Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 3
Environmental History of Soils
Verena Winiwarter
Abstract Soils are complex ecosystems. They are the basis of human sustenance
and have been changed by humans for millennia. Their environmental history needs
to incorporate pedological, historical and archeological data. A primer on important
concepts of soil science introduces the complexity of soils and their interactions
with humans. Many societies developed soil classi
cation systems, testing methods
for soil quality and a multitude of measures for soil fertility maintenance. They also
developed landscaping techniques such as terracing to enhance the utility of their
soils. In a comparative approach, these three
elds of soil knowledge and their
development during pre-industrial times are discussed for the history of China,
Mexico, Mesoamerica and Amazonia as well as for India. Ghana and the Nile
valley serve as two examples from Africa, and
nally the situation for the Medi-
terranean and Europe north of the Alps is presented. Human in
uence on soils has
been both bene
cantly
changed by humans, are part of the ecological inheritance of societies; they can be
much more fertile than the unchanged land. Salinization through irrigation and
human-induced enhanced erosion are the two most widely known negative in
cial and detrimental. Anthrosols, soils that have been signi
u-
ences of humans on soils, making it much less fertile. Under conditions of industrial
societies, the nitrogen cycle has expanded to encompass the air. Unsustainable soil
use leading to compaction and pollution poses a threat to soils. All soil histories are
local, because soils are so varied. Unlike other
elds of environmental history, the
environmental history of soils is still in its infancy. Providing long-term data on
sustainable and unsustainable use of soils in the past is a daunting task for envi-
ronmental historians for the next years and decades.
