Books in the Advances in Soil Science series

This work discusses important issues confronting soil management in current global conditions and examines the increasingly harmful impact of the greenhouse effect on various ecosystems. Policy issues and considerations are also reviewed.

This book presents the concept of interacting processes in soil science. It attempts to develop a presentation of several areas of soil science in which one must consider interaction of processes in order to further understand the complexity of the soil system.

The most complete, nonpartisan source of reference on this hot agronomic topic available today, this book brings together a diverse group of papers and data to resolve the debate on the effects of soil erosion on carbon and atmospheric CO2.

Urban soil comprises geological material drastically disturbed by anthropogenic activities. Urban soils play a role in the production of food, aesthetics of residential areas, and pollutant dynamics. Properties of urban soils are normally not favorable to plant growth, are contaminated by heavy metals, and are compacted and sealed.

Soil organic matter (SOM) is a highly reactive constituent of the soil matrix. This volume of Advances in Soil Sciences explains pedological processes caused by increases in SOM content of depleted and degraded soils and demonstrates the link between soil organic matter stock and provisioning critical ecosystem services for nature and humans.

Soil organic matter is the primary determinant of soil functionality and is a source of ecosystem services critical to human well-being and nature conservancy. This volume of Advances in Soil Sciences discusses how conservation through restorative land use can increase carbon stock and soil health.

This volume discusses the relation between soil health and human health in relation to plant, animal, and human nutrition; pest and pathogen infection from soil; deficiency of micronutrients; toxicity of heavy metals; geophagy, and other factors.

This book addresses global issues through soil management and outlines strategies of advancing sustainable development goals of the United Nations. It focuses on soil restoration as a strategy to mitigate climate change, the soil-food-water-climate nexus, soil and ecosystem services, as well as soil and carbon farming.

Faced with challenges of resource scarcity and environmental degradation, it is important to adopt innovative farming systems that maximize resource efficiency while protecting the environment. This volume focuses on principles and applications of soil-specific farming, providing information on rapidly evolving agricultural technologies. The book specifically addresses assessments of soil variability and application of modern innovations to enhance use efficiency of fertilizers, irrigation, tillage and pesticides through targeted management of soils and crops. Support tools are utilized to target site-specific constraints.

Describes methods of assessment of soil degradation by different processes in relation to their impact on agronomic productivity and environmental quality; addresses the agronomic and economic impacts of soil degradation; and considers research and development priorities.

This book provides current information on the world's soil resources available for food production and discusses ways to maintain or improve these resources to achieve optimal production. Chapters cover global food demand, soil degradation, fertilizer needs, nutrient budgeting and plant nutrition, disease suppressive soils, soil and climate change, soil fertility management, ecological efficiency, sustainable production systems, soil resilience, and soils and human health. The contributing authors offer innovative soil and water management options. This timely resource includes numerous illustrations, tables, and equations to aid in comprehension.

Written for professionals and students in agricultural fields, this book addresses current problems associated with water supplies required for agricultural purposes and food production. It focuses on innovative technologies for improving soil water availability, enhancing water use efficiency, and using productive irrigation systems. The book discusses root-zone water conservation strategies; growing varieties of crops that can tolerate droughts; and using cropping systems that enhance adaptation to changing climate, among other topics. It also presents techniques that conserve water in the root zone and discusses remote sensing techniques to assess soil water regime and predict drought on a regional scale.

This book describes the laws of sustainable soil management to enhance ecosystem services while restoring degraded soils and promoting sustainable use. With chapters contributed by world-class soil scientists, ecologists, and social scientists, the book outlines critical changes in management of agricultural soils necessary to address global issues of food security, climate change, water security, and energy needs. Topics covered include organic farming, soil fertility, crop-symbiotic soil microbiota, human-driven soil degradation, soil degradation and restoration, carbon sink capacity of soils, and soil renewal and sustainability.

Highlighting a tenfold increase in global fertilizer consumption between 2002 and 2016, the book explains the effects on the quality of soil, water, air and biota from overuse of chemical fertilizers.This book presents methods for enhancing the efficiency of fertilizer that can reduce the environmental footprint.

Bringing together international experts to explore land misuse and mismanagement practices that compromise soil quality around the globe, this volume assesses farming systems in Sub-Saharan Africa, examines land degradation and soil management in Brazil and China, and provides a comparison of systems in India and Ohio. It also addresses how cultural and spiritual beliefs may contribute to problems with soil quality. The book highlights the urgency of the issue and details achievable methods for improvement.

This study addresses the importance of soil processes in the global carbon cycle, and on the mechanisms that influence carbon cycling in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Topics covered include: soil carbon dynamics and processes; modelling SOC; and methods of SOC determinations.