Biological Approaches to Sustainable Soil Systems

ISBN-10: 142001711X
ISBN-13: 9781420017113
Category: Technology & Engineering
Pages: 784
Language: English
Published: 2006-03-03
Publisher: CRC Press
Authors: Jules Pretty, Norman Uphoff, Andrew S. Ball

Description

Global agriculture is now at the crossroads. The Green Revolution of the last century is losing momentum. Rates of growth in food production are now declining, with land and water resources becoming scarcer, while world population continues to grow. We need to continue to identify and share the knowledge that will support successful and sustainable agriculture systems. These depend crucially on soil. Gaining international attention, Dr. Uphoff’s efforts to promote and develop sustainable agriculture was recently featured in the N.Y. Times Led by Norman Uphoff, internationally renowned for his proactive approach to world hunger, this volume brings together 102 experts representing 28 nations and multiple disciplines to report on achievements in sustainable soil-system management. While accepting some continuing role for chemical and other external inputs, this book presents ways in which crops can be produced cost effectively in greater abundance with lessened dependence on the exogenous resources that have driven the expansion of agriculture in the past. Including the work of both researchers and practitioners, this important volume — · Explores soil systems in a variety of climate conditions · Discusses the importance of symbiotic relationships between plants and soil organisms, looking at crops as integral and interdependent participants in ecosystems · Seeks to reduce the distance between scientific research and technical practice · Examines related considerations such as pest and disease control, climate change, fertility restoration, and uses of monitoring and modeling With 50 self-contained chapters, this work provides researchers, practitioners, and policy makers with a comprehensive understanding of the science and steps needed to utilize soil systems for the long-term benefit of humankind. For information on the SRI, System of Rice Intensification being developed by Uphoff and others, go to http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/

Get the book

Similar books

Biological Approaches to Regenerative Soil Systems
By Norman Uphoff, Janice Thies
... net impact of any individual or population depends on fac- tors like soil type, food substrate, and population dynamics (Shukla and Kumar, 2005; Jouquet et al., 2007). It is important to note that in studies addressing detriti- vores' net ...
Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling in Soil
By Ram Swaroop Meena, Rahul Datta, Shamina Imran Pathan
This book addresses virtually every aspect of C and N cycling, including: general concepts on the diversity of microorganisms and management practices for soil, the function of soil’s structure-function-ecosystem, the evolving role of C ...
Assessment and Governance of Sustainable Soil Management
By Bernd Hansjürgens, Katharina Helming, Thomas Koellner
The book was initiated in the frame of the National German research program ‘BonaRes—Soil as a sustainable resource for the bioeconomy’, and it is meant to trigger interdisciplinary thinking.
Agroecological Approaches for Sustainable Soil Management
By Majeti Narasimha Vara Prasad, Chitranjan Kumar
Agroecological Approaches for Sustainable Soil Management Enables readers to strengthen existing agricultural strategies to sustainably solve contemporary problems like food supply chain gaps and food scarcity Agroecological Approaches for ...
Soil Biological Fertility: A Key to Sustainable Land Use in Agriculture
By Lynette K. Abbott, Daniel V. Murphy
This book presents a comprehensive scientific overview of the components and processes that underpin the biological characteristics of soil fertility.
Soil Health
By Ajit Varma, Bhoopander Giri
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 ...
Recarbonizing global soils – A technical manual of recommended sustainable soil management: Volume 3 – Cropland, grassland, integrated systems and...
By Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Intergonevernmental Technical Panel on Soils
Chapter 11: Pastoralism and Kalahari Rangeland Soils. In Brearley, F.Q. & Thomas, A.D. (Eds.) Land-Use Change Impacts on Soil Processes: Tropical and Savannah Ecosystems. ISBN: 9781780642109 Yılmaz, E., Zogib, L., Urivelarrea, ...
Principles of Sustainable Soil Management in Agroecosystems
By B.A. Stewart, Rattan Lal
... Africa WUE: water use efficiency WHC: water holding capacity REFERENCES Akinnifesi, F.K., O.C. Ajayi, G. Sileshi, P.W. Chirwa, and J. Chianu. 2010. Fertiliser trees for sustainable food security in the maize-based production systems ...
Adaptive Soil Management: From Theory to Practices
By Harikesh Bahadur Singh, Amitava Rakshit, Purushothaman Chirakuzhyil Abhilash
It has been shown that participatory water resource development in watershed management programmes has increased biomass ... Integrated. Soil. and. Water. Management. Land and water degradation occur in parallel and are inter-linked.
Soil Ecology in Sustainable Agricultural Systems
By Lijbert Brussaard, R. Ferrera-Cerrato
In this book agronomists will find new research and applications for using the tools of ecology to understand the workings of an agricultural system, and environmentalists and ecologists will gain a better under- standing of ecosystems that ...