This book is intended for students and soil scientists who want to know about the state of the art in soil sciences in Chile. The book merges a comprehensive bibliographical review of the soil surveys carried out throughout the length and breadth of Chilean territory during the past 40 years and more recent information obtained by the authors in a number of field studies. As its starting point the book presents a general overview of important features related to Chilean soils, such as geology and geomorphology, climate, land use and vegetation. In this long and narrow country different soil formation factors and processes have resulted in a broad variety of soil bodies, from the extremely arid Atacama desert to the Patagonian and Antarctic zones. This book provides a description and classification (mainly Soil Taxonomy) of the most important soil types. Particularly important are soils derived from volcanic materials, which cover extensive areas of Chile. The book also deals with soil management topics in relation to the chemical, physical and biological properties of Chilean soils and it includes a number of examples from throughout the country. Finally, the book shows how man has induced severe soil degradation problems in Chile, such as erosive soil degradation, non-erosive soil degradation and land desertification.

Manuel Casanova obtained a degree in Agricultural Engineering (1991) at the University of Chile. He received his post-graduate education at the Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Sweden, where he obtained a Master of Science degree majoring in Soil Conservation (1998). Nowadays, he is Associate Professor and head of the Department of Soil and Engineering, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Chile, where he teaches and conducts research, mainly into soil and water conservation.

Oscar Seguel obtained a degree in Agricultural Engineering (1997) at the  University of Chile. He received his post-graduate education at the Institute of Agrarian Engineering and Soil, Austral University, Chile, where he obtained a PhD degree in the subject of Soil Sciences (2005). Nowadays, he is Assistant Professor at the Department of Soil and Engineering, University of Chile, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, where he teaches and conducts research, mainly into soil physics.

Osvaldo Salazar obtained a degree in Agricultural Engineering (2004) at the University of Chile. He received his post-graduate education at the Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Sweden, where he obtained a Master of Science degree majoring in Soil Sciences (2003) and a PhD degree in Soil Science specialising in hydrotechnics (2009). He held a post-doc position at the Basic Science and Environment Department, University of Copenhagen, Denmark (2010). Nowadays, he is Assistant Professor at the Department of Soil and Engineering, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Chile, where he teaches and conducts research, mainly into soil fertility.

Walter Luzio obtained a degree in Agricultural Engineering (1963) at the University of Chile. He received his post-graduate education at the University of Ghent, Belgium, where he obtained a Master of Science degree majoring in SoilSurveys (1971). He was Professor at the Department of Soil and Engineering, University of Chile, until his retirement in 2010. He taught and conducted research into pedology, soil classification and soil cartography for the past 40 years.

Preface.-General Chile overview.-Territory formation: geology and geomorphology.- Climate: from desert to glaciers.- Vegetation.-Land use.-Main features of Chilean soils.-Soil formation in Chile.- Major soil zones.- A soil map of Chile.-Management of soil properties in Chile.- Chemical properties.- Physical properties.- Biological properties.-Human induced soil degradation in Chile.- Erosive soil degradation.- Non erosive soil degradation.- Desertification.- Future of soil conservation in Chile.-Annexe.