Edaphology

Edaphology (from Greek ἔδαφος, edaphos 'ground' + -λογία, -logia) is concerned with the influence of soils on living beings, particularly plants.

It is one of two main divisions of soil science, the other being pedology. Edaphology includes the study of how soil influences humankind's use of land for plant growth as well as people's overall use of the land. General subfields within edaphology are agricultural soil science (known by the term agrology in some regions) and environmental soil science. Pedology deals with pedogenesis, soil morphology, and soil classification.

History

The history of edaphology is not simple, as the two main alternative terms for soil science—pedology and edaphology—were initially poorly distinguished. Friedrich Albert Fallou originally conceived pedology in the 19th century as a fundamental science separate from the applied science of agrology, a predecessor term for edaphology, a distinction retained in the current understanding of edaphology. During the 20th century, the term edaphology was "driven out of [pedology-centric] soil science" but remained in use to address edaphic problems in other disciplines. In the case of Russian soil scientists, edaphology was used as an equivalent term to pedology, and in Spain, soil scientists adopted edaphology in preference to the term pedology. In the 21st century, edaphology is recognized by soil scientists as a branch of soil science necessary and complementary to the pedology branch.