Biological Approaches to Sustainable Soil Systems

This book integrates analysis of soil systems with the strategies and methods for creating sustainable soil systems to provide the most comprehensive reference available. More than 100 experts from 6 continents, representing a wide variety of disciplines, examine soil agents and processes, strategies and methods for sustainable soil systems, and related issues such as crop management, climate impacts, economic and policy concerns for fertility management, and modeling for assessment of soil systems. The text examines soils in the tropics, temperate zones, and under arid and semi-arid conditions. The book is ideal for scientists, researchers, and policymakers involved in plant, crop, and soil science.

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/

Overview Understanding the Functioning and Management of Soil Systems; Norman Uphoff, Andrew S. Ball, Erick C.M. Fernandes, Hans Herren, Olivier Husson, Cheryl Palm, Jules Pretty, Nteranya Sanginga, Janice E. Thies Soil System Management in the Humid and Subhumid Tropics; Ana Primavesi Soil System Management in Temperate Regions; G. Philip Robertson, A. Stuart Grandy Soil System Management under Arid and Semi-Arid Conditions; Richard J. Thomas, Hanadi El-Dessougi, Ashraf Tubeileh Soil Agents and Processes The Soil Habitat and Soil Ecology; Thies, Julie M. Grossman Energy Inputs in Soil Systems; Ball The Rhizosphere: Contributions of the Soil – Root Interface to Sustainable Soil Systems; Volker Römheld, Günter Neumann The Natural Rhizobium – Cereal Crop Association as an Example of Plant – Bacteria Interaction; Frank B. Dazzo, Youssef G. Yanni The Roles of Arbuscular Mycorrihizas in Plant and Soil Health; Mitiku Habte Moving Up within the Food Web: Protozoa and Nematodes; Gregor W. Yeates, Tony Pattison Soil Fauna Impacts on Soil Physical Properties; Elisée Oué draogo, Abdoulaye Mando, Lijbert Brussaard Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Agroecosystems and in Plant Roots; Robert M. Boddey, Bruno J.R. Alves, Veronica M. Reis, Segundo Urquiaga Enhancing Phosphorus Availability in Low-Fertility Soils; Benjamin L. Turner, Emmanuel Frossard, Astrid Oberson Phytohormones: Microbial Production and Applications; Azeem Khalid, Muhammad Arshad, Zahir Ahmad Zahir Crop Genetic Responses to Management: Evidence of Root – Shoot Communication; Autar K. Mattoo, Aref Abdul-Baki Allelopathy and Its Influence in Soil Systems; Suzette R. Bezuidenhout, Mark Laing Animals as Part of Soil Systems; Alice N. Pell Strategies and Methods Integrated Soil Fertility Management in Africa: From Knowledge to Implementation; Bernard Vanlauwe, Joshua J. Ramisch, Nteranya Sanginga Managing Soil Fertility and Nutrient Cycles through Fertilizer Trees in Southern Africa; Paramu L. Mafongoya, Elias Kuntashula, Gudeta Sileshi Biological Soil Fertility Management for Tree-Crop Agroforestry; Götz Schroth, Ulrike Krauss Restoring Productivity to Degraded Pasture Lands in the Amazon through Agroforestry Practices; Fernandes, Elisa Wandelli, Rogerio Perin, Silas Garcia Direct-Seeded Tropical Soil Systems with Permanent Soil Cover: Learning from Brazilian Experience; Lucien Séguy, Serge Bouzinac, Husson Restoration of Acid Soil Systems through Agroecological Management; Husson, Séguy, Roger Michellon, Stéphane Boulakia Conservation Agriculture and Its Applications in South Asia; Peter Hobbs, Raj Gupta, Craig Meisner Managing Soil Fertility on Small Family Farms in African Drylands; Michael Mortimore Restoring Soil Fertility in Semi-Arid West Africa: Assessment of an Indigenous Technology; Mando, Dougbedji Fatondji, Robert Zougmoré, Brussaard, Charles L. Bielders, Christopher Martius Leguminous Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Sustainable Tropical Agroecosystems; Robert M. Boddey, Alves, Urquiaga Soil Biological Contributions to the System of Rice Intensification; Robert Randriamiharisoa, Joeli Barison, Uphoff Contributions of Managed Fallows to Soil Fertility Recovery; Erika Styger, Fernandes Green Manure/Cover Crops for Recuperating Soils and Maintaining Soil Fertility in the Tropics; Roland Bunch Compost and Vermicompost as Amendments Promoting Soil Health; Allison L.H. Jack, Thies Practical Applications of Bacterial Biofertilizers and Biostimulators; Rafael Martinez Viera, Bernardo Dibut Alvarez Inoculation and Management of Mycorrhizal Fungi within Tropical Agroecosystems; Ramon Rivera, Felix Fernandez Trichoderma: An Ally in the Quest for Soil System Sustainability; Brendon Neumann, Laing Evaluation of Crop Production Systems Based on Locally Available Biological Inputs; O.P. Rupela, C.L.L. Gowda, S.P. Wani, Hameeda Bee Bio-Char Soil Management on Highly Weathered Soils in the Humid Tropics; Johannes Lehmann, Marco Rondon Improving Phosphorus Fertility in Tropical Soils through Biological Interventions; Astrid Oberson, Else K. Bünemann, Dennis K. Friesen, Idupulapati M. Rao, Paul C. Smithson, Benjamin L. Turne, Emmanuel Frossard Profile Modification as a Means of Soil Improvement: Promoting Root Health through Deep Tillage; Nico Labuschagne, Deon Joubert Rhizosphere Management as Part of Intercropping and Rice–Wheat Rotation Systems; Liu Xuejun, Li Long, Zhang Fusuo Managing Polycropping to Enhance Soil System Productivity: A Case Study from Africa; Zeyaur Khan, Ahmed Hassanali, John Pickett Related Issues Effects of Soil and Plant Management on Crop Pests and Diseases; Alain Ratnadass, Michellon, Richard Randriamanantsoa, Séguy Revegetating Inert Soils with the Use of Microbes; Gail Papli, Laing Impacts of Climate on Soil Systems and of Soil Systems on Climate; Rattan Lal Economic and Policy Contexts for the Biological Management of Soil Fertility; Sara J. Scherr Village-Level Production and Use of Biocontrol Agents and Biofertilizers; B. Selvamukilan, R. Rengalakshmi, P. Tamizoli, Sudha Nair Measuring and Assessing Soil Biological Properties; Thies Approaches to Monitoring Soil Systems; David Wolfe Modeling Possibilities for the Assessment of Soil Systems; Ball, Diego De la Rosa Opportunities for Overcoming Productivity Constraints with Biologically-Based Approaches; Uphoff Issues for More Sustainable Soil System Management; Uphoff, Ball, Fernandes, Herren, Husson, Palm, Pretty, Sanginga, Thies