Everything about Dokuchaev totally explained
Vasily Vasili'evich Dokuchaev (Василий Васильевич Докучаев) (
1846 –
1903) was a
Russian geographer who is credited with laying the foundations of
soil science.
Overview
Vasily Vasil'evich Dokuchaev is commonly regarded as the father of
pedology, the study of soils in its natural setting. He developed soil science in Russia, and was, perhaps the first person to make wide geographical investigations of different soil types. His great contribution to science was, literally, to "put soils on the map".
He introduced the idea that geographical variations in
soil type could be explained in relation not only to geological factors (
parent material), but also to climatic and topographic factors, and the time available for
pedogenesis (soil formation) to operate. Using these ideas as a basis, he created the first
soil classification. His ideas were quickly taken up by a number of soil scientists, including
Hans Jenny.
He worked on soil science, and developed a classification scheme describing
five factors for soil formation. He arrived at his theory after extensive field studies on Russian soils in
1883. His most famous work is
Russian Chernozem (1883). Thanks to Dokuchaev's works a number of Russian soil terms are in the international soil science vocabulary (
chernozem,
podsol,
gley,
solonets). A
crater on
Mars is named in his honor.
Quote
» The scientific basis of soil science as a natural science was established by the classical works of Dokuchaev. Previously, soil had been considered a product of physicochemical transformations of rocks, a dead substrate from which plants derive nutritious mineral elements. Soil and bedrock were in fact equated.
Dokuchaev considers the soil as a natural body having its own genesis and its own history of development, a body with complex and multiform processes taking place within it. The soil is considered as different from bedrock. The latter becomes soil under the influence of a series of soil-formation factors (climate, vegetation, country, relief and age). According to him, soil should be called the "daily" or outward horizons of rocks regardless of the type; they're changed naturally by the common effect of water, air and various kinds of living and dead organisms.
Further Information
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