2nd Edition

Vegetation and Soils A World Picture

By S. R. Eyre Copyright 2013
    378 Pages
    by Routledge

    378 Pages
    by Routledge

    Vegetation and Soils is an introduction to the study of vegetation and soil distribution. In this accessible work, S. R. Eyre describes the distributions of these two important elements in the landscape. The book progresses regionally, and the land areas of the earth are subdivided according to the distribution of their main vegetation and soil types. The author argues that the nature of the soil is not determined by vegetation any more than it is determined by climate, but the nature of the vegetation always has some bearing on the nature of the soil, and vice versa.Eyre studies the ways in which plant communities and soil profiles develop and the complexity of the vegetation-climatic relationship. The middle and high latitudes are examined, as well as the tropical regions. In order to avoid broad generalizations of vast regions, the example of the British Isles is used to show that vegetation and soil maps can be misleading on a continental scale. The book concludes with a series of vegetation maps, which show the distribution of plant formations. Also included are tables providing climatic correlations with vegetation and a glossary of relevant terms.This classic work shows the intimate connection between vegetation development and soil development. For this reason, this book is a major contribution to the study of the physical aspects of geography and will be of particular interest to students of geography, botany, and agriculture.

    Part One: Vegetation and Soil Development; Chapter I: The Original Landscape and the Hand of Man; Chapter II: Vegetation Development; Chapter III: Soil Development; Part Two: Vegetation and Soils Outside the Tropics; Chapter IV: Coniferous Forests; Chapter V: The Mixed Forests of Middle Latitudes; Chapter VI: Broad-leaved Forests of Middle Latitudes; Chapter VII: The Evolution of Extra-Tropical Forests; Chapter VIII: Tundra and Alpine Vegetation; Chapter IX: Grasslands; Chapter X: Woodlands and Scrublands; Part Three: The British Isles; Chapter XI: The Climatic Climax Vegetation and its Associated Soils; Chapter XII: Seres and Subclimaxes on the Original Landscape; Chapter XIII: The Impact of Man; Part Four: Tropical Regions; Chapter XIV: Introduction to Tropical Vegetation and Soils; Chapter XV: Tropical Rain Forest; Chapter XVI: Tropical Seasonal Forests; Chapter XVII: Microphyllous Forest, Semi-desert and Desert; Chapter XVIII: Tropical Savanna; Chapter XIX: Tropical Soils subject to Seasonal Drought; Chapter XX: The Vegetation of Tropical Mountains; Conclusion; Chapter XXI: The Outlook for Wild Nature

    Biography

    S. R. Eyre