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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.
"Improving organic crop production provides a valuable resource for
the current 'state of the art' on understanding mechanisms in these
systems that are both similar and different from those in
conventional systems....The book is especially recommended for
libraries and other places that will provide access to large
numbers of interested people, and as it gives a valuable overview
on current organic farming to graduate students and others in
academia." review by Professor Charles Francis in Agronomy Journal
Global sales of organic products have grown significantly, yet
organic farming remains a small percentage of overall agricultural
production with lower yields than conventional methods. Organic
crop cultivation thus faces a range of challenges if it is to grow
significantly. This volume reviews the wealth of research
addressing these challenges. Part 1 reviews developments in
improving cultivation across the value chain, from breeding more
robust, low input varieties to ways of maintaining soil health and
improving crop nutrition. Part 2 discusses the key topic of pests
and diseases with reviews of integrated pest and weed management as
well as organic plant protection products. Part 3 covers ways of
monitoring the environmental impact of organic farming whilst the
final part of the book discusses ways of supporting organic
cultivation in the developing world. With its distinguished editor
and an international team of expert authors, this will be a
standard reference for all those interested in understanding,
improving and promoting organic farming.
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