Sustainable Management Of Soil Organic Matter

Includes some fifty edited and revised papers from an international conference on Sustainable Management of Soil Organic Matter, held by the British Society of Soil Science in Edinburgh in September 1999. The book explores the results of recent research studies examining how organic matter functions in soils, factors affecting organic matter quality and quantity and how management of organic matter can be optimised in order to achieve sustainable farming practices.

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.

The functioning of soils and their ability to supply nutrients, store water, release greenhouse gases, modify pollutants, resist physical degradation and produce crops within a sustainable management system is profoundly influenced by their organic matter content. This volume contains papers from an international conference held by the British Society of Soil Science in Edinburgh in September 1999. It explores the results of recent research studies examining how organic matter functions in soils, factors affecting organic matter quality and quantity and how management of organic matter can be optimized in order to achieve sustainable farming practices.

The experiments and experiences discussed in Soil Management carefully document crop production systems with well-defined boundaries. These long-term agronomic trials provide a valuable data resource that has, until now, been largely ignored by both the research community and the sustainability experts. With a rigorous definition of sustainability and this data, the sustainability of various cropping systems will be more clearly illustrated than any previous effort. Particular emphasis is given to research involving the tropics and sub-tropics. This book is unique in providing an experimental basis for sustainable management of soil resources. It describes technological options for sustainable management of soil resources and identifies priorities for additional long-term experimentation needed in key ecoregions. Topics discussed include changes in soil processes and properties, environmental quality, soil management, soil dynamics, soil organic matter, and nutrient cycling. Soil Management is for those who ask whether agriculture is sustainable, want to analyze or review sustainability experiments and experiences, or wish to initiate new long-term trials. It is a valuable reference on soil processes and an excellent text for courses in soil management.

Find the right balance of organic matter, tillage, and chemical additives to increase the quality and quantity of crops! This book shows the importance of organic matter in maintaining crop production. The addition of organic matter to soil is covered in great detail. This book is unique in that it draws on practical farming operations to illustrate many of the points discussed. The senior author has had almost 60 years of experience in solving production problems—many of which have been related to insufficient organic matter. In addition, Sustainable Soils: The Place of Organic Matter in Sustaining Soils and Their Productivity stresses the necessity of combining the addition of organic matter with reduced tillage and added chemicals. Photographs, tables, and figures, as well as appendixes containing common and botanical names of plants, symbols and abbreviations found in the text, and useful conversion factors and data help bring the information into focus quickly and efficiently. An extensive bibliography points the way to other useful material on this subject. Sustainable Soils discusses: what materials can be added techniques for proper handling of organic matter how much is enough (and how much is too much!) the nutritive value of various forms of organic matter the benefits that can be expected from properly handling and adding organic matter to soil From the Editors: “Sustainable agriculture is not possible without a sustainable soil science, which in turn is largely dependent on organic matter. It is necessary to return large amounts of organic matter to the soil in order to maintain satisfactory crop production. It can be derived from crop residues, cover crops, sods, or various wastes, such as manures, sludges, and composts. This book details the benefits of various forms, and how each should be handled for maximum returns.”

During the last decades, soil organic carbon (SOC) attracted the attention of a much wider array of specialists beyond agriculture and soil science, as it was proven to be one of the most crucial components of the earth’s climate system, which has a great potential to be managed by humans. Soils as a carbon pool are one of the key factors in several Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 15, “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss” with the SOC stock being explicitly cited in Indicator 15.3.1. This technical manual is the first attempt to gather, in a standardized format, the existing data on the impacts of the main soil management practices on SOC content in a wide array of environments, including the advantages, drawbacks, and constraints. This manual presents different sustainable soil management (SSM) practices at different scales and in different contexts, supported by case studies that have been shown with quantitative data to have a positive effect on SOC stocks and successful experiences of SOC sequestration in practical field applications. Volume 2 includes a description of hot spots of SOC stocks. This manual defines hot spots of SOC as areas that represent a proportionally little of the global land surface but on which SOC storage is highly effective; bright spots as large land areas with low SOC stocks per km2 that represent a potential for further carbon sequestration.

Fertilizers have been used extensively around the globe since the Green Revolution, due to the high subsidies. However, extensive fertilizer use exacerbates soil degradation and causes yield stagnation, and as a result threatens food security and soil sustainability, especially in developing countries. This means that sustainable soil and environmental management are vital to provide food and nutritional security for present and future generations. This has led to the International Union of Soil Science (IUSS) declaring 2015-2024 the International Decade of Soils. This book focuses on the impact of sustainable management of soil and environment on improving the functioning of soil-ecosystems and agronomic productivity, and also discusses food security, nutrient cycling, recent advances in INM technologies, eco-friendly cultivation, agricultural practices to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as conservation agriculture and its effects, and strategies for soil sustainability. Offering a comprehensive overview of management in the context of the sustainability of soil and the agroecosystems that it supports, it demonstrates the options available and provides insights into restoring soil health and matching soil nutrient supply with crop demand to ensure nutritional security in an eco-friendly environment.