Soil degradation, a decline in soil quality due to anthropogenic perturbations, is a serious threat with negative impacts on agriculture and the environment. The assessment and monitoring of all forms of degradation is essential to the evaluation of negative trends and implementation of mitigating technologies. Soil Degradation in the United States: Extent, Severity, and Trends is an assessment of current trends and geographic hot spots. It not only describes the types of soil degradation, but also evaluates the processes and triggers that cause the damage.Written by world-renowned leaders in...

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...

Can developing countries meet the food requirements of their growing populations without jeopardizing a natural resource base that is already under great stress?
Can increases in food production achieved in the past two decades be sustained in the next two decades?
Can developing countries achieve freedom from hunger and malnutrition for their entire populations?
How can food security be reconciled with environment quality in an industrializing society?
Leading authorities, from soil scientists to economists, address these critical questions in Food Security and Environmental...

The most complete, nonpartisan source of information on this hot agronomic topic available today, this book brings together a diverse group of papers and data to resolve the debate between sedimentologists and soil scientists and agronomists over whether the effects of soil erosion on carbon and atmospheric CO2 is beneficial or destructive. Divided into four sections, it offers data on how soil erosion affects soil, water, and air quality. Topics include mineralization rate, inundation, sediment deposition, and global warming potential, as well as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide...

This work examines the issue of accelerated soil erosion, which has become an increasingly serious concern in the twentieth century. Aspects considered include on-site impact of erosion; application of soil science to problems of non-agricultural uses of soil, such as mineland restoration, urban uses and disposal of urban wastes; soil contamination and pollution by industrial activities; and athletic and recreational uses of soil. Soil Quality and Soil Erosion will be a useful text for soil scientists, agronomists, foresters, and environmental scientists as we enter the next century.