Soil Management Building a Stable Base for Agriculture

by Hatfield, Jerry L.; Sauer, Thomas J.

• ISBN13: 9780891188537
• ISBN10: 0891188533
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2020-01-22
• Publisher: Acsess

Summary

Degradation of soils continues at a pace that will eventually create a local, regional, or even global crisis when diminished soil resources collide with increasing climate variation. It's not too late to restore our soils to a more productive state by rediscovering the value of soil management, building on our well-established and ever-expanding scientific understanding of soils. Soil management concepts have been in place since the cultivation of crops, but we need to rediscover the principles that are linked together in effective soil management. This book is unique because of its treatment of soil management based on principles—the physical, chemical, and biological processes and how together they form the foundation for soil management processes that range from tillage to nutrient management. Whether new to soil science or needing a concise reference, readers will benefit from this book's ability to integrate the science of soils with management issues and long-term conservation efforts.

Author Biography

Dr. Jerry L. Hatfield received his Ph.D. from Iowa State University in 1975 in the area of Agricultural Climatology and Statistics a M.S. in Agronomy from the University of Kentucky in 1972, and B.S. from Kansas State University in Agronomy in 1971. He served on the faculty of the University of California-Davis as a biometeorologist from 1975 through 1983 and then joined USDA-Agricultural Research Service in Lubbock, Texas, as the Research Leader of the Plant Stress and Water Conservation Research Unit from 1983 through 1989. He was appointed Laboratory Director of the National Soil Tilth Laboratory in 1989 (renamed the Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment in October 2009).
He served as the USDA-ARS representative to the Heinz Center project on the State of the Nation's Ecosystems, the Key Indicators Initiative, National Audubon Society project on Waterbirds on Working Lands, and Agricultural Air Quality Task Force for USDA, and is the lead author on the Agriculture section of the Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.3 on "The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity". He was part of the IPCC process that received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize and currently serves on the IPCC special committee to evaluate the impact of extreme events on ecosystems. He served as a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, and Past-President of the American Society of Agronomy (2007). He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Soil and Water Conservation Society and a member of American Geophysical Union and American Meteorological Society. He has numerous awards from different organizations.

Thomas J. Sauer has a Ph.D. in Soil Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is currently a Research Soil Scientist at the USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment in Ames, Iowa. His current research interests include land use conversion effects on carbon and nutrient cycling, soil quality, and the implications for climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Preface ix

Contributors xi

Section 1 Framing the Soil Resource Problem

1 An Overview of Soil and Water Management: The Challenge of Enhancing Productivity and Sustainability 3
Daniel Hillel

2 Challenging Balance between Productivity and Environmental Quality: Tillage Impacts 13
D.C. Reicosky, T.J. Sauer, and J.L. Hatfield

3 Indices for Soil Management Decisions 39
Douglas L. Karlen, Brian J. Wienhold, Shujiang Kang, Ted M. Zobeck, and Susan S. Andrews

Section 2 Principles Underlying Management

4 Water Dynamics in Soils 53
M.B. Kirkham

5 Nutrient Cycling in Soils: Nitrogen 67
Robert W. Mullen

6 Potassium Cycling 79
Sylvie Brouder

7 Nutrient Cycling in Soils: Sulfur 103
John L. Kovar and Cynthia A. Grant

8 Gas Exchange in Soils 117
Witold Stępniewski, Zofia Stępniewska, and Agnieszka Rożej

9 Soil Biology 145
Eileen J. Kladivko and Jill Clapperton

10 Soil Management for Increasing Water Use Efficiency in Field Crops under Changing Climates 161
Jerry L. Hatfield

11 Climatic Resources 175
Jerry L. Hatfield and John H. Prueger

12 Pesticide Movement 183
Timothy J. Gish, Jared Williams, John H. Prueger, William Kustas, Lynn G. McKee, and Andy Russ

13 Subsurface Drainage Design and Management to Meet Agronomic and Environmental Goals 199
J.S. Strock, G.R. Sands, and M.J. Helmers

14 Wind Erosion 209
Ted M. Zobeck and R. Scott Van Pelt

15 Crusting 229
Guy J. Levy

Section 3 Soil Management Practices

16 Manure Management 247
Francis J. Larney, Xiying Hao, and Edward Topp

17 Disease Management 265
Timothy C. Paulitz

18 Direct and Indirect Impacts of Weed Management Practices on Soil Quality 275
Richard G. Smith, Matthew R. Ryan, and Fabian D. Menalled

19 Fallow Effects on Soil 287
David C. Nielsen and Francisco J. Calderón

20 Grazing Impacts on Soil Physical, Chemical, and Ecological Properties in Forage Production Systems 301
Miguel A. Taboada, Gerardo Rubio, and Enrique J. Chaneton

21 The Use of Cover Crops to Manage Soil 321
T.C. Kaspar and J.W. Singer

22 Intercropping and its Implications for Soil Management 339
S. Walker, C.J. Stigter, E. Ofori, and N. Kyei-Baffour

23 Agroforestry 351
Thomas J. Sauer and Guillermo Hernandez-Ramirez

24 Soil Management Implications of Producing Biofuel Feedstock 371
Jane M.F. Johnson, David W. Archer, Douglas L. Karlen, Sharon L. Weyers, and Wally W. Wilhelm

25 Emerging Challenges in Soil Management 391
Jerry L. Hatfield and Thomas J. Sauer

Index 395