Managing soil health for sustainable agriculture Volume 2: Monitoring and management

Contents

Series list

Introduction

Part 1  Soil monitoring

Chapter 1  Soil health assessment and inventory: indices and databases

1 Introduction

2 Challenges for comprehensive soil health assessment

3 Soil health assessment frameworks and indices

4 Indexing systems in active use

5 Classifying indicators and indices

6 Practical on-farm assessment: soil health cards, crowdsourcing and citizen science

7 Mapping soil health

8 Soil property databases

9 Conclusion

10 Future trends

11 Where to look for further information

12 References

Chapter 2  Soil sampling for soil health assessment

1 Introduction

2 Defining objectives and generating hypotheses

3 Initial steps in designing a sampling plan

4 Sampling schemes: sample placement

5 Sampling sufficiency and compositing samples

6 Collecting the data

7 Metadata and implementation

8 Conclusions

9 Where to look for further information

10 Acknowledgements

11 References

Chapter 3  Biological indicators of soil health in organic cultivation

1 Introduction

2 Metrics of soil health

3 Using biological indicators

4 Conclusions and future trends

5 Acknowledgements

6 Where to look for further information

7 References

Chapter 4  The impact of heavy metal contamination on soil health

1 Introduction

2 Current levels of soil contamination by heavy metals

3 Natural and anthropogenic sources of heavy metals

4 Chemical transformation of heavy metals in soils

5 Bioavailability of heavy metals in soils

6 Effects of heavy metals on soil health: soil chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology

7 Effects of heavy metals on plant health and crop production

8 Indicators of soil contamination

9 Remediation of contaminated soil

10 Conclusions and future trends

11 References

Chapter 5  Modelling soil organic matter dynamics as a soil health indicator

1 Introduction

2 SOM modelling basics

3 Current issues and developments in SOM modelling

4 Future trends in soil health monitoring and decision support services

5 Conclusion and future trends

6 Where to look for further information

7 References

Part 2  Managing soil health

Chapter 6  Drainage requirements to maintain soil health

1 Introduction

2 The purpose and practice of land drainage

3 The influence of excess water and drainage on different aspects of soil health

4 Conclusions and future trends

5 Where to look for further information

6 References

Chapter 7  Managing irrigation for soil health in arid and semi-arid regions

1 Introduction

2 Arid and semi-arid regions

3 No-till cropping systems

4 Cover cropping systems

5 Soil food web management for nitrogen availability in arid and semi-arid areas

6 Conclusion

7 Future trends

8 Where to look for further information

9 References

Chapter 8  Effects of crop rotations and intercropping on soil health

1 Introduction

2 Defining soil health

3 Indicators of soil health

4 The roles of soil organic matter in soil health

5 Managing soil health: crop rotation

6 Managing soil health: intercropping

7 Nitrogen fixation and transfer in crop rotation and intercropping

8 Summary and future trends

9 Where to look for further information

10 References

Chapter 9  Use of cover crops to promote soil health

1 Introduction

2 Benefits of cover crops for soil organisms and soil organic matter

3 Benefits of cover crops for soil health related to soil physical properties

4 Impacts of cover crops on soil health through increased biodiversity, reintegration of livestock and profitability

5 Summary and conclusions

6 Where to look for further information

7 References

Chapter 10  Optimising fertiliser use to maintain soil health

1 Introduction

2 Effects of fertiliser use on soil organic matter, carbon and nitrogen

3 Effects of fertiliser use on soil microorganisms

4 Effect of nitrogen fertilisers on soil acidity

5 Site-specific nutrient management (SSNM)

6 Use of controlled and slow-release fertilisers, urease and nitrification inhibitors

7 Improving fertiliser placement

8 Integrated use of mineral fertilisers and organic manures for enhancing soil health

9 Future trends and conclusions

10 Where to look for further information

11 References

Chapter 11  Manure and compost management to maintain soil health

1 Introduction

2 Manure versus compost

3 Manure, compost and soil health

4 Manure, compost and inorganic fertilizer

5 Practical implications of manure and compost use for soil health

6 More manure in the future

7 Problems of excess manure

8 Integrated livestock production

9 Case study: the legacy effect of manure

10 Future trends and conclusion

11 Where to look for further information

12 References

Chapter 12  Pesticide use and biodiversity in soils

1 Introduction

2 Historical perspective

3 Pesticides and soil biology

4 Pesticides and soil biodiversity: an overview

5 Pesticides and microbial diversity in modern agroecosystems including genetically engineered (GE) crops

6 Conclusions

7 Where to look for further information

8 References

Chapter 13  Conservation grass hedges and soil health parameters

1 Introduction

2 Erosion

3 Soil properties

4 Food, feed and fuel production

5 Biodiversity or wildlife habitat

6 Factors affecting the performance of grass hedges

7 Summary

8 Future trends

9 Where to look for further information

10 References

Chapter 14  Managing soil health in organic cultivation

1 Introduction

2 Measuring long-term soil health in organic cultivation

3 The use of animal amendments in soil nutrition

4 The use of cover crops in soil nutrition

5 The effect of rotations, cover crops and animal amendments on carbon and nitrogen levels in soil

6 The effect of cover crops on nitrogen levels in soil

7 The effect of animal amendments on nitrogen levels in soil

8 Managing nutrient loss and retention: greenhouse gas emissions

9 Conclusions and future trends

10 Acknowledgements

11 Where to look for further information

12 References

Part 3  Regional strategies in the developing world

Chapter 15  Supporting smallholders in maintaining soil health: key challenges and strategies

1 Introduction

2 Definition of smallholder farmers

3 Key challenges for maintaining soil health within smallholder systems

4 Key levers to assist smallholders

5 Future trends and conclusion

6 Where to look for further information

7 References

Chapter 16  Maintaining soil health in Africa

1 Introduction

2 Consequences of land degradation

3 Soil quality, food security and soil health

4 Strategies for sustainability

5 Sustainable soil management systems

6 Maintaining soil health in practice

7 Impacts of soil health principles and practices in sub-Saharan Africa

8 Conclusion

9 Where to look for further information

10 References

Chapter 17  Organic amendments to improve soil health and crop productivity: a case study in China

1 Introduction

2 Long-term experiments in fertilization management

3 The impact of different fertilization techniques: soil health

4 The impact of different fertilization techniques: crop yield

5 Future trends and conclusion

6 Acknowledgements

7 References

Chapter 18  Soil health assessment and maintenance in Central and South-Central Brazil

1 Introduction

2 Agriculture in Brazil

3 New frontiers in Brazilian CA

4 Indicators for SH assessments in Brazil

5 Tillage effects on SH

6 SI effects on SH indicators

7 Sugarcane effects on SH

8 Future trends

9 Summary and conclusions

10 Where to look for further information

11 References

Chapter 19  Maintaining soil health in dryland areas

1 Introduction

2 Formation and properties of dryland soil

3 Soil health in the drylands

4 Dryland soil research priorities

5 Options and solutions for dryland soil health improvement

6 Case study

7 Future trends

8 Conclusion

9 Where to look for further information

10 References

Index