Structure and Organic Matter Storage in Agricultural Soils
Structure and Organic Matter Storage in Agricultural Soils

Author: M.R. Carter

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 1995-10-23

Total Pages: 502

ISBN-13: 9781566700337

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Soils comprise the largest pool of terrestrial carbon and therefore are an important component of carbon storage in the biosphere-atmosphere system. Structure and Organic Matter Storage in Agricultural Soils explores the mechanisms and processes involved in the storage and sequestration of carbon in soils. Focusing on agricultural soils - from tropical to semi-arid types - this new book provides an in-depth look at structure, aggregation, and organic matter retention in world soils. The first two sections of the book introduce readers to the basic issues and scientific concepts, including soil structure, underlying mechanisms and processes, and the importance of agroecosystems as carbon regulators. The third section provides detailed discussions of soil aggregation and organic matter storage under various climates, soil types, and soil management practices. The fourth section addresses current strategies for enhancing organic matter storage in soil, modelling techniques, and measurement methods. Throughout the book, the importance of the soil structure-organic matter storage relationship is emphasized. Anyone involved in soil science, agriculture, agronomy, plant science, or greenhouse gas and global change studies should understand this relationship. Structure and Organic Matter Storage in Agricultural Soils provides an ideal source of information not only on the soil structure-storage relationship itself, but also on key research efforts and direct applications related to the storage of organic matter in agricultural soils.

Encyclopedia of Agrophysics
Encyclopedia of Agrophysics

Author: Jan Gliński

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2011-06-07

Total Pages: 1075

ISBN-13: 9048135842

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This Encyclopedia of Agrophysics will provide up-to-date information on the physical properties and processes affecting the quality of the environment and plant production. It will be a "first-up" volume which will nicely complement the recently published Encyclopedia of Soil Science, (November 2007) which was published in the same series. In a single authoritative volume a collection of about 250 informative articles and ca 400 glossary terms covering all aspects of agrophysics will be presented. The authors will be renowned specialists in various aspects in agrophysics from a wide variety of countries. Agrophysics is important both for research and practical use not only in agriculture, but also in areas like environmental science, land reclamation, food processing etc. Agrophysics is a relatively new interdisciplinary field closely related to Agrochemistry, Agrobiology, Agroclimatology and Agroecology. Nowadays it has been fully accepted as an agricultural and environmental discipline. As such this Encyclopedia volume will be an indispensable working tool for scientists and practitioners from different disciplines, like agriculture, soil science, geosciences, environmental science, geography, and engineering.

Soil Colloids and Their Associations in Aggregates
Soil Colloids and Their Associations in Aggregates

Author: Marcel F. De Boodt

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-11-21

Total Pages: 598

ISBN-13: 1489926119

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S. Henin Versailles, France It was a pleasure for me to take part in the NATO Advanced Study Workshop for studies of 'Soil Colloids and their Associations in Soil Aggregates'. The meeting provided me with a welcome opportunity to renew acquaintances with respected colleagues in the various fields of Soil Science, to listen to their presentations, and be involved in discussions which were at the frontiers of the science which deals with the structures and the associations of the soil colloidal constituents. In my view the rapid advances in Soil Science, and the great benefits to agriculture from these, have their origins in the emerging understanding of the structures and the associations of the different soil colloids. It is clear that much research is still needed before the molecular details of the most important of the structures and of the interactions are fully understood. The associations between the soil colloids, and the manner in which they bind to or hold the other constituents of soils in aggregates is fundamental to soil fertility. and the Modem intensive agriculture leads to the degradation of soil structure subsequent loss through erosion of a resource that is vital for the production of food. This degradation is considered to result primarily from the biological oxidation of the indigenous soil organic matter, and from the failure to return to the soil sufficient organic residues to compensate for such losses.

Plant-induced soil changes: Processes and feedbacks
Plant-induced soil changes: Processes and feedbacks

Author: N. van Breemen

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 1998-08-31

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 9780792352167

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This book by soil scientists and ecologists reviews how and why plants influence soils. Topics include effects on mineral weathering, soil structure, and soil organic matter and nutrient dynamics, case studies of soil-plant interactions in specific biomes and of secondary chemicals influencing nutrient cycling, the rhizosphere, and potential evolutionary consequences of plant-induced soil changes. This is the first volume that specifically highlights the effects of plants on soils and their feedbacks to plants. By contrast, other texts on soil-plant relationships emphasize effects of soil fertility on plants, following the strongly agronomic character of most research in this area. The aspects discussed in this volume are crucial for understanding terrestrial ecosystems, biogeochemistry and soil genesis. The book is directed to terrestrial ecologists, foresters, soil scientists, environmental scientists and biogeochemists, and to students following specialist courses in these fields.

