Sustaining the Soil

Sustaining the Soil
Author: Chris Reij
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2013-11-19
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1134175930

Indigenous soil and water conservation practices are rarely acknowledged in the design of conventional development projects. Instead, the history of soil and water conservation in Africa has been one of imposing external solutions without regard for local practice. There is a remarkably diverse range of locally developed and adapted technologies for the conservation of water and soil, well suited to their particular site and socio-economic conditions. But such measures have been ignored, and sometimes even overturned, by external solutions. Sustaining the Soil documents farmers' practices, exploring the origins and adaptations carried out by farmers over generations, in response to changing circumstances. Through a comparative analysis of conservation measures - from the humid zones of West Africa to the arid lands of the Sudan, from rock terraces in Morocco to the grass strips of Swaziland - the book explores the various factors that influence adoption and adaptation; farmers' perceptions of conservation needs; and the institutional and policy settings most favorable to more effective land husbandry. For the first time on an Africa-wide scale, this book shows that indigenous techniques work, and are being used successfully to conserve and harvest soil and water. These insights combine to suggest new ways forward for governments and agencies attempting to support sustainable land management in Africa, involving a fusion of traditional and modern approaches, which makes the most of both the new and the old.

Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems

Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems
Author: Mahdi M. Al-Kaisi
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 420
Release: 2017-03-15
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0128054018

Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems examines the climate, environmental, and human effects on agroecosystems and how the existing paradigms must be revised in order to establish sustainable production. The increased demand for food and fuel exerts tremendous stress on all aspects of natural resources and the environment to satisfy an ever increasing world population, which includes the use of agriculture products for energy and other uses in addition to human and animal food. The book presents options for ecological systems that mimic the natural diversity of the ecosystem and can have significant effect as the world faces a rapidly changing and volatile climate. The book explores the introduction of sustainable agroecosystems that promote biodiversity, sustain soil health, and enhance food production as ways to help mitigate some of these adverse effects. New agroecosystems will help define a resilient system that can potentially absorb some of the extreme shifts in climate. Changing the existing cropping system paradigm to utilize natural system attributes by promoting biodiversity within production agricultural systems, such as the integration of polycultures, will also enhance ecological resiliency and will likely increase carbon sequestration. - Focuses on the intensification and integration of agroecosystem and soil resiliency by presenting suggested modifications of the current cropping system paradigm - Examines climate, environment, and human effects on agroecosystems - Explores in depth the wide range of intercalated soil and plant interactions as they influence soil sustainability and, in particular, soil quality - Presents options for ecological systems that mimic the natural diversity of the ecosystem and can have significant effect as the world faces a rapidly changing and volatile climate

Soils and Landscape Restoration

Soils and Landscape Restoration
Author: John A. Stanturf
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 436
Release: 2020-10-24
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0128131942

Soils and Landscape Restoration provides a multidisciplinary synthesis on the sustainable management and restoration of soils in various landscapes. The book presents applicable knowledge of above- and below-ground interactions and biome specific realizations along with in-depth investigations of particular soil degradation pathways. It focuses on severely degraded soils (e.g., eroded, salinized, mined) as well as the restoration of wetlands, grasslands and forests. The book addresses the need to bring together current perspectives on land degradation and restoration in soil science and restoration ecology to better incorporate soil-based information when restoration plans are formulated. - Incudes a chapter on climate change and novel ecosystems, thus collating the perspective of soil scientists and ecologists on this consequential and controversial topic - Connects science to international policy and practice - Includes summaries at the end of each chapter to elucidate principles and key points

Managing Cover Crops Profitably (3rd Ed. )

Managing Cover Crops Profitably (3rd Ed. )
Author: Andy Clark
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2008-07
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1437903797

Cover crops slow erosion, improve soil, smother weeds, enhance nutrient and moisture availability, help control many pests and bring a host of other benefits to your farm. At the same time, they can reduce costs, increase profits and even create new sources of income. You¿ll reap dividends on your cover crop investments for years, since their benefits accumulate over the long term. This book will help you find which ones are right for you. Captures farmer and other research results from the past ten years. The authors verified the info. from the 2nd ed., added new results and updated farmer profiles and research data, and added 2 chap. Includes maps and charts, detailed narratives about individual cover crop species, and chap. about aspects of cover cropping.

