Advances in Soil Science
About the Book Series
Advances in Soil Science publishes references in all areas of soil science for everyone interested in the most basic resources and human influence on it. The original series "Advances in Soil Science" was started in 1984, and published unrelated articles in the same volume. The purpose of Advances in Soil Science is to provide a forum for leading scientists to analyze and summarize the available scientific information on a subject, assessing its importance and identifying additional research needs. Most importantly, the contributors will develop principles that have practical applications to both developing and developed agricultures.
The ultimate aim of the series is to stimulate action—action to determine where there are arable soils, action to develop technology for more efficient crop production on these soils, action to reduce the risk of degrading these soil resources, and action to determine on which soils our research efforts should be concentrated. Without such action, the challenges of producing adequate food in the future may simply be too great. By the time the world gets reasonably close to population stability, demand for food and other agricultural products may have to be doubled by 2050 vis-à-vis 2000 because of increase in population and change in dietary preferences.
The books provide technical information for anyone interested in our natural resources and man’s influence on these resources. The reviews are written by leading scientists from many countries, and therefore provide the reader with information from a wide array of conditions. Such information is particularly useful to professionals working in areas with developing agricultures because the reviews summarize and assess the significance of the technical literature.
Managing Soil Drought
1st Edition
Edited
By Rattan Lal
June 10, 2024
Global drylands, covering over 40% of Earth’s land surface, are important among worldwide ecoregions and support large human and livestock populations. However, these ecologically sensitive ecoregions are undergoing a rapid transformation resulting from climate change, socioeconomic and political ...
Soil and Drought: Basic Processes
1st Edition
Edited
By Rattan Lal
December 29, 2023
Drought, a serious global issue, is being aggravated by climate change. Both pedological and agronomic droughts are major risk factors with adverse effects on agronomic productivity, food and nutritional security, and human wellbeing. This volume in the Advances in Soil Sciences series provides ...
Soil Organic Carbon and Feeding the Future: Basic Soil Processes
1st Edition
Edited
By Rattan Lal
December 30, 2021
Soil organic matter (SOM) is a highly reactive constituent of the soil matrix because of its large surface area, high ion exchange capacity, enormous affinity for water due to hygroscopicity, and capacity to form organo-mineral complexes. It is an important source and sink of ...
Soil Organic Matter and Feeding the Future: Environmental and Agronomic Impacts
1st Edition
Edited
By Rattan Lal
December 22, 2021
Soil organic matter (SOM) is the primary determinant of soil functionality. Soil organic carbon (SOC) accounts for 50% of the SOM content, accompanied by nitrogen, phosphorus, and a range of macro and micro elements. As a dynamic component, SOM is a source of numerous ecosystem services critical to...
The Soil-Human Health-Nexus
1st Edition
Edited
By Rattan Lal
January 04, 2021
The term "soil health" refers to the functionality of a soil as a living ecosystem capable of sustaining plants, animals, and humans while also improving the environment. In addition to soil health, the environment also comprises the quality of air, water, vegetation, and biota. The health of soil,...
Food Security and Soil Quality
1st Edition
Edited
By Rattan Lal, B.A. Stewart
November 14, 2018
Just five years ago, it was generally believed that the number of food insecure people in the world was on continuous decline. Unfortunately, widespread soil degradation along with resistance to recommended agronomic practices, and little attempt to restore degraded soils have conspired with ...
Soil Quality and Biofuel Production
1st Edition
Edited
By Rattan Lal, B.A. Stewart
June 14, 2017
From its humble beginning in the late 19th century―when Henry Ford’s first car was designed to run on ethanol―biofuel production has been on the rise with more than 26 billion liters produced in the U.S. in 2007. Ethanol made from biomass (rather than grains) holds great promise, including numerous...
Soil Management of Smallholder Agriculture
1st Edition
Edited
By Rattan Lal, B.A. Stewart
November 24, 2014
Nearly two billion people depend on hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers for food security. Yet, these farmers’ lives also hang in the balance due to their extreme vulnerability to the risks of soil degradation and depletion, soil exhaustion, climate change, and numerous biotic and abiotic ...
Principles of Sustainable Soil Management in Agroecosystems
1st Edition
Edited
By Rattan Lal, B.A. Stewart
June 10, 2013
With the use of high-level soil management technology, Africa could feed several billion people, yet food production has generally stagnated since the 1960s. No matter how powerful the seed technology, the seedling emerging from it can flourish only in a healthy soil. Accordingly, crop yields in ...
Soil Water and Agronomic Productivity
1st Edition
Edited
By Rattan Lal, B.A. Stewart
June 19, 2012
Crop water use can be increased by management of surface runoff, groundwater, irrigation, and soil water. Technological innovations to enhance availability of water for agricultural crops depend on soil and site-specific conditions. Devoted to the principles and practices of enhancing water use ...
World Soil Resources and Food Security
1st Edition
Edited
By Rattan Lal, B.A. Stewart
September 13, 2011
Soil—The Basis of All Terrestrial Life Ancient civilizations and cultures—Mayan, Aztec, Mesopotamian, Indus, and Yangtze—were built on good soils, surviving only as long as soils had the capacity to support them. In the twenty-first century, productive soil is still the engine of economic ...
Soil Processes and the Carbon Cycle
1st Edition
Edited
By Rattan Lal, John M. Kimble, Ronald F. Follett, B.A. Stewart
November 25, 1997
World soils contain about 1500 gigatons of organic carbon. This large carbon reserve can increase atmospheric concentrations of CO2 by soil misuse or mismanagement, or it can reverse the 'greenhouse' effect by judicious land use and proper soil management. Soil Processes and the Carbon Cycle ...