The physics of land drainage. The theory of land drainage. Engineering aspects of land drainage. Drainage invfestigation methods. Land drainage in relation to soils and crops.

Fully renewed and extended, this edition is a valuable source of information for anyone involved in drainage engineering and management. It provides new theories, technologies, knowledge and experiences in combination with traditional land development practices in the humid temperature zone. Aspects covered include: management and maintenance; drainage application and design; and adverse impacts on the environment. Intended as both a handbook and a textbook, this work is of particular value to university students as well as professionals within drainage development, engineering and management.

Man’s control over the elements of land and water for the purposes of agriculture was fundamental to the development of civilisations in the past, and remains so today. This volume deals with the processes of irrigation, and land drainage and reclamation, and illustrates the variety of technological and engineering solutions in a wide chronological and geographical perspective. The sophistication of many pre-modern systems is clear, as is the impact of modern technologies. Important points that emerge are that there was no steady or linear progression in techniques across time - instances of the transfer of ideas are balanced by cases of independent development - and that the correlations between irrigation systems and social structures demand more complex explanations than often proposed.