The pedosphere - the thin mantel of soil on the earth's surface - plays a potentially crucial role in climate and climate change . The carbon storage of soils is the second largest in the biosphere, making the dynamics of soil organic carbon an important issue that must be understood if we are to fully comprehend global change.
This new book examines the importance of soils and their relationship to global change, specifically to the greenhouse effect. Soils and Global Change presents a state-of-the-art compendium of our present knowledge of soils. This up-to-date information source...

Global Climate Change and Cold Regions Ecosystems provides information on soil processes and the carbon cycle in cold ecoregions as well as the soil carbon pool and its fluxes in the soils of cold ecoregions. F illing a void in this area of soil science, this resource explains soi l processes influencing C dynamics under natural and disturbed ecosyst ems. The soils of the cold region ecosystems serve as a net sink of at mospheric C. However, an increase in global temperature could render t hem a net source. In the event of global warming, the cold regions eco systems-arctic, sub-arctic,...

Tropical ecosystems - the regions between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn - play an important role in global processes, economic issues, and political concerns. In their natural state, tropical ecosystems support a large quantity of above- and below-ground biomass, and constitute a major part of the terrestrial carbon pool. Conversion of the natural ecosystem to agriculture and forestry ecosystems disturbs this ecological balance.
Global Climate Change and Tropical Ecosystems presents data on carbon pool fluxes from case studies in 12 countries in tropical regions. The chapters cover:...

The potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change is one factor driving agricultural policy through programs that pay farmers for practices with a high potential to sequester carbon. With chapters by economists, policy makers, farmers, land managers, en ergy company representatives, and soil scientists, Agricultural Practi ces and Policies for Carbon Sequestration in Soil explores a broad ran ge of topics. It examines topics such as the effects of soil tillage a nd mulch rate, soil monitoring and assessment, soil fertility manageme nt, policy options, and the...

Much attention has been given to above ground biomass and its potential as a carbon sink, but in a mature forest ecosystem 40 to 60 percent of the stored carbon is below ground. As increasing numbers of forests are managed in a wide diversity of climates and soils, the importance of forest soils as a potential carbon sink grows.
The Potential of U.S. Forest Soils to Sequester Carbon and Mitigate the Greenhouse Effect provides researchers and policy makers with an understanding of soil processes and their relation to carbon dynamics, as well as strategies to monitor and techniques to...

Cryosols occupy a unique part of the earth and have properties greatly different from other soils. They also occur where the greatest impact of global warming is predicted. They have been studied extensively in Russia, Canada and in other regions. This is, however, the first book which brings together experts from all fields in order to focus on these unique soils. It will undoubtedly provide one of the best sources of information available about these soils.