Eric C. Brevik

• PhD
• Professor (Full) at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Soil is a sink for environmental hazardous materials including heavy metals (HMs). Developing countries face enormous environmental problems, including HMs in soils that reduce biodiversity and create serious human health risks. Thus, it is important to determine and track status of soil HM concentrations in different anthropogenic land uses (LUs)...

Issues of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), including gender equity, have gained increasing recognition at the beginning of the 21st century. As an academic discipline, soil science has been late in addressing gender equity, but several peer-reviewed studies have been published in the last 5 years. This study investigated gender equity in the...

The European ground squirrel (EGS) is an endangered burrowing rodent of Central and South-Eastern European dry grasslands with a declining population trend. Its prehistoric and historical distribution ranges and population trend have not been analysed until now. In this study we addressed these gaps and aimed to give a comprehensive view on the spe...

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in soils threaten human health through several exposure pathways. However, health risks posed by PTEs in soils in developing countries have not yet been comprehensively investigated. Thus, such countries lack important information that is needed to implement sustainable solutions. In this study, we assessed the hum...

It is challenging to accurately analyze and monitor the environmental quality of soils globally because data on precise baseline concentrations are lacking. Colombia is a country where baseline data is practically missing. This study focused on the highly weathered soils of the Piedmont Llanero (hyperhumid equatorial environment). The baseline vana...

Soil heavy metals are among the most hazardous materials in the environment. Their harmful effects can extend to surrounding systems (air, plants, water), and given the appropriate conditions may ultimately have negative effects on human health. Thus, preventing pollution and protecting pristine soils and preindustrial areas from human activities t...

Soil ecology is significant in agroecosystems due to its influence on numerous environmental components, including soil, water, air, fauna, flora, and human health. The soil system has a substantial history with nanotechnology, beginning with the recognition that soil itself is considered a nanosystems, as components such as clays, organic matter,...

This chapter covers the time from the ancient history period to the present. It also includes some of the needs to expand the topic of soil and human health as a means to improve peoples’ health in several ways. The therapeutic uses of soil to heal wounds and to detoxify have been known since prehistorical times. Ancient civilizations from 3000 BCE...

Climate change is a global problem facing all aspects of the agricultural sector. Heat stress due to increasing atmospheric temperature is one of the most common climate change impacts on agriculture. Heat stress has direct effects on crop production, along with indirect effects through associated problems such as drought, salinity, and pathogenic...

Increased heat stress is a common feature of global climate change and can cause adverse impacts on crops from germination through maturation and harvest. This review focuses on the impacts of extreme heat (>35 ◦C) on plants and their physiology and how they affect food and water security. The emphasis is on what can be done to minimize the negativ...

Tellurium (Te) is the heaviest stable chalcogen and is a rare element in Earth’s crust (one to five ppb). It was discovered in gold ore from mines in Kleinschlatten near the present-day city of Zlatna, Romania. Industrial and other applications of Te focus on its inorganic forms. Tellurium can be toxic to animals and humans at low doses. Chronic te...

The relationship between agriculture and food is very close. It is impossible to produce adequate crops for global food security without proper farm management. Farming practices represent direct and indirect controlling factors in terms of global food security. Farming management practices influence agro-food production from seed germination throu...

soil degradation

Soil salinity is a serious problem facing many countries globally, especially those with semi-arid and arid climates. Soil salinity can have negative influences on soil microbial activity as well as many chemical and physical soil processes, all of which are crucial for soil health, fertility, and productivity. Soil salinity can negatively affect p...

Characterizing the background content and source(s) of heavy metals (HMs) is important for the evaluation of potential pollution in soils. Samples were collected from the topsoil layers (0.3 m) of 19 soil pedons in the harrats arid region in Saudi Arabia, and the concentrations of Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn were analyzed. Stepwise multiple...

NGOING climate change is leading to more extreme weather, which affects agriculture in various ways. In semi-arid regions of the world, and even some humid areas, drought stress is becoming more frequent. Prolonged drought periods lead to severe damages to cultivated plants, which impacts water and food resources. This review investigates how droug...

In these conclusions, summarised findings of this book are discussed from different angles. The fundamental importance of soil and deeper underground in myths of anthropogenesis was discussed. Psycho-spiritual drivers of different norms and behaviours towards soil, eventually operating through political ideas, are also covered. The great importance...

In this introduction to the book “Cultural Understanding of Soils”, the editors discuss the key concepts of “soil” and “culture”. How soils are understood in science and society is indicative of the priorities of the culture that provides these understandings. They produce relevant consequences for arable farming, nature, and whole lands. All kinds...

