Pedology

In modern soil science pedology is widely viewed as the study of soils in their natural environment. Pedology has a fairly lengthy history within soil science, dating to the late 1800s and the work of Dokuchaev. The areas of soils study that fall under the pedology umbrella make pedology important for many modern applications of soils knowledge, including agriculture, agroforestry, environmental issues, and land-use planning. This makes a basic understanding of pedology important for anyone working in these areas. Future needs in pedology include improved knowledge of soil processes, information on soil surveys on soil change over time, a better understanding of soils and climate change interactions, and soil-water interactions. A particular need exists for pedologists to work with scientists in related fields to address pressing modern issues that cannot be covered by a single field alone. We thank Horea Cacovean and Damien Field for discussions concerning pedology textbooks used in Europe and Australia.