Introduction: Objectives and Background -- The Soil Profile: The Structure of Plant – Mineral Interaction Space -- Physical Factors Affecting Soil Profiles: The Three Dimensional Aspect of Plant – Mineral Interaction: Displacements -- Clay Minerals in Soils: The Interface Between Plants and the Mineral World -- The Chemistry and Mineralogy of Plant and Soil Interactions: Plant as Manipulators of Their Environment -- Man and Agriculture: Manipulating Soil – Plant Interactions -- Plants and Soils: The Ecological Paradigm of Plants and Clays.

This book considers the inter-relations between plants and minerals in an entirely new way, in that it introduces the notion of eco-engineering: i.e. the manipulation of the mineral world by the living world to the ends of the living world. These inter-relations are the basis for traditional agriculture and should be the basis for new, ecologically oriented land management disciplines, including agriculture itself. These relations also have an impact on surface geochemistry and determine pollution problems. A better understanding of this concept will lead to a renewed consideration of surface environmental problems.