Farming the Black Earth: chernozem & ecological agriculture (International year of Planet Earth)

This is a volume in the new IYPE series commemorating the UN International Year of Planet Earth. It presents the current state-of-the-art in soil sciences, and ways forward for a sustainable future. The book provides a wealth of information on soils offered by new airborne and space-borne sensors, with unprecedented detail, accuracy, rapid regional and global coverage, and also information from deep below the surface. This new data is used in climate models, agricultural and forest production estimates, assessment of land degradation and improvement, water resources management, and estimation of erosion and sedimentation. The book discusses how good intelligence can support interventions to arrest salinity, identify shallow groundwater resources, design water storages and other engineering works, and assess land suitability for particular uses.

Introduction: Context of Land Use and Management. Part 1. The Status of the Soils. The Soils. Soil Composition and Texture. Soil Mineralogy and Elemental Composition. Absorption Capacity and Reaction. Soluble Salts and Soil Solution. Humus - the Mainspring of Fertility. The Nitrogen Riddle. Phosphorus and Sulphur Budgets. Life in the Soil. Soil Structure, Soil Water and Drought. The Chernozem Family. Land Degradation and Accommodating Soil Diversity. Society's Perspective. Part 2. Principles of Ecological Agriculture. Biological Cycles. Soil Health and Quality. Farming and Soil Health. The Past, Present and Future of Chemozem.