The book has two parts and they can be used in several ways. The first part can either be read from start to finish or used more as a reference text. It progresses from an account of the basic properties of soil through to a description of the main processes operating within soil and the broader landscape. These themes are then integrated through a series of case studies on typical Australian landscapes. These span arid lands to alpine environments, and their ages range from the geologically ancient through to the very young. The descriptions of different landscapes provide a context for understanding the large impacts humans have had on Australian soil. The second part of the book is an illustrated compendium of the more important and widespread soils of Australia with their associated landscapes. There is a brief account of each soil's environment, land use and qualities. This material is designed to be scanned quickly to gain an overview of the diversity of Australian soils and landscapes. There are also detailed tables and graphs containing laboratory data that provide a fairly thorough characterisation of each soil. This material will be value to those seeking technical details. A simple coding system is used for cross-referencing between the first and second parts of the book. The code denotes the soil order (see next page) and sequence number. For example, soil KA3 is the third Kandosol described in the Compendium. A rudimentary understanding of soil classification is helpful for appreciating and understanding the diversity of soils. As with other natural phenomena - plants, animals, rocks - soil classes can be defined and placed into groups at various levels of detail (similar to the order, family, genus, and species in botany). The official Australian Soil Classification is a general-purpose system that can be used at various levels of detail - it replaced several older national schemes.
