Tools for Soil Management and Restoration: Strategies, Practices and Future Challenges

$160.00

Manuel Esteban Lucas-Borja (Editor)
Castilla La Mancha University, School of Advanced Agricultural Engineering, Department of Agroforestry Technology and Science and Genetics, Albacete, Spain

Demetrio Zema (Editor)
University RC, Italy

Yang Yu (Editor)
Department of Sediment Research, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

Series: Agriculture Issues and Policies
BISAC: TEC003060

Natural ecosystems provide the basic conditions without which humanity could not survive. Goods and services provided by ecosystems include, for example, provision of food, fibre and fuel, purification of water and air, cultural and aesthetic benefits, stabilization and moderation of the Earth’s climate, generation and renewal of soil fertility, including nutrient cycling or maintenance of genetic resources as key inputs to crop varieties and livestock breeds, medicines, and other products.

However, the ability of natural ecosystems to continue performing these services is seriously threatened because plant species diversity or soil are being seriously deteriorated, and in some cases destroyed. While loss of species has always occurred as a natural phenomenon, the pace of extinction has accelerated dramatically as a result of human activity. Ecosystems are being fragmented or eliminated, and innumerable species are in decline or already extinct. At the same time, various studies worldwide have shown that soils do not support intensive annual plant cultivation without fertilizer applications and even these may not maintain sustainability.

Inappropriate silvicultural operations or the use of land for intensive agricultural purposes is one of the main causes of soil degradation, and there is therefore worldwide interest in quantifying the loss of soil quality generated by incorrect agricultural operations or forest management practises. This can only happen if people have the right information, skills, and organizations for understanding and dealing with soil and plant diversity issues. This books deals with soil management and restoration strategies in order to maintain soil quality avoiding soil deterioration. Throughout the book, different authors present very interesting works related to the nitrogen status of containerized Australian blackwood (Acacia Melanoxylon) seedings, soil carbon stocks in different vegetation types, biological soil crusts distribution in China sandy soils, ash soil fertilizers, the watershed management of badland areas, effects of pipeline construction-related disturbances on soil properties, soil quality indicators and soil hydrology in dry areas and aggregate characteristics within the soil active layer.
(Imprint: Nova)

 

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1. Optimizing the Growth and N Status of Containerized Australian Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) Seedings with Exponential Nitrogen Loading
(Xiaogang Ding, and Qian He, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, China, and others)

Chapter 2. Soil Carbon Stocks in Different Vegetation Types of Azad Jammu and Kashmir State in the Western Himalayas
(Hamayun Shaheen, and Shahzad Naseer Awan, Department of Botany, University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, Pakistan)

Chapter 3. Biological Soil Crusts Distribution in Artemisia Ordosica Communities along a Grazing Pressure Gradient in Mu Us Sandy Land, Northern China
(Junhong Zhang, College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, China)

Chapter 4. Wood Ash as Alternative Fertilizer in Degraded Pasture Area
(Edna Maria Bonfim-Silva, Ana Paula Alves Barreto Damasceno, and Jefferson Vieira José, Institute of Agricultural and Technological Sciences, Graduate Program in Agricultural Engineering. Federal University of Mato Grosso, Rondonópolis, Mato Grosso, Brazil)

Chapter 5. The Watershed Management of Badland Areas (Calanchi) in Southern Italy
(Francesco Gentile, and Giovanni Romano, Department of Agricultural and Environmental Science, Aldo Moro University, Bari, Italy)

Chapter 6. Developing a ‘Green’ Pipeline and Building an Ecological Corridor: Effects of Pipeline Construction-Related Disturbances on Soil Properties and Restoration
(Peng Shi, and Yan Zhang, Institute of Water Resources and Hydro-electric Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an, China, and College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, China)

Chapter 7. Criteria for Selecting Soil Quality Indicators: Contributions to Sustainable Management of Soils
(Diane Cristina Stefanoski, Cícero Célio de Figueiredo, Glenio Guimarães Santos, and Robélio Leandro Marchão, University of Brasilia, Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary, Brasilia, DF, Brazil, and others)

Chapter 8. Land Preparation Technique and Vegetation Type Commonly Determine Soil Properties, Surface Runoff and Erosion after Long-Term Land Stabilization Measures in a Dry Hilly Catchment of China
(Yang Yu, Wei Wei, and Liding Chen, State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basins, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, China, and others)

Chapter 9. The Role of Management and Landscape on Aggregate Characteristics within the Soil Active Layer
(Kenneth M. Wacha, Jerry L. Hatfield, Thanos Papanicolaou, and Christian Dold, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, Ames, IA, USA, and others)
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Index


Reviews

“The topic of the book is very interesting and valuable. The book is clearly written and well structured. Firstly in Chapters 1-3, the authors introduce the situation of soil erosion and the method to control this kind of natural hazards. Then a series of holistic approaches for watershed management have been presented in Chapters 4-9. Innovative ideas together with solid proofs may be found throughout the book.” – Xiangzhou Xu, Full Professor, PhD Supervisor, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China


Audience

Universities, forest management agencies, research institutions.


Keywords

Soil erosion, soil management, karst ecosystems, soil properties, soil quality

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