Application of Soil Physics in Environmental Analyses

Wenceslau Geraldes Teixeira, an agronomist, got his degree in Agronomy from the Federal University of Viçosa in Brazil (1985 to 1989), his master degree in Soil Science from the Federal University of Lavras in Brazil (1990 to 1992) and his PhD in Soil Physics from University of Bayreuth in Germany (1998 to 2001). Since 1995, he has worked for the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture at the Center of Brazilian Agricultural Research from the Occidental Region of Amazon (Embrapa - Amazonia Ocidental), Brazil and he is also an associate professor at the Federal University of the Amazon (UFAM). His work focuses on tropical soil management and conservation. The main research areas are: soil physical quality standards for tropical soils, characterization of anthropic soils (Terra preta de Índio) and use of charcoal as soil conditioner (biochar)”. He co-edited "Amazonian Dark Earths: Wim Sombroek's Vision", published by Springer in 2009.

Part 1 - Integrating data in soil physics.- Knowledge chains, linking cutting-edge research on flow phenomena in soils with tacit knowledge from field research.- Part 2 - Data analysis in soil physics and pedotransfers functions.- State-Space Analysis in Soil Physics.- Spatial relationships between soil water content and hydraulic conductivity in a highly structured clay soils.- State-space approach to understand Soil-Plant-Atmosphere relationships.- Pedotransfer functions for Brazilian soils.- Part 3 - Different approaches for the characterization of soil physical quality indicators.- An Algorithm for Mapping the Spatial Variability of Soil Physical Quality.- A Preliminary Proposal for the Structural Classification Of Soil Pore Space.- Indicators of soil physical quality: from simplicity to complexity.- Monitoring soil water in irrigated soils of the Brazilian semi-arid region: an opportunity to improve water use.- Sensor Network Data Assimilation in Soil Water Flow Modeling.- NewPerspectives for the Application of High-Resolution Benchtop X-Ray MicroCT for Quantifying Void, Solid and Liquid Phases in Soils.- Unsaturated soil hydraulic conductivity in the Central Amazon: field evaluations.- Soil Moisture and Soil Water Storage using Hydrological Modeling and Remote Sensing.- Part 5 - Creating databases and models applied to soil physics.- The Use of Numerical Flow and Transport Models in Environmental Analyses.- The Use of Multicomponent Solute Transport Models in Environmental Analyses.- Water availability to plants.- Experiences and challenges in developing European Soil hydrological Databases.- A Hydrophysical Database to develop Pedotransfer Functions for Brazilian Soils: Challenges and Perspectives.