Dispersive Soils: Processes, Impact, and Management

Dispersive Soils redefines the understanding of soil stability across agricultural, environmental, and geotechnical contexts. Moving beyond the traditional emphasis on sodicity, it conceptualises dispersion as a cross-disciplinary phenomenon arising from coupled chemical, physical, and hydrological processes. The book elucidates the mechanisms that drive structural breakdown and links them to consequences for productivity, infrastructure performance, and ecosystem integrity.

Synthesising decades of research, the book integrates insights from soil science, hydrology, geotechnical engineering, and land management to establish consistent principles for diagnosis, prevention, and remediation. Each chapter translates mechanistic understanding into applied strategies that enhance structural resilience, support sustainable production, and safeguard environmental quality. The volume provides a rigorous conceptual and empirical basis for re-evaluating how dispersive landscapes are characterised and managed, and outlines priorities for future research to strengthen the stability and long-term sustainability of vulnerable soils.

About the Authors:

Dr Pichu Rengasamy is internationally recognised for pioneering research that has advanced the understanding of soil sodicity and salinity. His frameworks have reshaped how soil stability is diagnosed and managed and continue to inform both theoretical soil science and practical land-rehabilitation strategies worldwide.

Dr Ehsan Tavakkoliis an Associate Professor at the University of Adelaide. His research investigates how mineral reactivity, carbon cycling, and nutrient dynamics interact to control soil function and crop productivity, particularly under dispersive and salt-affected soils, and has advanced approaches for restoring degraded soils and strengthening the resilience of farming systems in Australia and beyond.