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.