Soil science is an extremely interdisciplinary field, which means it does not necessarily have an obvious academic home and multiple academic departments have been documented to offer soil science coursework and curricula. This chapter investigated how different academic cultures in 11 countries around the world (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, G...

Origin myths are universal expressions that seek to explain a culture’s place and purpose in the world and teach behavior and norms expected in a given society. Therefore, much can be learned about a culture from their creation myths. This study explores Native American creation myths that reference soil, clay, or earth, mainly in earth-diver and e...

The agricultural sector is a vital source of human well-being that provides the necessities of daily life. A variety of farming systems are utilized in agriculture, such as a wide range of tillage options, no-till, agroforestry, precision farming, organic farming, cover cropping, crop rotations, etc. Each of these farming systems has unique challen...

Eastern red cedar (ERC, Juniperus virginiana L.) is a common tree species in agroforestry plantings and has great potential for bioenergy production due to physical and chemical characteristics of its biomass. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of ERC plantings on carbon (C) sequestration and selected soil quality parameters in e...

Microbial abundance and community structure can be altered directly and indirectly by soil physical and chemical characteristics which, in turn, can be influenced by land use management. This study utilized the cubist model to predict soil microbial communities based on soil properties at different depths and under different agricultural management...

The pollution of aquatic ecosystems is an issue facing many countries all over the world and may result in issues such as eutrophication in coastal zones. Managing this eutrophication is a real challenge. The current study focuses on the investigation and identification of aquatic environmental characteristics, including the sediments, waters, and...

Pedology and geomorphology are considered independent scientific disciplines, but form in fact a single indivisible system. Diversity analysis of natural resources tries to account for the variety of forms and spatial patterns that are displayed in the natural bodies, biotic and abiotic, appearing at the earth’s surface. The application of mathemat...

This study was designed to investigate the successive effects of the early Pleistocene subhumid and early to middle Holocene semi-arid paleoclimates and late Holocene to present day arid/hyperarid conditions on pedogenesis and evolution in Harrat Ithnayn volcano in the Arabian Shield, Saudi Arabia. The investigations were conducted using pedologica...

Abies beshanzuensis, an extremely rare and critically endangered plant with only three wild adult trees globally, is strongly mycorrhizal-dependent, leading to difficulties in protection and artificial breeding without symbiosis. Root hair morphogenesis plays an important role in the survival of mycorrhizal symbionts. Due to the lack of an effectiv...

Strawberry production presents special challenges due the plants’ shallow roots. The rooting stage of strawberry is a crucial period in the production of this important crop. Several amendments have been applied to support the growth and production of strawberry, particularly fertilizers, to overcome rooting problems. Therefore, the current investi...

Civilization is tied to soil through our reliance on agriculture and building materials. As early civilizations developed new agricultural strategies, their knowledge of soil also expanded. Major innovations included irrigation, terracing, use of plows, contour tillage, soil classification, and maintaining soil fertility through intercropping, crop...

GRICULTURE is very important for humanity as it supplies human needs ranging from food to fiber, feed for animals and energy. The production of seedlings is of great agricultural importance, especially in horticultural nurseries. Producing vigorous and healthy seedlings like banana and strawberry using biological nanofertilizers (bionanofertilizers...

Soil management for agricultural purposes has been practiced in the territory that makes up the United States of America (USA) for thousands of years. However, the introduction of European agricultural management techniques during colonization led to large increases in soil degradation. The greatest soil management problems in modern USA agricultur...

It is urgent that we increase global food production to support population growth. Food production requires significant resources, amongst them water and energy. Therefore, any losses of food or other agricultural products also means a waste of water and energy resources. A significant amount of these losses occurs during the postharvest stage, pri...

Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks account for nearly 75% of the active carbon pool in terrestrial ecosystems. SOC is also one of the most important soil quality components and has a vital role in agricultural productivity. The main objective of this study was to test the ability of Regression Kriging (RK) to predict the spatial distribution of SOC s...

Selenium is considered an essential nutrient for humans and animals, while studies into whether it is essential for higher plants continue. The global distribution of Se in soils is heterogeneous and depends on several factors, including human activities, geogenic origin, and microbial processes. Soil parent material is the primary source of Se in...

Selenium (Se) and nano-selenium (nano-Se) have received attention from researchers all over the world because they have direct impact on human health. This attention was increased due to their potential to boost the human immune system, particularly under projected treatments for COVID-19. Many biological functions have been confirmed for Se and na...

