Biological Approaches to Sustainable Soil Systems

Biological Approaches to Sustainable Soil Systems PDF Author: Norman Uphoff
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 142001711X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 785

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Book 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

Biological Approaches to Sustainable Soil Systems

Biological Approaches to Sustainable Soil Systems PDF Author: Norman Uphoff
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 142001711X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 785

Get Book Here

Book 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

Biological Approaches to Regenerative Soil Systems

Biological Approaches to Regenerative Soil Systems PDF Author: Norman Uphoff
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000891089
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 630

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Book Description
Agriculture in the 21st century will need considerable modification to remain both productive and sustainable. Greater production is needed to meet the needs of our still-growing populations and to combat hunger and poverty. Declines in soil health and the pollution of water sources are making many of our production systems less tenable. These adverse trends are exacerbated more and more by the impacts of climate change. There are, fortunately, alternative methods available for agricultural practice that can countervail these constraints. Biological Approaches to Regenerative Soil Systems brings together the work of both researchers and practitioners to map out better approaches to contemporary agriculture that draw upon both old and new knowledge. It presents the science that underlies more biologically driven strategies as well as contemporary innovative experiences in diverse parts of the world. Both accepted research and these varied experiences encourage confidence that these approaches, not relying primarily on the introduction of new varieties and on exogenous inputs, can succeed. This book updates and revises a preceding volume Biological Approaches to Sustainable Soil Systems published by CRC Press in 2006. So much has been learned and done on this subject in the past decade and a half that a second edition was warranted. For instance, the first edition was published, knowledge about plant-soil microbiomes, which are a frequent focus in this book, has mushroomed. Because sustainability is a broad term and an end-state, the editors preferred to assemble expertise regarding regenerative agriculture, which is concerned with the means for achieving sustainability. The concept of regenerative soil systems, entities that are more complex and multifaceted than "soil" alone, also incorporates a concern with having more resilient agricultural systems, ones that are better able to cope with the multiple stresses of climate change that are foreseen for the decades ahead. The book’s chapters representing a wide range of disciplines were contributed by 84 scientists and practitioners from 20 countries. Although they come from persons with in-depth knowledge of their respective fields, the chapters are written to be accessible to readers who are not trained in the specialized subjects. Taken together, the chapters provide students, researchers, practitioners, planners, and policy makers with a comprehensive understanding of both the science and the steps needed to regenerate and sustain soil systems around the world for the long-term benefit of humankind and the environment.

Land Use and Soil Resources

Land Use and Soil Resources PDF Author: Ademola K. Braimoh
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 140206778X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description
Poor land management has degraded vast amounts of land, reduced our ability to produce enough food, and is a major threat to rural livelihoods in many developing countries. This book provides a thorough analysis of the multifaceted impacts of land use on soils. Abundantly illustrated with full-color images, it brings together renowned academics and policy experts to analyze the patterns, driving factors and proximate causes, and the socioeconomic impacts of soil degradation.

Food and Water Security

Food and Water Security PDF Author: U. Aswathanarayana
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1134069960
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 472

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Book Description
This book deals with ways and means of managing food and water security in various agroclimatic environments through the integration of R & D, training, people participation, agronomic practices, economic instruments, and administrative policies. It includes contributions by global experts in the field, who elaborate on the governance of f

Soil Biological Fertility

Soil Biological Fertility PDF Author: Lynette K. Abbott
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402066198
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
It is becoming more relevant to explore soil biological processes in terms of their contribution to soil fertility. This book presents a comprehensive scientific overview of the components and processes that underpin the biological characteristics of soil fertility. It highlights the enormous diversity of life in soil and the resulting effects that management of land can have on the contribution of this diverse community to soil fertility in an agricultural context.

Recarbonizing global soils – A technical manual of recommended sustainable soil management

Recarbonizing global soils – A technical manual of recommended sustainable soil management PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251348936
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 652

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Book Description
During the last decades, soil organic carbon (SOC) attracted the attention of a much wider array of specialists beyond agriculture and soil science, as it was proven to be one of the most crucial components of the earth’s climate system, which has a great potential to be managed by humans. Soils as a carbon pool are one of the key factors in several Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 15, “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss” with the SOC stock being explicitly cited in Indicator 15.3.1. This technical manual is the first attempt to gather, in a standardized format, the existing data on the impacts of the main soil management practices on SOC content in a wide array of environments, including the advantages, drawbacks and constraints. This manual presents different sustainable soil management (SSM) practices at different scales and in different contexts, supported by case studies that have been shown with quantitative data to have a positive effect on SOC stocks and successful experiences of SOC sequestration in practical field applications. Volume 3 includes a total of 49 practices that have a direct impact on SOC sequestration and maintenance in cropland, grassland, integrated systems and farming approaches.

