[ BOOK REVIEW ............. Guide du Drainage Souterrain by R. Eggeismann DVWK-Bulletin 18, Verlag Paul Parey (cooperation CIID), Hamburg/Berlin, 1991, 306 pp. ISBN 3-490-03590-9 This book is the French translation -- of the English version published in 1987 -- of the 2nd edition (1981) of the subsurface drainage instruction manual entitled "Dr~inanweisung f'fir Landbau, Ingenieurbau, Landschaftsbau" by Professor Dr. R. Eggelsmann. It is published by the German Association for Resources in Water and the Improvement of Soils (DVWK), in cooperation with the International Commission of Irrigation and Drainage (ICID). It is a practical guide which is especially aimed at administrative and technical operators of subsurface-drainage. Divided into 10 parts, this well illustrated book tackles all of the successive stages of a drainage project: preliminary studies, project design, construction and supervision of work, maintenance of networks. Concrete information is given about techniques, materials and subsurface-drainage equipment, about technical planning principles, and about water balance calculations. In addition, for the decrease of waterlogging in agricultural lands, the author provides very useful information about the pipe drainage in recreational grounds, sports- ground, civil engineering, building constructions, etc. The administrative and technical recommendations proposed, are referenced ac- cording to official German standards (DIN). The bibliographic references, listed at the end of each section, are of German origin with comments on Dutch, Swiss, Austrian and North American studies. Among the subjects covered the reader will find very detailed information about mole-drainage, deep subsoiling and deep ploughing which has been tested on a large scale in Germany. In addition, there are a lot of data on subsurface drainage in difficult areas such as peat lands, marsh lands, peaty-sandy lands, which require special treatments (risk of compacting, or ochre clogging). On the other hand, the agro-economic aspects of subsurface drainage and the elements that should be taken into account in the farmer's decision to drain are not adequately treated. Moreover, the reclamation of saline soil is only sketchily outlined. For French-speaking readers, it is regrettable that the substance of the original book is not easily understandable. The translation is often much too literal and does not use specific hydraulic and pedologic vocabulary; also some terms are inappropriate (for example "trench drainage" is translated by "ditch drainage"). By stressing particular subsurface-drainage methods, this book complements the existent works in French, which do not yet describe the techniques, approaches and objectives of the 1990 decade. J.-C. Favrot Montpellier SOIL TECHNOLOGY A cllo[;.erating Journal ol CA'I ENA

Guide du drainage souterrain

Download PDF Report

Upload
j-c
View
223
Download
1

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

[ BOOK REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Guide du Drainage Souterrain

by R. Eggeismann DVWK-Bulletin 18, Verlag Paul Parey (cooperation CIID), Hamburg/Berlin, 1991, 306 pp. ISBN 3-490-03590-9

This book is the French translation - - of the English version published in 1987 - - of the 2nd edition (1981) of the subsurface drainage instruction manual entitled "Dr~inanweisung f'fir Landbau, Ingenieurbau, Landschaftsbau" by Professor Dr. R. Eggelsmann. It is published by the German Association for Resources in Water and the Improvement of Soils (DVWK), in cooperation with the International Commission of Irrigation and Drainage (ICID).

It is a practical guide which is especially aimed at administrative and technical operators of subsurface-drainage. Divided into 10 parts, this well illustrated book tackles all of the successive stages of a drainage project: preliminary studies, project design, construction and supervision of work, maintenance of networks. Concrete information is given about techniques, materials and subsurface-drainage equipment, about technical planning principles, and about water balance calculations. In addition, for the decrease of waterlogging in agricultural lands, the author provides very useful information about the pipe drainage in recreational grounds, sports- ground, civil engineering, building constructions, etc.

The administrative and technical recommendations proposed, are referenced ac- cording to official German standards (DIN). The bibliographic references, listed at the end of each section, are of German origin with comments on Dutch, Swiss, Austrian and North American studies.

Among the subjects covered the reader will find very detailed information about mole-drainage, deep subsoiling and deep ploughing which has been tested on a large scale in Germany. In addition, there are a lot of data on subsurface drainage in difficult areas such as peat lands, marsh lands, peaty-sandy lands, which require special treatments (risk of compacting, or ochre clogging). On the other hand, the agro-economic aspects of subsurface drainage and the elements that should be taken into account in the farmer's decision to drain are not adequately treated. Moreover, the reclamation of saline soil is only sketchily outlined.

For French-speaking readers, it is regrettable that the substance of the original book is not easily understandable. The translation is often much too literal and does not use specific hydraulic and pedologic vocabulary; also some terms are inappropriate (for example "trench drainage" is translated by "ditch drainage").

By stressing particular subsurface-drainage methods, this book complements the existent works in French, which do not yet describe the techniques, approaches and objectives of the 1990 decade.

J.-C. Favrot Montpellier

S O I L T E C H N O L O G Y A cllo[;.erating Journal o l CA'I ENA