The Department of Soil and Water Sciences promotes research on global processes in the soil-water-atmosphere continuum. Our unique Israeli environment — limited water resources, state of the art agriculture, diverse climate and soils — offers us exciting research opportunities. The Department was established in the early 1950's to support the developing agriculture of the young state. Today, we perform cutting-edge research and develop advanced technologies in the following fields: Soil fertility, soil chemistry, soil and water pollution and solution, soil-plant-atmosphere interactions, water treatment and reuse for irrigation, precise irrigation,soil development and degradation, human impact on the environment.
Soil and water are among the most important resources on our planet. Soils are heterogeneous mixtures of air, water, inorganic and organic solids, and microorganisms (both plant and animal in nature). They support the earth's ecosystems, by providing a habitat for plants and, ultimately, all terrestrial life. Dr. Roy W. Simonson well captured our motivation to explore and better understand this essential system:
The research activities of the Department of Soil and Water Sciences are driven by basic scientific questions regarding the natural and agricultural environments. Building on thorough studies, in-depth understanding and creativity we aim to propose agricultural and environmental solutions for the 21st century.
The soil is a three-phase body composed of colloidal mineral and organic matter, bordering the atmosphere, supporting plant growth. Therefore, our research explores the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, from the point of view of Soil Physics and Soil Chemistry.
