Fundamentals of the Physical Environment

Citation

Smithson, P., Addison, K., & Atkinson, K. (2008). Fundamentals of the Physical Environment (4th ed.). Routledge.

Chapter Summary

The fourth edition runs to 792 pages in twenty-eight chapters arranged in five parts. The publisher describes a systems approach: the book shows how the factors operating at the Earth's surface interact and how landscape can be used to decipher them. Compared with earlier editions, it adds a section on the history and study of physical geography, a chapter on environmental reconstruction, a joint chapter on polar and alpine environments and a closing chapter on current and future environmental change.

Part 1, Chapters 1–2: The Physical Environment: Scientific Concepts and Methods; Energy and Earth

The opening part sets out the scientific concepts and methods used throughout and introduces energy as the link between Earth's systems.

Part 2, Chapters 3–9: The Atmosphere

Seven chapters on the atmosphere: Heat and Energy in the Atmosphere; Moisture in the Atmosphere; Precipitation and Evapotranspiration; The Atmosphere in Action; Weather-Forming Systems; Micro and Local Climates; and Climate Change. The publisher notes that the climate change chapter was updated and strengthened for this edition.

Part 3, Chapters 10–17: The Geosphere

Eight chapters: Earth's Geological Structure and Processes; The Global Ocean; Rock Formation and Deformation; Denudation, Weathering and Mass Wasting; Fluvial Systems: Catchments and Rivers; Cryosphere Systems: Glaciers, Ice and Permafrost; Aeolian Systems; and Global Coastlines. The section moves from the Earth's interior and oceans to the surface processes that shape landforms; the cryosphere chapter is revised and the treatment of wind is strengthened in this edition.

Part 4, Chapters 18–22: The Biosphere

Five chapters: Soils in their Environment; Soil Fertility and Sustainability; Principles of Biogeography; The Earth System and the Cycling of Carbon and Nutrients; and Biodiversity in Ecosystems. New material on the Earth System and the cycling of carbon and nutrients is listed among the edition's changes.

Part 5, Chapters 23–28: Environments

Six chapters apply the earlier parts to particular settings: Environmental Reconstruction: Principles and Practice; Polar and Alpine Environments; Mediterranean Environments; Tropical Deserts and Semi-Arid Environments; Humid Tropical Environments; and Current and Future Environmental Change. The publisher says this final section places the physical processes in context alongside human impacts.

Key Concepts

Part 1: Fundamentals

• Systems approach: treating the environment as interacting components exchanging energy and matter.
• Energy and Earth: energy flows as the common currency of atmospheric, surface and biological processes.

Part 2: The Atmosphere

• Evapotranspiration: combined loss of water by evaporation and plant transpiration.
• Weather-forming systems: the circulation features that produce day-to-day weather.
• Micro and local climates: climate at small scales near the ground.
• Climate change: the topic of Chapter 9, updated for this edition.

Part 3: The Geosphere

• Denudation, weathering and mass wasting: the processes that lower and reshape the land surface.
• Fluvial, cryosphere, aeolian and coastal systems: the four agents of landform change given a chapter each.

Parts 4–5: Biosphere and Environments

• Biogeography and biodiversity: how organisms are distributed and how ecosystems sustain variety.
• Carbon and nutrient cycling: the Earth System view of matter flows.
• Environmental reconstruction: methods for inferring past conditions.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• Breadth in one volume. Atmosphere, geosphere, biosphere and specific environments are all covered in one text, which the publisher presents as an alternative to using several books.
• Clear organisation. The five-part structure moves from concepts, to the three spheres, to applications in particular environments; reviewers quoted by the publisher praise the clear style and the "very natural organization", and a Choice review (May 2009) recommended the fourth edition.
• Visual and boxed material. The publisher cites over 450 colour diagrams, 150 photographs and themed boxes highlighting processes, systems, applications, new developments and human impacts.
• Support. A companion website offers discussion and essay questions, chapter summaries and extended case studies.

Limitations

• Length. At 792 pages it is far more than one semester can absorb; courses must select.
• A survey, not a specialist text. Twenty-eight chapters across climate, landforms, soils and ecosystems means each topic receives a chapter or two; readers who need depth in one area, such as quantitative climatology or process geomorphology, will outgrow it.

Where It Fits in the Course

This is a single-volume physical geography text of unusual breadth. Introducing Physical Geography and Physical Geography are introductory surveys that suit a first course and lighter reading; Geosystems is a comprehensive textbook organised around the same four spheres. Fundamentals of the Physical Environment suits students who have done an introduction and want more depth on processes, or who want one reference across climate, landforms, soils and ecosystems. For quantitative treatment of climate, Global Physical Climatology goes much further than Chapters 3–9.

How to Use This Book

The book targets students of physical geography and the environmental sciences, from first year upward; no particular prerequisites are stated.

Read Part 1 first, since the systems idea frames what follows. Then read the parts in the order your course needs; Parts 2, 3 and 4 are largely independent, though soils and biogeography draw on climate and landform processes. Chapters 23–28 are best read after the process chapters they apply. Use the companion website's discussion and essay questions for self-testing and its extended case studies for revision, and read the climate change and environmental change chapters (9 and 28) alongside current data sources. Students new to the field can skim the five part openings first to see how the material fits together, and can postpone the more specialised chapters (for example Chapters 12 and 23) until a course requires them.