Soil is a real treasure that humans cannot live without. Therefore, it is very important to sustain and conserve soils to guarantee food, fiber, fuel, and other human necessities. Healthy or high-quality soils that include adequate fertility, diverse ecosystems, and good physical properties are important to allow soil to produce healthy food in sup...

Soil science education takes place in the formal classroom, laboratory, and extension and outreach settings. It can be provided by professionally trained teachers in schools and universities, individual scientists reaching out to the public, or professional societies looking to expand knowledge of the discipline. Regardless of the form, setting, or...

Soil and water supply us with the essentials of life, including clean water, healthy edible foods, feed, fiber, shelter, and fuel. Soil also serves as a repository for and soil and water are both central components of human culture. The close interactions between soil, water, plants and humans is very important for human health and well-being. This...

soil and water supply us with the essentials of life, including clean water, healthy edible foods, feed, fiber, shelter, and fuel. Soil also serves as a repository for soil and water are both central components of human culture. The close interactions between soil, water, plants and humans are very important for human health and well-being. This is...

Soil is an essential component in the ecological system that supports human life with needed food for humans, feeds for animals, fibers, fuels, building materials, and other necessities. However, soil suffers from a number of problems caused by humans, presented here in pictorial form. This review will take us on a narrative journey through soils w...

Geodiversity research is a growing industry. However, in contrast to diversity studies in other branches of natural sciences, geodiversity specialists have only paid attention to one side of the coin. They focused on the conservation of geological heritage (geoconservation) and its role/use for economic development through geotourism. Most geodiver...

The connectivity concept within soil security posits that people need to have a connection to soil in order to properly value it. Showing how soil is important in everyday life can create connections to soil, because people care about things they see as impacting their quality of life. Education can demonstrate these connections and may take place...

Soil is the main source of human food, feed for our animals, fiber, and a major source of fuel. The ability of soil to supply life essentials can be impacted by several obstacles that reduce or prevent plant production. Salt-affected soils are common under arid and semi-arid climates, which often produce soils that have salinity and/or alkalinity p...

Burrowing mammals such as European sousliks are widespread and contribute significantly to soil ecosystem services. However, they have declined across their range and the non-invasive estimation of their actual population size has remained a challenge. Results support that the number of burrow entrances is positively correlated with population abun...

Soil knowledge is essential to address modern global challenges. Soil science education began with soil survey and agricultural activities, with a focus on the traditional sub‐disciplines of soil chemistry, soil physics, pedology, soil mineralogy, and soil biology. Soil education has evolved to address the needs of an increasing variety of fields a...

Soil is a vital compartment of the ecosystem that supplies us with food, feed, fiber, and fuel. This system is very dynamic, open, and complex, and requires special care for its protection and conservation. Soil has several nexuses that include water, food, energy, ecosystems, and climate change. Soil consists of a unique natural organization, whic...

The main purpose of the present study, conducted in the Piedemonte Llanero of Colombia, was to identify the role of covari- ates that influence soil properties under different land uses by analyzing the dynamics of selected soil properties in natural and agricultural areas. Soil samples were collected from 90 different sites throughout the region,...

RECOGNITION of the links between soil and human health goes back thousands of years, when ancient people recognized the value of soil and its potential for human life. As a dynamic, complex, and open system soil consists of flora and fauna (microbes and others), water, air, and mineral and organic particles. These components of soil may cause negat...

The links between soil and human health are many; they include essential nutrients, food security, exposure to pollutants and pathogens, beneficial organisms, medications, and clean water. Ancient civilizations were aware of the influence of soil on human health, but scientific study of the relations is more recent. Human health benefits from the b...

Cation exchange capacity (CEC) is an important soil property because it affects the assimilation of nutrients and buffers against soil acidification. Thus, knowledge of CEC is considered key to developing agricultural and environmental models for land management planning. However, in developing countries such as Sudan, there is a lack of soil CEC d...

Burrowing mammals are widespread and contribute significantly to soil ecosystem services. However, how to conduct a non-invasive estimation of their actual population size has remained a challenge. Results support that the number of burrow entrances is positively correlated with population abundance and burrows’ location indicates their area of occ...

PurposeThe availability of potentially toxic elements in the soil is important to evaluate the risk they pose for humans and the broader environment. Implementation of environmental laws, especially in developing countries, makes it necessary to establish background concentrations for contaminants in soil.Methods Soil samples from Aridisols, Entiso...

