1  Cover

      2  Title Page

      3  Copyright Page

      4  DEDICATION

      5  LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

      6  PREFACE REFERENCES

      7  Part I: Soil Definition 1 Soil as a System: A History 1.1. INTRODUCTION 1.2. SOIL AS AN INDEPENDENT BODY 1.3. SOIL AS A SYSTEM 1.4. SOIL AS A SPATIAL SYSTEM 1.5. SOIL AS AN INTERDEPENDENT SYSTEM 1.6. PROSPECT ACKNOWLEDGMENTS REFERENCES

      8  Part II: Soil History 2 Soils, Chemical Weathering, and Climate Change in Earth History 2.1. INTRODUCTION 2.2. PRECAMBRIAN EON (4.55–0.54 GA) 2.3. PHANEROZOIC EON (540 MA TO PRESENT) 2.4. MESOZOIC 2.5. CENOZOIC 2.6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS REFERENCES

      9  Part III: Soil Formation Processes 3 Soil Formation, Vegetation Growth, and Water Balance: A Theory for Budyko: A Theory for Budyko 3.1. INTRODUCTION 3.2. HYPOTHESIS 3.3. THEORETICAL APPROACH AND STEADY‐STATE RESTRICTIONS 3.4. COMPARISONS WITH DATA 3.5. DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVEMENT 3.6. CONCLUSIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS REFERENCES 4 Earthworms, Plants, and Soils 4.1. PLANTS AND EARTHWORMS ARE ECOSYSTEM ENGINEERS 4.2. PLANTS AND EARTHWORMS ARE IMPLIED IN SOIL FORMATION 4.3. PLANTS AND EARTHWORMS CONTRIBUTE TO SOIL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES 4.4. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS REFERENCES 5 Tephra for the Trees? Geochemical Constraints on Weathering and Tephra Inputs to Soils on New Zealand’s North Island 5.1. INTRODUCTION 5.2. FIELD SITE 5.3. METHODS 5.4. RESULTS 5.5. FORWARD MODEL AND MODEL RESULTS 5.6. DISCUSSION 5.7. CONCLUSIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS REFERENCES 6 The Origin and Formation of Clay Minerals in Alpine Soils 6.1. THE ORIGIN OF CLAYS IN SOILS 6.2. ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS AND CLAY FORMATION 6.3. CONCLUSION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS REFERENCES

      10  Part IV: Application of Chemical Weathering/Soil Formation in Other Disciplines 7 Weathering Rinds as Tools for Constraining Reaction Kinetics and Duration of Weathering at the Clast‐Scale 7.1. INTRODUCTION 7.2. WEATHERING RINDS AS TOOLS FOR CALIBRATED AGE DATING 7.3. CASE STUDIES 7.4. VARIABLES INFLUENCING WEATHERING RIND THICKNESS 7.5. THE CORE‐RIND BOUNDARY AND INCIPIENT CHEMICAL WEATHERING 7.6. CHEMICAL AND MINERALOGIC PROPERTIES 7.7. PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES ACROSS THE CORE‐RIND BOUNDARY 7.8. DIFFUSION MODEL OF WEATHERING RIND DEVELOPMENT 7.9. QUANTIFYING THE DURATION OF WEATHERING 7.10.