The Living Soil

The Living Soil PDF Author: Jean-Michel Gobat
Publisher: Science Publishers
ISBN: 9781578082100
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 644

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Book Description
This study looks at the fundamentals of soil science and soil biology, encompassing topics such as the building blocks of the soil system and bioremediation of contaminated soils.

The End of Desertification?

The End of Desertification? PDF Author: Roy H. Behnke
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 364216014X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 556

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Book Description
The question in the title of this book draws attention to the shortcomings of a concept that has become a political tool of global importance even as the scientific basis for its use grows weaker. The concept of desertification, it can be argued, has ceased to be analytically useful and distorts our understanding of social-environmental systems and their resiliency, particularly in poor countries with variable rainfall and persistent poverty. For better policy and governance, we need to reconsider the scientific justification for international attempts to combat desertification. Our exploration of these issues begins in the Sahel of West Africa, where a series of severe droughts at the end of the 20th century led to the global institutionalization of the idea of desertification. It now seems incontrovertible that these droughts were not caused primarily by local land use mismanagement, effectively terminating a long-standing policy and scientific debate. There is now an opportunity to treat this episode as an object lesson in the relationship between science, the formation of public opinion and international policy-making. Looking beyond the Sahel, the chapters in this book provide case studies from around the world that examine the use and relevance of the desertification concept. Despite an increasingly sophisticated understanding of dryland environments and societies, the uses now being made of the desertification concept in parts of Asia exhibit many of the shortcomings of earlier work done in Africa. It took scientists more than three decades to transform a perceived desertification crisis in the Sahel into a non-event. This book is an effort to critically examine that experience and accelerate the learning process in other parts of the world.

Marschner's Mineral Nutrition of Plants

Marschner's Mineral Nutrition of Plants PDF Author: Zed Rengel
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0323853528
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 817

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Book Description
An understanding of the mineral nutrition of plants is of fundamental importance in both basic and applied plant sciences. The fourth edition of this book retains the aim of the first in presenting the principles of mineral nutrition in the light of current advances. Marschner's Mineral Nutrition of Plants, 4th Edition, is divided into two parts: Nutritional Physiology and Plant–Soil Relationships. In Part I, emphasis is put on uptake and transport of nutrients in plants, root–shoot interactions, role of mineral nutrition in yield formation, stress physiology, water relations, functions of mineral nutrients and contribution of plant nutrition to food nutritional quality, disease tolerance, and global nutritional security of human populations. In view of the increasing interest in plant–soil interactions. Part II focuses on the effects of external and internal factors on root growth, rhizosphere chemistry and biology, soil-borne ion toxicities, and nutrient cycling. Now with color figures throughout, this book continues to be a valuable reference for plant and soil scientists and undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of plant nutrition, nutritional physiology, and soil fertility. - Offers new content on the relationship between climate change, soil fertility and crop nutrition - Keeps overall structure of previous editions - Includes updates in every chapter on new developments, ideas and challenges

State of the World 2009

State of the World 2009 PDF Author: Worldwatch Institute
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136556788
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
The year 2009 will be pivotal for Earth's climate. As scientists warn that we have only a few years to reverse the rise in greenhouse gas emissions if we are to avoid abrupt and catastrophic climate change, the world community has agreed to finalize negotiations on a new climate agreement in Copenhagen in late 2009. Intended to inject new inspiration and energy into national and international climate negotiations, this 26th edition of State of the World examines the steps we urgently need to take to prevent a global catastrophe while adapting to the now inevitable climatic shifts already set in motion. As well as the profound, long-term consequences of global warming, this volume explores the policy changes needed and the benefits that will flow from the transition to a low-carbon economy. It also includes 22 summaries on the many important issues linked to climate change, plus a Climate Change Reference Guide and Glossary. Published annually in 28 languages, State of the World is long established as the most authoritative and accessible annual guide to our progress towards a sustainable future. It is relied upon by national governments, UN agencies, development workers and law-makers for its up-to-the-minute analysis and information. Essential reading for anyone concerned with building a positive, global future.