Ineed understanding this excerpt:
quantitative formulation: a significant gap remains between soil architectural parameters and field-measured soil functions at different scales. pore space is a new arena for pedologic research, as it emphasizes the nature, origin, and significance of pore space in various soil functions. however, how to link pedologic features, pore characteristics, and soil functions at different scales is a challenging and yet critical question to be answered. the link between soil maps and soil functions is also needed, especially quantitatively, but it is largely missing.
i don't understand what it means ' at different scales.' also, how can we link soil maps and soil functions?

since there isn't any suggested answers i will give you the reason and hopefully you can figure it

south africa, or rather all of africa, has not been in the location in which it is nowadays throughout the geological past. after the super-continent pangaea started to break apart, gondwanaland, in which was africa, moved further south, and parts of it came to be very close to the south pole. because the climate in this part of the world is very cold due to the very dispersed sun rays in there, what is now south africa, started to freeze, and the conditions were right for the formation of glaciers. the glaciers existed up until the period when gondwanaland started to break apart and what is now africa started to move towards north, sp it warmed up and the glaciers melted.