The health sector is critical to the well-being of any country, but developing countries have several obstacles that prevent them from providing adequate health care. This became an even larger concern after the COVID-19 outbreak left millions of people dead worldwide and generated huge amounts of infected or potentially infected wastes. The manage...

Soil is an important source of resources required for human health and well-being. Soil is also a major environmental reservoir of pathogenic organisms. This may include viruses like the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which through 2020 and 2021 created dramatic catastrophes worldwide as the causative agent of the cor...

Soils are very important to human health, a fact that has been recognized for thousands of years. However, the scientific study of the links between soils and human health only began quite recently. One of the challenges that faces soils and human health researchers is the fact that the interactions are extremely complex. Simply determining the lev...

Understanding how topography affects the distribution of soil properties is essential in the management of landscape hydrology and establishment of sustainable soil management practices. This study investigated the impact of topography on the variation in particle size distribution, coarse fragments, and soil bulk density using different interpolat...

Soils influence human health in many ways, both positive and negative. These include the supply of nutrients; exposure to heavy metals, organic chemicals, and pathogens; the supply of antibiotics and other medicines; and soils may even support mental health. Soils can impact all aspects of the human system, from the skin to the respiratory tract, d...

I was a co-editor of the special issue "Natural sciences education in a COVID‐19 world" in which this article was published. Our article and all the articles in the related special issue in the journal Natural Sciences Education are available for free/open access via this link: https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/21688281/2021/50/2.

Treatment of water contaminated with heavy metals is challenging. Heavy metals are non-degradable, persistent in the environment, have a high dispersion capacity by water, can bioaccumulate, and represent risks to human and environmental health. Conventional treatment methods have disadvantages; however, adsorption in biomass is a highly promising...

On 12 Mar. 2020 Dickinson State University moved all classes to distance delivery (DD) in response to COVID‐19. Faculty had only a brief opportunity to plan, as the turn‐around to DD was very rapid. Meaningful laboratory exercises were needed for SOIL 210–Introduction to Soil Science. The senior author learned about the Science of Agriculture (SoA)...

Previous studies have indicated that diversity is a concern in soil science, including as this relates to gender equity. However, gender equity data for soil science is extremely limited, with only the USA having a current relatively extensive study published in the scientific literature. Therefore, this paper was undertaken to gain a preliminary u...

Agriculture is widely recognized as a source of considerable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with opportunities for mitigation. The limited capacity to identify and collect reliable activity data and to quantify emissions by sources and removals by sinks needs to be addressed. One proposed solution is to adapt IPCC methodologies that include estima...

Being critical to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, strengthening understanding of the properties and processes of soil at national and regional scales is imperative. The necessity to realize SDGs by 2030 also inspires a greater sense of responsibility and care for soils. Sustainable management of soil health is...

The interactive effects of paleoclimates and current conditions on pedogenesis in soils developed on volcanic parent materials (VPMs) is still poorly understood, particularly for soils in dry environments. Eight representative profiles located at Harrat Khaybar, Saudi Arabia and representing different landforms and positions including alluvial plai...

It is imperative to comprehend the level and spatial distribution of soil pollution with heavy metals to find sustainable management approaches for affected soils. Selected heavy metals (Mn, Zn, Pb, Cu, Cr, Ni, As, Co, and Cd) and physiochemical parameters were appraised for 620 samples from industrial, agricultural and urban sites in Northern Irel...

Several soil science education studies over the last 15 yr have focused on the number of students enrolled in soil science programs. However, no studies have quantitatively addressed the number of undergraduate soil science preparatory programs that exist in the United States, which means we do not have solid data concerning whether overall program...

In the early 2000s some were concerned that few soil science graduate students were receiving their bachelor's degrees in soil science. However, no studies were conducted to investigate this or how it may have changed over time. Information available on university webpages for faculty in the United States was used to determine the faculty's bachelo...

Water is considered one of the most important components of life, alongside atmospheric air. Its pollution represents a serious threat not only to human health but also to the surrounding ecology. Water pollution problems were aggravated in the era of COVID-19. Approximately 80% of global diseases are waterborne, and polluted aquatic environments h...

Transdisciplinary approaches that provide holistic views are essential to properly understand soil processes and the importance of soil to society and will be crucial in the future to integrate distinct disciplines into soil studies. A myriad of challenges faces soil science at the beginning of the 2020s. The main aim of this overview is to assess...

By the end of 2019, the universe was woken up to see one of the unprecedented dramatic catastrophes all the over the world, which called the COVID-19 pandemic or coronavirus. This virus already changed the global map and enforced the globe to start a new era that no one can predict the volume of changes worldwide on social, economic and environment...