Soil Health Series
Soil Health Series

Author: Douglas L. Karlen

Publisher:

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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The maintenance of healthy soil resources is instrumental to the success of an array of global efforts and initiatives. Whether they are working to combat food shortages, conserve our ecosystems, or mitigate the impact of climate change, researchers and agriculturalists the world over must be able to correctly examine and understand the complex nature of this essential resource. These new volumes have been designed to meet this need, addressing the many dimensions of soil health analysis in chapters that are concise, accessible and applicable to the tasks at hand. Soil Health, Volume Two: Laboratory Methods for Soil Health Analysis provides explanations of the best practices by which one may arrive at valuable, comparable data and incisive conclusions, and covers topics including: Sampling considerations and field evaluations. Assessment and interpretation of soil-test biological activity. Macro- and micronutrients in soil quality and health PLFA and EL-FAME indicators. Offering a practical guide to collecting and understanding soil health data, this volume will be of great interest to all those working in agriculture, private sector businesses, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academic-, state-, and federal-research projects, as well as state and federal soil conservation, water quality and other environmental programs.--Provided by publisher.

Soil Clays
Soil Clays

Author: G. Jock Churchman

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2019-06-10

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 0429532245

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As the human population grows from seven billion toward an inevitable nine or 10 billion, the demands on the limited supply of soils will grow and intensify. Soils are essential for the sustenance of almost all plants and animals, including humans, but soils are virtually infinitely variable. Clays are the most reactive and interactive inorganic compounds in soils. Clays in soils often differ from pure clay minerals of geological origin. They provide a template for most of the reactive organic matter in soils. They directly affect plant nutrients, soil temperature and pH, aggregate sizes and strength, porosity and water-holding capacities. This book aims to help improve predictions of important properties of soils through a modern understanding of their highly reactive clay minerals as they are formed and occur in soils worldwide. It examines how clays occur in soils and the role of soil clays in disparate applications including plant nutrition, soil structure, and water-holding capacity, soil quality, soil shrinkage and swelling, carbon sequestration, pollution control and remediation, medicine, forensic investigation, and deciphering human and environmental histories. Features: Provides information on the conditions that lead to the formation of clay minerals in soils Distinguishes soil clays and types of clay minerals Describes clay mineral structures and their origins Describes occurrences and associations of clays in soil Details roles of clays in applications of soils Heavily illustrated with photos, diagrams, and electron micrographs Includes user-friendly description of a new method of identification To know soil clays is to enable their use toward achieving improvements in the management of soils for enhancing their performance in one or more of their three main functions of enabling plant growth, regulating water flow to plants, and buffering environmental changes. This book provides an easily-read and extensively-illustrated description of the nature, formation, identification, occurrence and associations, measurement, reactivities, and applications of clays in soils.

Mycorrhizas in Ecosystems
Mycorrhizas in Ecosystems

Author: David J. Read

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 456

ISBN-13:

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This work discussed what effect mycorrhizas have on plant and human ecosystems.

The Architecture and Biology of Soils
The Architecture and Biology of Soils

Author: Karl Ritz

Publisher: CABI

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9781845935337

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Soil is a fundamental and critical, yet often overlooked, component of terrestrial ecosystems. It is an extremely complex environment, supporting levels of diversity far greater than any ecosystem above ground. This book explores how soil structure develops and the consequences this has for life underground. The effects of spatial arrangement, of soil's physical and biological components on their interaction and function are used to demonstrate their roles in ecosystem dynamics.

Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics
Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics

Author: Daniel Hillel

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2003-12-17

Total Pages: 511

ISBN-13: 008049577X

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An abridged, student-oriented edition of Hillel's earlier published Environmental Soil Physics, Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics is a more succinct elucidation of the physical principles and processes governing the behavior of soil and the vital role it plays in both natural and managed ecosystems. The textbook is self-contained and self-explanatory, with numerous illustrations and sample problems. Based on sound fundamental theory, the textbook leads to a practical consideration of soil as a living system in nature and illustrates the influences of human activity upon soil structure and function. Students, as well as other readers, will better understand the importance of soils and the pivotal possition they occupy with respect to careful and knowledgeable conservation. - Written in an engaging and clear style, posing and resolving issues relevant to the terrestrial environment - Explores the gamut of the interactions among the phases in the soil and the dynamic interconnection of the soil with the subterranean and atmospheric domains - Reveals the salient ideas, approaches, and methods of environmental soil physics - Includes numerous illustrative exercises, which are explicitly solved - Designed to serve for classroom and laboratory instruction, for self-study, and for reference - Oriented toward practical problems in ecology, field-scale hydrology, agronomy, and civil engineering - Differs from earlier texts in its wider scope and holistic environmental conception