Principles of Sustainable Soil Management in Agroecosystems

Principles of Sustainable Soil Management in Agroecosystems
Author: Rattan Lal
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 571
Release: 2013-06-10
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1466513470

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.

Building Soils for Better Crops

Building Soils for Better Crops
Author: Fred Magdoff
Publisher: Sare
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2009
Genre: Humus
ISBN: 9781888626131

"'Published by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, with funding from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture."

Sustainable Soil Management

Sustainable Soil Management
Author: Deirdre Rooney
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2013-03-22
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1926895215

Changing land-use practices and the role of soil biological diversity has been a major focus of soil science research over the past couple of decades—a trend that is likely to continue. The information presented in this book points to a holistic approach to soil management. The first part looks at the land use effects on soil carbon storage, and considers a range of factors including carbon sequestration in soils. The second part of the book presents research investigating the interactions between soil properties, plant species, and the soil biota.

Sustainable Soil Fertility Management

Sustainable Soil Fertility Management
Author: Hanuman Singh Jatav
Publisher: Nova Science Publishers
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2021
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9781536191998

"Sustainable Soil Fertility Management mainly focuses on issues related to soil management at the field level, which is a prime concern for crop production that may be improved by adopting several sustainable management practices. Soil fertility is the capability of soil to sustain plant growth and optimize crop yield. This can be enhanced through the use of organic and inorganic fertilizers. Several techniques are suggested that enhance soil fertility and crop production while minimizing environmental impact. Soil fertility can be further improved by incorporating cover crops that add organic matter to the soil, which leads to improved soil structure and promotes a healthy, fertile soil; by using green manure or growing legumes to fix nitrogen from the air through the process of biological nitrogen fixation; and by microbes. Fertile soil contains all the major nutrients necessary to sustain basic plant nutrition (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), as well as other nutrients needed in smaller quantities (e.g., calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, boron, molybdenum, nickel). The book focuses on global strategies with a possible solution for managing the fertility of soil. The book covers soil science, soil fertility, crop production, soil sustainability, and soil management with a modern scientific approach that is helpful for researchers, the scientific community, academicians, business farmers and policymakers"--

Soil Health

Soil Health
Author: Bhoopander Giri
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 408
Release: 2020-05-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030443647

This book gathers the latest insights into soil health and its sustainability, providing an up-to-date overview of the various aspects of soil quality and fertility management, e.g., plant-microbe interactions to maintain soil health; and the use of algal, fungal and bacterial fertilizers and earthworms for sustainable soil health and agricultural production. It first discusses the past, present, and future scenarios of soil health, and then explores factors influencing soil health, as well as the consequences of degradation of soil health for sustainable agriculture. Lastly it highlights solutions to improve and maintain soil health so as to achieve greater productivity and sustainability without damaging the soil system or the environment. Soil health is defined as the capacity of a soil to function within ecosystem frontiers, to sustain biological productivity, to maintain environmental quality and to promote plant, animal and human health. Soil health is established through the interactions of physical, chemical and biological properties, e.g., soil texture, soil structure, and soil organisms. Healthy soil provides adequate levels of macro- and micronutrients to plants and contains sufficient populations of soil microorganisms. As a result of the increasingly intensified agriculture over the past few decades, soils are now showing symptoms of exhaustion and stagnating or declining crop yields. Exploring these developments as well as possible solutions based on holistic and sustainable approaches, this book is a valuable resource for researchers in the area of soil and environmental science, agronomy, agriculture, as well as students in the field of botany, ecology and microbiology.