Prof. Rattan Lal, Ph.D., is a Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science and Director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, The Ohio State University, and an Adjunct Professor of University of Iceland. He received B.S. from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana; M.S. from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi and Ph.D. from the Ohio State University. He served as Sr. Research Fellow with the University of Sydney, Australia (1968-69), Soil Physicist at IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria (1970-87), and Professor of Soil Science at OSU (1987-to date). He has authored/co-authored 922 refereed journal articles and 535 book chapters, has written 20 and edited/co-edited 72 books. He is included in the Thomson Reuters list of the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds (2014,2015), and among the most cited scientists in agriculture globally (2014,2015,2016 and 2017). Dr. Lal is recipient of the Honoris Causa degree from five universities in Europe and Asia. He is laureate of 2018 GCHERA World Agriculture Prize,2018 Glinka World Soil Prize and 2019 Japan Prize. He is the former President of the World Association of Soil and Water Conservation (1987-1990), International Soil and Tillage Research Organization (1988-1991), Soil Science Society of America (2006-2008) and of the International Union of Soil Sciences( 2017-2018).Prof .Lal has mentored more than 350 graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, research scientists and visiting scholars from around the world.
Dr. Rosa Francaviglia is senior researcher at Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Rome, Italy. Main research topics include: Effect of climate change on agriculture, Carbon sink and agricultural soils, Cropping systems and simulation models, Conservation agriculture, Agro-environmental evaluations, Soil Quality Indicators, and EU CAP Good Agro-Environmental Conditions (GAEC). She has been visiting scientist at Biological Systems Engineering Department, Washington State University, Pullman, USA, Blackland Research and Extension Center, Temple, Texas, USA, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Herts, UK. She has authored more than 200 scientific, technical and educational publications.
This book addresses the threats that hamper the achievement of sustainable soil management: soil erosion by water and wind, soil organic carbon loss, nutrient imbalance, salinization, contamination, acidification, loss of soil biodiversity, surface sealing, compaction and water logging. The specific focus is on preventive and ameliorative strategies for sustainable soil management.