Ronald Amundson – författare

The most prominent naturalist in Britain before Charles Darwin, Richard Owen made empirical discoveries and offered theoretical innovations that were crucial to the proof of evolution. Among his many lasting contributions to science was the first clear definition of the term homology: "the same organ in different animals under every variety of form and function." He also graphically demonstrated that all vertebrate species were built on the same skeletal plan and devised the vertebrate archetype as a representation of the simplest common form of all vertebrates. Just as Darwin's ideas continue to propel the modern study of adaptation, so too will Owen's contributions fuel the new interest in homology, organic form, and evolutionary developmental biology. His theory of the archetype and his views on species origins were first offered to the general public in "On the Nature of Limbs", published in 1849. It re-emerges here in a facsimile edition with introductory essays by prominent historians, philosophers, and practitioners from the modern evo-devo community.

The most prominent naturalist in Britain before Charles Darwin, Richard Owen made empirical discoveries and offered theoretical innovations that were crucial to the proof of evolution. Among his many lasting contributions to science was the first clear definition of the term homology—“the same organ in different animals under every variety of form and function.” He also graphically demonstrated that all vertebrate species were built on the same skeletal plan and devised the vertebrate archetype as a representation of the simplest common form of all vertebrates. Just as Darwin’s ideas continue to propel the modern study of adaptation, so too will Owen’s contributions fuel the new interest in homology, organic form, and evolutionary developmental biology. His theory of the archetype and his views on species origins were first offered to the general public in On the Nature of Limbs, published in 1849. It reemerges here in a facsimile edition with introductory essays by prominent historians, philosophers, and practitioners from the modern evo-devo community.

The book Factors of Soil Formation. A System of Quantitative Pedology published in 1941 represented a quantum leap forward in our understanding of the impacts of parent material, climate, topography, vegetative cover and time on soil character. Even after more than 50 yr, Hans Jenny's elegant theory of soil formation remains the foundation of modern thought regarding soil genesis. This SSSA Special Publication includes papers presented at a special symposium commemorating the 50th anniversary of the publication of Factors of Soil Formation held during the 1991 annual meeting of the Soil Science Society of America.

The first process-based textbook on how soils form and function in biogeochemical cycles, offering a self-contained and integrated overview of the field as it now stands for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in soil science, environmental science, and the wider Earth sciences. The jargon-free approach quickly familiarises students with the field's theoretical foundations before moving on to analyse chemical and other numerical data, building the necessary skills to develop questions and strategies for original research by the end of a single semester course. The field-based framework equips students with the essential tools for accessing and interpreting the vast USDA soil dataset, allowing them to establish a working knowledge of the most important modern developments in soil research. Complete with numerous end-of-chapter questions, figures and examples, students will find this textbook a multidisciplinary toolkit invaluable to their future careers.