The “Scheffer/Schachtschabel Soil Science” Textbook


The Scheffer/Schachtschabel Lehrbuch der Bodenkunde (Textbook of Soil Science), the renowned standard textbook on soil science in German-speaking countries such as Germany, Austria and Switzerland, is now available in English for the first time.  The first edition of this highly cited book was published in 1937 under the title “Agrikulturchemie, Teil A: Boden” (Agricultural Chemistry, Part A: Soil). 


Based on the 16th  German edition which was written by a team of leading soil scientists (all renowned professors of soil science), the 2016 English edition was published by Springer Verlag, so it is available globally. I really applaud this development since I have always admired and used this book since the time I was a doctoral student in Stuttgart-Hohenheim many years ago and until now as a professor of soil science at Visayas State University. I remember I read the 10th German edition several times, from cover to cover, in preparation for my comprehensive examination under Prof. K. Stahr. In my opinion, this is among the best, if not the best, soil science textbook for undergraduate and graduate students available today.  It is also an excellent reference for soil researchers. I have already bought an electronic copy of the book and I highly recommend it to all those interested in learning soil science.

You can also find an article about this book which I wrote in 2012 for the Bulletin of the International Union of Soil Sciences. At that time I was asked by the editor of the bulletin to name my top three soil science books.


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