Soil ecosystems contain and support the greatest amount of biodiversity on the planet. A majority of this diversity is made up of microorganisms, most of which are beneficial for humans. However, some of these organisms are considered human pathogens. In light of the current Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak, one m...

Selenium is an essential micronutrient required for the health of humans and lower plants, but its importance for higher plants is still being investigated. The biological functions of Se related to human health revolve around its presence in 25 known selenoproteins (e.g., selenocysteine or the 21st amino acid). Humans may receive their required Se...

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the global food supply chain and exacerbated the problem of food and nutritional insecurity. Here we outline soil strategies to strengthen local food production systems, enhance their resilience, and create a circular economy focused on soil restoration through carbon sequestration, on-farm cycling of nutrients,...

Numerous lines of evidence have been presented in the literature that show the patterns of pedodiversity and biodiversity are very similar. One of the most corroborated patterns lies in the fits of the relationships between biodiversity and soil diversity to power laws according to the increase in study area. Several authors have analysed the prese...

Online homework (OLH) assignments were added to the Introduction to Physical Geology class at Dickinson State University in the fall semester of 2014. Anticipated advantages included timely feedback and opportunities for students to correct mistakes made during homework completion. The same instructor taught all lecture and laboratory sections over...

A debate has occurred concerning the laws of scale and the fractal nature of geographical space. Biodiversity and pedodiversity studies show the emergence of fractal structures such as taxa‐area relationships. Biodiversity and pedodiversity are natural resources, although some consider pedotaxa to be artificial. The studies carried out to date emph...

Soil influences human health in a variety of ways, with human health being linked to the health of the soil. Historically, emphasis has been placed on the negative impacts that soils have on human health, including exposures to toxins and pathogenic organisms or the problems created by growing crops in nutrient-deficient soils. However, there are a...

As non-renewable natural resources, restoring Syrian soil quality is a vital issue for sustainable future planning after conflict ends. The data provided in this research exhibit features and physiochemical properties for soils from the southern part of Syria until the Jordanian border, which can provide decision-makers with sufficient information...

Knowledge of clay minerals composition can be used to understand paleoenvironmental and/or paleoclimatic conditions, particularly for soils derived from volcanic parent materials that were subjected to diverse climatic conditions during pedogenesis. In this study, the clay minerals composition in soils developed from basaltic parent materials durin...

Soil phosphorus (P) is an essential element that is often limiting in ecosystems. Excessive use of P fertilizers has led to P loss from soil and introduction into the environment. However, the behavior and potential risk assessment of P in alkaline soils is not well studied. Therefore, soil sampling was performed in alkaline soils in the northern N...

Heavy metal contamination from landfills has become a worldwide problem. Concerns have been raised over their impacts on human health and the environment. Soil amendment-assisted phytoremediation is rapidly gaining attention as a biotechnology to accelerate heavy metal (HM) removal from contaminated soils or immobilize the HMs. How different amendm...

European ground squirrels (EGS) are members of the soil megafauna and part of the ecosystem engineers that shape physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of soil ecosystems in European grasslands. Thanks to their strict protection their abundance and distribution have been surveyed systematically and annually in Hungary. The results of th...

Soil survey is indispensable for land-use planning in any agro-ecosystem, particularly in coastal ecosystems because they often face several environmental problems such as flooding and water pollution, leading to soil degradation. The data given in this article revealing the common soil types and substantial taxonomy levels in the coastal region of...

Saudi Arabia has many volcanoes and extensive basaltic lava fields known as harrats located along the western part of the Arabian Shield sub-parallel to the Red Sea. The soils developed on these volcanic materials have not yet been investigated. Forty representative soil profiles were selected from six harrats and their morphological and physicoche...

The data from twelve representative soil profiles on six harrats (two profiles from each Harrat) within the Arabian Shield are presented, including full morphological descriptions made during the field the soil survey. A number of selected physicochemical and mineralogical analyses were also conducted in the laboratory and the data were interpreted...

Abstract There has been considerable interest in natural diversity studies, including geodiversity and pedodiversity studies, over the last approximately 30 years. In practice the various diversity studies involve different experts and traditions. Even though there are many common aspects that could be shared by all natural diversity studies, these...

The geography of soil is more important today than ever before. Models of environmental systems and myriad direct field applications depend on accurate information about soil properties and their spatial distribution. Many of these applications play a critical role in managing and preparing for issues of food security, water supply, and climate cha...