Tropical Soils

Long-awaited second edition of classic textbook, brought completely up to date, for courses on tropical soils, and reference for scientists and professionals.

An understanding of the characteristics and the ecology of soils, particularly those of forest ecosystems in the humid tropics, is central to the development of sustainable forest management systems. The present book examines the contribution that forest soil science and forest ecology can make to sustainable land use in the humid tropics. Four main issues are addressed: characteristics and classification of forest soils, chemical and hydrological changes after forest utilization, soil fertility management in forest plantations and agroforestry systems as well as ecosystem studies from the dipterocarp forest region of Southeast Asia. Additionally, case studies include work from Guyana, Costa Rica, the Philippines, Malaysia, Australia and Nigeria.

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.

This book discusses how to apply the basic principles of pedology to the tropical soils of the Indian subcontinent, with an emphasis on ways to enhance crop productivity. The book showcases the research contributions on pedology, geomorphology, mineralogy, micromorphology and climate change collected from the literature on three major soil types: shrink-swell soils, red ferruginous (RF) soils and the soils that occur in the tropical environments of the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). It also provides insights into several aspects of five pedogenetically important soil orders like Alfisols, Mollisols, Ultisols, Vertisols and Inceptisols found in tropical Indian environments. Documenting the significance of minerals in soils and their overall influence in soil science in terms of pedology, paleopedology, polygenesis and edaphology, it provides a knowledge base that is critical when attempting to bridge the gap between food production and population growth.

This is a book about tropical soils written from the point of view of the field soil scientist.

1. Introduction. 2. Mineralogy. 3. Soil Chemistry. 4. Soil Physics. 5. Soil Biology and Microbiology. 6. Soil Fertility. 7. Soil Formation and Classification. 8. Major Soils of the Tropics: A Descriptive Classification Based on Clay Mineralogy. 9. Soil Management: An Overview. 10. Properties and Management of Kaolinitic Soils. 11. Properties and Management of Oxidic Soils. 12. Properties and Management of Smectitic Soils. 13. Properties and Management of Allophanic Soils. 14. Soils and Sustainable Agriculture.

Nitrogen Economy in Tropical Soils presents an authoritative and comprehensive state-of-the-art review on soil/plant nitrogen inter-relationships, with special reference to tropical soils and crops in aerobic and anaerobic environments. Use of isotopically labelled nitrogen in experimentation, especially in tropical environments, and recently developed analytical techniques for soil and plant materials are presented. An important aspect is the emphasis placed on the impact of the tropical environment on nitrogen transformations in the soil environment. This book should be an excellent source of information for senior undergraduate and graduate students with interest in soil/plant nitrogen inter-relationships, and for all levels of research workers in these fields.