This collection features four peer-reviewed literature reviews on soil health indicators. The first chapter describes indicators and frameworks for soil health currently in use. It evaluates the principles underpinning current approaches to monitoring soil quality/health and shows these principles have been applied in the development of a practical soil health toolkit for use by UK farmers. The second chapter reviews the range of physical, chemical and biological indicators of soil health and how they can be used in practice. It focusses on measuring soil health in organic vegetable cultivation and, in particular, ways of measuring the effects of adding organic amendments to improve soil health. The third chapter discusses key issues in soil organic carbon (SOM) modelling and the development of increasingly sophisticated, dynamic SOM models. It looks at the role of SOM models in improving soil health monitoring and developing decision support tools for farmers The final chapter reviews current challenges in collecting more systematic and reliable data on earthworm communities, including issues in identifying different earthworm groups. It includes a case study on developing a robust method for accurate measurement of earthworm communities in soil in assessing and improving soil health.

This book deals with sedimentary sulfides which are the most abundant authigenic minerals in sediments.Special emphasis is given to the biogeochemistry that plays such a central role in the formation of sedimentary sulfides. It will be of interest to scientists in a number of disciplines, including geology, microbiology, chemistry and environmental science. The sulfur system is important to environmental scientists considering the present and future effects of pollution and anoxia.The development of the sulfur system - particularly the characteristics of ocean anoxia over the last 200 Ma - is useful in predicting the future fate of the Earth surface system as well asin understanding the past. The biochemistry and microbiology of the sulfur systemare key to understanding microbial ecology and the evolution of life.
First monograph on sedimentary sulfides, covering the ancient and modern sedimentary sulfide systemsComprehensive, integrating chemistry, microbiology, geology and environmental scienceAll key references are included and discussed
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The paradigm and models of traditional soil science lack the ability to adequately address issues of soil dynamics, environmental integration, and change. Unexplainable research results obtained from traditional soil studies applied to non-traditional soil phenomena in physical geography, archaeology and ecology speak to the current need for soil science to move beyond description and classification and into a dynamic process-oriented soil science capable of providing explanations. Soils do not behave as static inert geologic detritus affected by climate, organisms, relief, and parent material through time, but instead soils behave as self-organizing systems dynamically interrelating with their environment. Recognition of this dynamic behaviour required a re-examination of how scientists in general think and in how modern soil science specifically evolved its basic paradigms and models. This book examines the dynamics of soil organic carbon and demonstrates the self-organizing nature of soil through time as soil responds to a wide range of environmental and human perturbations.

Developed for Introduction to Soils or Soil Science courses, The Nature and Properties of Soils, 15th Edition, can be used in courses such as Soil Fertility, Land Resources, Earth Science and Soil Geography. The Nature and Properties of Soils is designed to engage today's students with the latest in the world of soils. This hallmark text introduces students to the exciting world of soils through clear writing, strong pedagogy, and an ecological approach that effectively explains the fundamentals of soil science. Worked calculations, vignettes, and current real-world applications prepare readers to understand concepts, solve problems, and think critically. Written for both majors and non-majors, this text highlights the many interactions between the soil and other components of forest, range, agricultural, wetland and constructed ecosystems. Now in full-colour, the 15th Edition includes hundreds of compelling photos, figures, and diagrams to bring the exciting world of soils to life. Extensively revised, new and updated content appears in every chapter. Examples include: coverage of the pedosphere concept; new insights into humus and soil carbon accumulation; subaqueous soils, soil effects on human health; principles and practice of organic farming; urban and human engineered soils; new understandings of the nitrogen cycle; water-saving irrigation techniques; hydraulic redistribution, soil food-web ecology; disease suppressive soils; soil microbial genomics; soil interactions with global climate change; digital soil maps; and many others.

Authored by world-class scientists and scholars, the Handbook of Natural Resources, Second Edition, is an excellent reference for understanding the consequences of changing natural resources to the degradation of ecological integrity and the sustainability of life. Based on the content of the bestselling and CHOICE awarded Encyclopedia of Natural Resources, this new edition demonstrates the major challenges that the society is facing for the sustainability of all wellbeing on planet Earth. The experience, evidence, methods, and models used in studying natural resources are presented in six stand-alone volumes, arranged along the main systems: land, water, and air. It reviews state-of-the-art knowledge, highlights advances made in different areas, and provides guidance for the appropriate use of remote sensing data in the study of natural resources on a global scale. The six volumes in this set cover: Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biodiversity; Landscape and Land Capacity; Wetlands and Habitats; Fresh Water and Watersheds; Coastal and Marine Environments; and finally Atmosphere and Climate. Written in an easy-to-reference manner, the Handbook of Natural Resources, Second Edition, as a complete set, is essential for anyone looking for a deeper understanding of the science and management of natural resources. Public and private libraries, educational and research institutions, scientists, scholars, and resource managers will benefit enormously from this set. Individual volumes and chapters can also be used in a wide variety of both graduate and undergraduate courses in environmental science and natural science courses at different levels and disciplines, such as biology, geography, Earth system science, ecology, etc.

After the 1998 flood of the Yangtze River, one of the world s most important rivers, environmental experts realized that, to control flooding, much more attention must be paid to vegetation cover on bare lands, thin forest land, and shrub-covered land in mountain areas. In 1999, an environmental monitoring project of the forests in 11 provinces of the Yangtze River basin was undertaken. This book reports on soil loss prediction and the successful practices of soil loss control in eastern China in recent years.

Agricultural ecology, or agroecology, deals in general with the structure and function of agroecosystems at different levels of resolution. In this text/reference, the authors describe in terms of agroecology the tropical environments of sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin and Central America, focusing on production and management systems unique to each region.

Sediments and Ecohyraulics is comprised of papers submitted to the 6th International Conference on Cohesive Sediments (INTERCOH 2005) held in Saga, Japan, September 2005. The papers are divided into two major categories. The first is basic processes, including erosion, settling, flocculation, and consolidation. The second major catagory is application of the understanding of cohesive sediments to address specific issues, including waterway and part management, fluid mud behavior, and contaminiated sediment management.
*Provides an up-to-date resource of the present knowledge of cohesive sediment transport processes
*Contains practical solutions on cohesive transport problems
*Presents information on managing cohesive sediments