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Agroecological Approaches for Sustainable Soil Management
Enables readers to strengthen existing agricultural strategies to sustainably solve contemporary problems like food supply chain gaps and food scarcity
Agroecological Approaches for Sustainable Soil Management explains strategies to check the deterioration of soil quality, irrigation water quality, reuse of wastewaters in agriculture after treatment, organic fertigation, and corporate fertigation, to transform current agriculture into sustainable agriculture, and demonstrates cost effective technologies for sustainable development of site-specific ecosystems. Techniques to eradicate malnutrition, such as enhanced biofortification, are also covered.
Sample topics covered in Agroecological Approaches for Sustainable Soil Management include:
* Foremost developments in the restoration and utilization of degraded lands through organic farming, precision agriculture, climate-resilient fodder/forage cultivation, and livestock management
* Promotion of agro-forestry-based apiculture, silviculture, and sericulture, and corporate fertigation, and reclaiming urban brownfields and industrial areas
* Development of diverse products, including biofuel, fiber, fodder, timber, and herbal products leading to the generation of social capitals
* Ecology of intercropping systems, tree-cover dynamics of grazing lands, and cover crops for soil management
Agroecological Approaches for Sustainable Soil Management is a comprehensive and authoritative resource on the subject, making it a must-have resource for scientists working in agrobiodiversity, agroecology, bioscience, restoration ecology, soil science, and sustainable science, along with postgraduate students in ecology, environmental sciences, and environmental economics.
List of contents
List of Contributors xv
Preface xxi
About the Editors xxv
1 Soil Degradation: A Major Challenge in the Twenty- First Century 1
Fábio Carvalho Nunes, Cláudia Cseko Nolasco de Carvalho, Lander de Jesus Alves, and Majeti Narasimha Vara Prasad
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Soil Degradation: Start and Consequences 4
1.3 Soil Protection, Conservation, and Recuperation Strategies 12
1.4 Challenges for the Twenty- First Century 14
1.5 Final Considerations 16
References 17
2 Degradation of Agriculture Systems by Invasive Alien Plants and Agroecological Approaches for Sustainable Restoration 23
Prabhat Kumar Rai
2.1 Introduction 23
2.1.1 Effects of IAPs on Soil Attributes and Microbial Diversity of Agroecosystems 25
2.2 Agroecological Solutions 29
2.2.1 Physical Weed Control Methods 29
2.2.2 Cultural Control Method 29
2.2.3 Stale Seed Bed 30
2.2.4 Cover Cropping 30
2.2.5 Intercropping 30
2.2.6 Crop Rotation 31
2.2.7 Crop Selection 31
2.2.8 Cover Cropping 31
2.3 Biological Control Methods 33
2.4 Classical or Inoculative Biological Control 33
2.4.1 Inundative or Augmentative Biological Control 34
2.5 Allelopathy in Agroecosystems 34
2.6 Restoration and Carbon Sequestration Approaches in Agro/Ecosystem/ Forestry Systems 35
2.7 Conclusions 37
2.7.1 Declaration of Competing Interest 38
Acknowledgment 38
References 38
3 Soil Management for Carbon Sequestration 49
Taoufik El Rasafi, Ahmed El Moukhtari, Ayoub Haouas, Anas Tallou, Wassila Bouta, Yassine Aallam, Soumia Amir, Hanane Hamdali, Mohamed Farissi, Abdelmajid Haddioui, and Abdallah Oukarroum
3.1 Introduction 49
3.2 Agronomic Management Practices 50
3.2.1 Tillage 50
3.2.2 Nutrient Management 51
3.2.3 Organic Amendments 51
3.2.3.1 Biochar 51
3.2.3.2 Organic Residues 52
3.2.4 Crop Rotation 53
3.2.5 Carbon Sequestration Potential of Agroforestry Systems 53
3.2.6 Effect of Water Quality and Irrigation Practices on Soil Sequestration 54
3.2.7 Contribution of Microorganisms to Soil Carbon Sequestration 55
3.3 Conclusion 57
References 57
4 Soil Degradation, Resilience, Restoration, and Sustainable Use 65
Diana Cota- Ungson, Yolanda González- García, and Antonio Juárez- Maldonado
4.1 Introduction 65
4.2 Impacts of Human Activity on Soil Degradation 66
4.2.1 Agriculture 66
4.2.2 Overgrazing 67
4.2.3 Mining 67
4.2.4 Negative Effects Derived from Human Activity 68
4.2.4.1 Organic Carbon Change 68
4.2.4.2 Nutrient Imbalance and Loss of Soil Biodiversity 68
4.2.4.3 Salinization, Pollution, and Soil Acidification 68
4.2.4.4 Sealing of the Soil and Occupation of the Territory 69
4.2.4.5 Soil Compaction and Waterlogging 69
4.3 Methods to Restore the Soil 69
4.3.1 Conservation Agriculture 69
4.3.2 Soil Amendments 70
4.3.3 Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) 71
4.3.4 Grazing Management 71
4.3.5 Phytoremediation 72
4.4 Sustainable Use of the Soil 72
4.4.1 Production Systems Based on Polycultures 73
4.4.2 Agroforestry Systems 74
4.4.3 Crop Rotation 74
4.4.4 Cover Crops 75
4.4.5 Conservation Tillage 75
4.5 Conclusions 76
References 77
5 Organic Farming - a Sustainable Option to Reduce Soil D
About the author
Majeti Narasimha Vara Prasad is an Emeritus Professor, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, India. He has published over 219 papers and edited 34 books. He received a Doctorate in Botany from Lucknow University, India in 1979.
Dr. Chitranjan Kumar (MSc Gold Medallist, NET, D.Phil.) is a faculty member of Amity University and a well-known international soil scientist in the field of phyto-bio-remediation/management of sewage-irrigated soils/organic fertigation.
