Organic matter in soil is the primary determinant of the quality and health of the soil. Soil organic matter management, therefore, has worldwide implications and is an increasingly important focus of research. Soil Organic Matter in Sustainable Agriculture offers a comprehensive overview of the central role that organic matter plays in the health of soils. It also provides the scientific foundation for key practices in agroecology and soil organic matter management, including improving and conserving soil quality and enhancing crop production. With overviews from a number of authors on related topics, this book presents a holistic approach to soil organic matter management.

Recognition of the importance of soil organic matter (SOM) in soil health and quality is a major part of fostering a holistic, preventive approach to agricultural management. Students in agronomy, horticulture, and soil science need a textbook that emphasizes strategies for using SOM management in the prevention of chemical, biological, and physical problems. Soil Organic Matter in Sustainable Agriculture gathers key scientific reviews concerning issues that are critical for successful SOM management. This textbook contains evaluations of the types of organic soil constituents-organisms, fresh residues, and well-decomposed substances. It explores the beneficial effects of organic matter on soil and the various practices that enhance SOM. Chapters include an examination of the results of crop management practices on soil organisms, organic matter gains and losses, the significance of various SOM fractions, and the contributions of fungi and earthworms to soil quality and crop growth. Emphasizing the prevention of imbalances that lead to soil and crop problems, the text also explores the development of soils suppressive to plant diseases and pests, and relates SOM management to the supply of nutrients to crops. This book provides the essential scientific background and poses the challenging questions that students need to better understand SOM and develop improved soil and crop management systems.

This manual is designed to encourage the quantitative investigation of soil properties, as well as to give a "feel" for what soils are and how they behave. It provides opportunities to see, touch and manipulate soil in the lab and in the field to better understand pedological, biological, chemical, and physical aspects of one of nature's most complex ecosystems. Many of the exercises introduce the basics of the scientific method and use of instrumentation. A unifying thread is the repeated use a "personal soil" sampled at the start of the course from a place with which the student has a personal relationship. By the end of the course students can interpret data from a dozen different analyses for land use and soil management implications. With more than enough exercises to fill a 15-week semester, this lab manual gives users the flexibility to choose investigations most in line with their interests and available equipment. Each of the 21 exercises includes: Measurable learning objectives. An introduction that puts the activity into context. A detailed list of required materials. A step-by-step procedure with one column giving procedural steps and the other column providing additional information and explaining why these steps are undertaken. Graphic illustrations to clarify the procedures or concepts. A hand-in section with places for student observations as well as thought questions.