Soil
Studies of soil formation

In 1860, while in Mississippi, Eugene W. Hilgard (1833–1916) studied the relationship between rock material, climate, vegetation, and the type of soils that were developed. He realised that the soils were dynamic and considered the classification of soil types. His work was not continued. At about the same time, Friedrich Albert Fallou described soil profiles and related soil characteristics to their formation as part of his professional work evaluating forest and farmland for the principality of Saxony. His 1857 book, Anfangsgründe der Bodenkunde (First principles of soil science), established modern soil science. Contemporary with Fallou's work, and driven by the same need to accurately assess land for equitable taxation, Vasily Dokuchaev led a team of soil scientists in Russia who conducted an extensive survey of soils, observing that similar basic rocks, climate and vegetation types lead to similar soil layering and types, and established the concepts for soil classifications. Due to language barriers, the work of this team was not communicated to Western Europe until 1914 through a publication in German by Konstantin Glinka, a member of the Russian team.
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