack formation in soils	102
	Water as a factor of soil stability	105
	Static water pressure	105
	Flow pressure in soils	107
	Wetting properties of soils	109
	Causes and occurrence of inhibited wetting of soil particle surfaces	109
	Contact angles and capillarity	110
	Documenting wetting properties	113
	Impact of wetting properties on the environmental and habitat functions of soils	115
	Electrical flow potentials in soils	116
	Aggregate shapes and functions	117
	Natural aggregate-forming processes	118
	Anthropogenic modification of soil aggregates	122
	Effects of aggregate size, -shape and -age	122
	Problems Chapter 4	124
	Distribution and hydrostatics of soil water	125
	Distribution and origin of water in soils	125
	Forces in soil water	126
	The groundwater surface as reference plane	128
	Soil water potential	129
	Total water potential and component water potentials	130
	Matric potential m	131
	Gravitational potential z	131
	Osmotic potential o	132
	Overburden or load potential	132
	Pressure potential P	133
	Combining component potentials	133
	Instruments for measuring soil water potentials	134
	Equilibrium water potential	136
	Relationship between matric potential and water content	137
	Effect of grain size distribution on the matric potential/water content relationship	139
	Influence of structure on the shape of the matric potential/water content relationship.	139
	Hysteresis of the matric potential/water content curve	141
	Measuring matric potential / water content curves	141
	Mathematical description of the matric potential–water content relationship	143
	Problems Chapter 5	143
	Movement of water within the soil	145
	Water movement in water saturated soil	145
	Fluid-dynamic phenomena in soils	145
	Flow Fields	149
	Boundary conditions and spatial limits of flow fields	149
	One-dimensional flow	150
	Two- and three-dimensional flows	152
	Water movement in unsaturated soil	155
	Transient flow	157
	Hydraulic diffusivity	161
	Hydraulic conductivity as a soil property	162
	Vapor transport	170
	Infiltration	171
	Drainage	176
	Evaporation	183
	Problems Chapter 6	190
	The gas-phase of soils	195
	The energetic state of the gas phase of soils	195
	Composition of the gas phase in soils	197
	Transport processes in the gas phase of soils	198
	Gas diffusion	199
	Mass fluxes in the gas phase of soils	201
	Redistribution of gas within the soil	201
	Problems Chapter 7	204
	Thermal behaviour of soils	206
	Thermal properties of soils	206
	Definitions	206
	Heat capacity of soils	207
	Thermal conductivity	210
	Thermal diffusivity	212
	Mechanisms of heat transport in soils	213
	Modeling thermal conductivity	215
	Techniques for measuring thermal properties	215
	Phase transitions of H2O and their effects	216
	Redistribution of water vapor by thermal flux	216
	Freezing and the formation of ice	217
	Freezing and water movement	218
	Formation of structure	220
	Problems Chapter 8	222
	Combined water-, heat-, and gas budget of soils	223
	The atmosphere–soil interface	223
	Radiation components and radiation budgets	223
	Energy budget at the soil surface	226
	Dynamics and temporal variations of the soil water budget	228
	Ground- and floodwater	230
	Path of matric potentials	233
	Parameters characterizing water budgets	238
	Field capacity	238
	Permanent wilting point	241
	Heat budget	241
	Temperature distributions in soils	242
	Heat sources	243
	Soil temperature variations	243
	Cumulative effects on the heat budget	247
	Gas budget of soils	249
	How water content affects gas distribution within the soil profile	250
	Seasonal variations of soil air	252
	Problems Chapter 9	255
	Plant habitats and their physical modification	257
	Plant requirements in terms of water supply	257
	Interaction of mechanical and hydraulic processes	260
	Mechanical and hydraulic soil deformation	261
	Pore function changes resulting from mechanical and hydraulic stresses	263
	Interactions between hydraulic pore function and mechanical parameters	266
	Effects of soil management on physical parameters	266
	Modification of the hydraulic stress state	268
	Drainage	269
	Irrigation	272
	Percolation	274
	Modification of the mechanical stress state	275
	Compaction	275
	Loosening soils	276
	Material rearrangement	277
	Problems Chapter 10	279
	Soil erosion	282
	Soil erosion: general principles	282
	Delamination of particles or aggregates	283
	Approaches to preventing erosion	287
	Erodibility of soils	288
	Erosivity of wind and water	289
	Erosion models	289
	Soil erosion by water	290
	Soil erosion by wind	292
	Problems Chapter 11	292
	Solute transport and filter processes in soils	295
	Solute transport: basics	296
	Breakthrough curves in porous media	296
	Molecular diffusion	298
	Convective flux and hydrodynamic dispersion	300
	Adsorption	301
	Convection-dispersion model of solute transport in soils	302
	Additional factors influencing solute transport	304
	Models describing solute transport	305
	Filtering processes in soils	306
	Filter types	306
	Soils acting as filters	307
	Filter efficiency	308
	Optimizing filtering processes	310
	Problems Chapter 12	311
	Future perspectives of soil physics	313
	Solutions to the problems for chapters 1–12	321
	Solutions to problems in chapter 1	321
	Solutions to problems in chapter 2	322
	Solutions to problems in chapter 3	323
	Solutions to problems in chapter 4	326
	Solutions to problems in chapter 5	327
	Solutions to problems in chapter 6	330
	Solutions to problems in chapter 7	335
	Solutions to problems in chapter 8	336
	Solutions to problems in chapter 9	337
	Solutions to problems in chapter 10	340
	Solutions to problems in chapter 11	345
	Solutions to problems in chapter 12	347
	References	349
	Commonly used units and conversion factors	376
	Meaning of abbreviations	376
	Basic conversions: density and pore volume	377
	Transport	378
	Derivation of the heat-budget equation	379
	Energy Budget at the soil surface	380
	Tensors	381
	Conversion of data measured in different units	382
	Index	383