Principles of Soil Conservation and Management


Book Description

“Principles of Soil Management and Conservation” comprehensively reviews the state-of-knowledge on soil erosion and management. It discusses in detail soil conservation topics in relation to soil productivity, environment quality, and agronomic production. It addresses the implications of soil erosion with emphasis on global hotspots and synthesizes available from developed and developing countries. It also critically reviews information on no-till management, organic farming, crop residue management for industrial uses, conservation buffers (e.g., grass buffers, agroforestry systems), and the problem of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico and in other regions. This book uniquely addresses the global issues including carbon sequestration, net emissions of CO2, and erosion as a sink or source of C under different scenarios of soil management. It also deliberates the implications of the projected global warming on soil erosion and vice versa. The concern about global food security in relation to soil erosion and strategies for confronting the remaining problems in soil management and conservation are specifically addressed. This volume is suitable for both undergraduate and graduate students interested in understanding the principles of soil conservation and management. The book is also useful for practitioners, extension agents, soil conservationists, and policymakers as an important reference material.




Approaches to Soil Health Analysis (Soil Health series, Volume 1)


Book Description

Approaches to Soil Health Analysis A concise survey of soil health analysis and its various techniques and applications The maintenance of healthy soil resources provides the foundation for an array of global efforts and initiatives that affect humanity. Whether they are working to combat food shortages, conserve our ecosystems, or mitigate the impact of climate change, researchers and agriculturalists the world over must be able to correctly examine and understand the complex nature of this essential, fragile resource. These new volumes have been designed to meet this need, addressing the many dimensions of soil health analysis in chapters that are concise, accessible and applicable to the tasks at hand. Soil Health, Volume One: Approaches to Soil Health Analysis provides a well-rounded overview of the various methods and strategies available to analysists, and covers topics including: The history of soil health and its study Challenges and opportunities facing analysists Meta-data and its assessment Applications to forestry and urban land reclamation Future soil health monitoring and evaluation approaches Offering a far-reaching survey of this increasingly interdisciplinary field, this volume will be of great interest to all those working in agriculture, private sector businesses, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academic-, state-, and federal-research projects, as well as state and federal soil conservation, water quality and other environmental programs.




Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) Methodology


Book Description

The Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number (CN) method is one of the most popular methods for computing the runoff volume from a rainstorm. It is popular because it is simple, easy to understand and apply, and stable, and accounts for most of the runoff producing watershed characteristics, such as soil type, land use, hydrologic condition, and antecedent moisture condition. The SCS-CN method was originally developed for its use on small agricultural watersheds and has since been extended and applied to rural, forest and urban watersheds. Since the inception of the method, it has been applied to a wide range of environments. In recent years, the method has received much attention in the hydrologic literature. The SCS-CN method was first published in 1956 in Section-4 of the National Engineering Handbook of Soil Conservation Service (now called the Natural Resources Conservation Service), U. S. Department of Agriculture. The publication has since been revised several times. However, the contents of the methodology have been nonetheless more or less the same. Being an agency methodology, the method has not passed through the process of a peer review and is, in general, accepted in the form it exists. Despite several limitations of the method and even questionable credibility at times, it has been in continuous use for the simple reason that it works fairly well at the field level.




Soil and Water Conservation Advances in the United States


Book Description

Have agricultural management efforts begun in the desperation of the Dust Bowl brought us to where we need to be tomorrow? Questions about the environmental footprint of farming make this book required reading. Approximately 62% of the total U.S. land area is used for agriculture, and this land also provides critical ecosystem functions. Authors from each region of the continental United States describe the progress of soil and water conservation to date and visualize how agricultural production practices must change in future years to address the newest challenges.







Soil Health Series


Book Description

The maintenance of healthy soil resources is instrumental to the success of an array of global efforts and initiatives. Whether they are working to combat food shortages, conserve our ecosystems, or mitigate the impact of climate change, researchers and agriculturalists the world over must be able to correctly examine and understand the complex nature of this essential resource. These new volumes have been designed to meet this need, addressing the many dimensions of soil health analysis in chapters that are concise, accessible and applicable to the tasks at hand. Soil Health, Volume Two: Laboratory Methods for Soil Health Analysis provides explanations of the best practices by which one may arrive at valuable, comparable data and incisive conclusions, and covers topics including: Sampling considerations and field evaluations. Assessment and interpretation of soil-test biological activity. Macro- and micronutrients in soil quality and health PLFA and EL-FAME indicators. Offering a practical guide to collecting and understanding soil health data, this volume will be of great interest to all those working in agriculture, private sector businesses, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academic-, state-, and federal-research projects, as well as state and federal soil conservation, water quality and other environmental programs.--Provided by publisher.