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Soil Research History

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Abstract

No doubt that soil is not only a vital component in the agroecosystem but also was the backbone of the Egyptian civilization . This civilization was supported by the Nile and siltation of Egyptian soils. This link between soils and this Egyptian civilization was also built on the history of both humans and soils. Therefore, soils have gained great interest since the ancient Egyptians and could be noticed that from their paintings on their temples. Concerning the education of soils in Egypt, it started since a long time from the Pharaohs and continues till now in different institutions including universities and scientific research centers such as agricultural research center , desert research center , Egyptian atomic energy authority , national research center , national authority for remote sensing and space sciences , desert development center , and Egyptian soil science society . The teaching of soil sciences also could be found in the technical education (the agricultural sector) in Egyptian secondary schools. Therefore, the aim of this chapter is an attempt for understanding the ancient history of research and education of soils in Egypt.

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Acknowledgements

Authors thank the outstanding contribution of STDF research teams (Science and Technology Development Fund, Egypt) and MBMF/DLR (the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of the Federal Republic of Germany), (Project ID 5310) for their help. Great support from this German-Egyptian Research Fund (GERF) is gratefully acknowledged.

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Correspondence to Hassan El-Ramady .

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El-Ramady, H., Alshaal, T., Gaheen, S.A. (2019). Soil Research History. In: El-Ramady, H., Alshaal, T., Bakr, N., Elbana, T., Mohamed, E., Belal, AA. (eds) The Soils of Egypt. World Soils Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95516-2_2

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